WORDS PEOPLE USE Lesson 1 Modest Abe Lincoln

DEFINITIONS OF NEW WORDS

staid (adj.) reserved and serious in manner

James is a very friendly, sociable person and not as staid as he first appears.

stun (v.) to shock, astound; to make someone senseless (such as by a blow on the head)
We were all stunned by the election news; we were sure our candidate would win.

unseemly (adj.) improper

Leo, usually such a proper young man, surprised me with that unseemly remark.

task (n.) a piece of work done as part of one’s duties or something assigned by a superior
Checking all those figures for accuracy was a long, hard task, but I finally finished.

chore (n.) a routine or minor duty (usually in a house or on a farm)

When he lived on the farm, Rudy had to milk the cows twice a day as one of his chores.

lanky (adj.) tall, thin, and ungraceful

That lanky young fellow doesn’t look athletic, but actually he is an excellent basketball
player.

squabble (n.) a quarrel; (v.) to squabble--to quarrel

Walter had a squabble with Thelma last night that wasn’t serious; the two have already made
up.

oust (v.) to force from a place or position (usually an elected place or position)
The present mayor is corrupt and should be ousted.

likely (adv.) probably; (adj.) appropriate; reasonable

Tom’s letter telling about the accident is very brief; he’ll very likely give us the details when
he arrives on Friday.

twinkle (n.) a flashing expression of delight or humor in the eyes; also, refers to the flashing light of
the stars; (v.) to twinkle—to flash off and on (as the stars seem to do)
Jane tried to look serious, but the twinkle in her eye revealed that she was working hard to
keep from laughing.

ANECDOTE

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), sixteenth president of the United States, was a man noted for his many fine
personal qualities, not the least of which was his modesty. The following two anecdotes illustrate this
characteristic.
One morning a staid member of his staff found Lincoln in the White House basement blacking his
boots. The man was stunned to find the President of the United States engaged in such an unseemly task.
“Mr. President,” he said in shocked tones, “I can’t believe my eyes. You’re blacking your own boots!”
Continuing the chore, the long, lanky Abe Lincoln quietly asked, “Whose boots should I be blacking?”
On another occasion, Secretary of the Treasury Samuel P. Chase resigned over a squabble with other
members of the Cabinet, and Lincoln was urged not to accept the resignation, “Secretary Chase is a national
necessity,” he was told.
“You are mistaken about that,” observed the president, “although it is understandable that you should
think so. In fact, I once had similar notions about myself. Then I realized that if we were all ousted
tomorrow and came back a week later, we’d very likely find our places taken by others doing just as well as
we did, and in many instances better.”
A twinkle appeared in the president’s eye. “It reminds me of the old fellow back in Illinois who said
‘In this country one man is as good as another, and, for that matter, very often a great deal better.’ Thank
God this nation does not depend on any one man.”

ORAL EXERCISE

Find the words or expressions in column B that have meanings similar to those in column A. Number 1 is
an example.

COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. squabble _____ a. reserved and serious
2. chore _____ b. a piece of work
3. stun _____ c. tall, thin, and ungraceful
4. lanky _____ d. improper
5. oust _____ e. astound
6. likely _____ f. probably
7. staid _____ g. a sparkle in the eye
8. twinkle __1__ h. a quarrel
9. task _____ i. a routine duty
10.unseemly _____ j. force out

WRITTEN EXERCISE

Fill in the blanks with words from the list at the left. Be sure to use the correct form. Number 1 is an
example.

staid 1. Jim and Ruth aren’t speaking to each other; they had a squabble__.
stun 2. Bill is short and fat; Bill’s brother Frank is long and __________.
task 3. George at first seems very reserved, but he isn’t as _________ as
chore he appears.
lanky 4. All our children have their daily __________: Barbara washes the
squabble dishes; Ann makes the beds, and Tom sweeps the floor.
unseemly 5. I was __________ by the news that Harry and Evelyn were
oust separating; that seemed to be the perfect marriage.
likely 6. When Doris went to work for the Haley Insurance Company, she
twinkle was assigned that __________ of addressing 2000 envelopes.
7. Henry was __________ from the Photo Club, but I have no idea
why he was asked to leave.
8. If Jack isn’t careful, he’s going to be fired; he behavior in the
office has been quite __________ lately.
9. Julia was very nervous when she went into her boss’ office, but she
relaxed when she saw the __________ in his eye.
10.Bob’s plan was rejected by the committee as being unrealistic; it is
very __________ that Bob will try to draw up something more
practical now.