This Week in Words: July 22 - 29, 2017

No time to scour the headlines or watch the news? No problem! We’ve rounded up the top ten words heard, read, debated, and discussed this week. Chapters were opened and closed this week. Jordan Spieth salvaged his British Open performance while the book closed on the often vehement Sean Spicer's tenure as White House press secretary. Authorities opened Salvador Dali's casket and exhumed his body. If Jeffrey Bewkes can close the deal that will make Time Warner property of AT&T, it will be a lucrative end to this chapter in his career. Also, the Senate narrowly defeated the so-called "Skinny Repeal" effort to dismantle Obamacare, closing the latest dramatic chapter on the effort overhaul healthcare. Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. vehemently
    in a forceful manner
    Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned after telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with his appointment of Anthony Scaramucci...as his new communications director. -The New York Times (July 21, 2017)
    Sean Spicer resigned this week, to be replaced by Sarah Huckabee Sanders as White House press secretary, with Anthony Scaramucci coming on board as new Communications Director. Spicer's term was tumultuous, and he weathered criticism on all fronts including a Saturday Night Live parody. The Trump administration hopes for clearer messaging and fewer leaks moving forward with a new team.
  2. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    He was tied with Kuchar with nine holes to play, but salvaged a remarkable bogey on the 13th after a wild slice off the tee went 100 yards to the right...
    -The New York Times (July 23, 2017)
    Jordan Spieth conquered his worst enemy, himself, to come from behind and win golf's British Open this week. After some early blunders, Spieth roared back and played brilliantly on the later holes, the very definition of "salvaging your round." With this victory, Spieth became only the second man to win three major tournaments before his twenty-fourth birthday, the other being the great Jack Nicklaus.
  3. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    ...the thousand-yard stare that previously beckoned listeners to join in jadedness has been replaced by an engaging and possibly unnerving grin. The idea of a Lana Del Rey who’s… warm? It’s a prospect that could give some give fans the shivers. -Variety (July 21, 2017)
    Lana del Rey released her new album this week, and apparently she is changing her image by cheering up a bit. As a fan of her unhappy music, this disappoints me. I had my whole summer planned out — I was looking forward to sitting inside and brooding to the sounds of her new release. If Lana Is happy now, does this mean I too should actually go outside and try to enjoy myself? Let's not go that far...
  4. ridicule
    the act of deriding or treating with contempt
    President Trump won the election because he had a better message and ran a smarter campaign...not because he had help from Russia. “Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him,” Mr. Kushner said...
    - The New York Times (July 24, 2017)
    Presidential advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner testified before Congress this week about meetings he attended with Russian officials. His testimony was held behind closed doors, but this quote comes from a brief public statement he made afterwards. Kushner vehemently denied collusion with the Russian government, and by using the word ridicule implied that anyone who suggests that Russia helped the Trump campaign win the election insults the Americans who voted for Mr. Trump.
  5. lucrative
    producing a sizeable profit
    It would all make for a smooth, perhaps even glamorous exit for Mr. Bewkes, and certainly a lucrative one, given that he stands to earn as much as $95 million if the merger is completed and he leaves the company. - The New York Times (July 24, 2017)
    Jeffrey Bewkes, the CEO of Time Warner, gets $95 million dollars if the merger with AT&T succeeds and he exits the company. Where can I get a job like that? I've been at parties and other social functions where people are obviously desperate for me to leave, but no one's actually paid me to go. I promise I'd be a bargain compared to $95 million, too. Maybe twenty bucks and a candy bar, and you'll never see me again...
  6. halting
    limping; not able to walk steadily or properly
    Step by halting step, former Olympic high jumper Jamie Nieto made good on his vow to walk wife Shevon down the aisle after their wedding and out the door to a waiting limousine. -The L.A. Times (July 23, 2017)
    Our feel-good story of the week comes from the world of Olympic sports. Just 15 months after an injury left him partially paralyzed, high jumper Jamie Nieto was able to walk down the aisle with his wife after their wedding ceremony. Halting or not, the fact that Nieto was able to walk again at all is a huge accomplishment and the best wedding present ever.
  7. exhume
    dig up for reburial or for medical investigation
    Dalí's body was exhumed from a crypt in a museum dedicated to his life and work on Thursday evening. BBC (Jul 21, 2017)
    A woman claiming to be Salvador Dali's child sued to exhume the body of the deceased surrealist and prove her claim via DNA evidence. One observer stated that, twenty-eight years after Dali's death, his mustache is still intact. With his taste for the off-kilter and macabre, one has to think that Dali might enjoy this entire saga, including the detail that his mustache pointed, like the hands of a melting clock, to ten minutes past ten.
  8. levy
    impose and collect
    By a 419-3 vote, the House approved a bill to that would levy new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Guardian (Jul 25, 2017)
    Typically when new sanctions against countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea are proposed, it makes the news but doesn't dominate it. However, when the president's team is being investigated for possibly colluding with Russia, such a levy becomes very big news indeed. Pundits speculate: Will Trump veto the sanctions? Or be forced to sign them even if he doesn't want to, to signal that there was no such collusion. No one could claim that the news out of Washington is boring these days.
  9. jaunt
    a journey taken for pleasure
    the extended jaunt kicked off on March 9, 2016 in Seattle and took Bieber all over North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America -ew.com ( July 24, 2017)
    Justin Bieber cancelled the remainder of his world tour this week, and maybe we should give the guy a break. He has been touring for over a year and must be exhausted. Plus, it's hard to grow up in the spotlight, or so I hear. Inevitably, in a wacky world where a CEO gets $95 million for quitting and Lana Del Rey gets perky, the Biebs will be back with a tune so catchy and a tour so massive that no one will be able to ignore him. Maybe we don't need to feel too bad for the guy.
  10. dismantle
    take apart into its constituent pieces
    The Senate in the early hours of Friday morning rejected a new, scaled-down Republican plan to repeal parts of the ACA, derailing the Republicans’ seven-year campaign to dismantle President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. -The New York Times (July 28, 2017)
    In a dramatic late-night 49-51 vote, the Senate defeated the latest proposal to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. Republican Senator John McCain, just returning from brain surgery after his cancer diagnosis, cast the deciding vote.
Created on Mon Jul 24 15:34:11 EDT 2017 (updated Thu Sep 14 10:51:52 EDT 2017)

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