Music in Our Schools Month: Vocabulary from the Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, Volume I

Not to toot our own horn, but this collection is sure to strike a chord with music lovers. We’ve remixed noteworthy biographies, pitch-perfect fiction, catchy song lyrics, and essential music terminology. These vocabulary lists will be music to your ears!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. precis
    a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument
    Jessie wants to be lacy
    Lucy wants to be Jessie
    That's the sorrowful precis
    It's very messy
    -"The Story of Lucy and Jessie," Follies
  2. abstention
    the trait of avoiding some substance or activity
    While I'm in abstention
    In every dimension
    ...his wars
    Get attention,
    And I decompose
    Like a rose
    With a pension!
    -"My Husband, The Pig," written for A Little Night Music
  3. apse
    a projecting semicircular section of a building
    Look, perhaps
    I'll collapse
    In the apse
    Right before you all
    -"Getting Married Today," Company
  4. consign
    commit forever
    His hands were quick, his fingers strong
    It stung a little but not for long
    And those who thought him a simple clod
    We're soon reconsidering under the sod
    Consigned there with a friendly prod
    From Sweeney Todd
    The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
    -"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," Sweeney Todd
  5. upbraid
    express criticism towards
    One upbraids you
    For your faults and fancies
    One persuades you
    That the other one's wrong
    -"Old Friends," Merrily We Roll Along
  6. graft
    the practice of offering something for an illegal advantage
    Can you see me as a voter fighting graft and vice?
    (Sing it soft and nice...)
    -"Free," A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
  7. bereft
    lacking or deprived of something
    That's why he was standing back too far
    That's why when he aimed, he missed the car
    Just lucky I was there
    Or we'd have been left
    Bereft of FDR!
    -"How I Saved Roosevelt," Assassins
  8. irascible
    quickly aroused to anger
    He's a child and love's a test
    He's too young to pass
    Impassable!

    He has asthma, gout, a wife
    Lumbago and gas...
    Irascible!
    -"Impossible," A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
    Lumbago is a backache affecting the lower region of the back.
    Gout is swelling of the toes and feet caused by uric acid deposits in the blood and joints.
  9. hinder
    prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    Beauty can't be hindered
    From taking its toll
    You may lose control
    Faced with these Loreleis
    What man can moralize?
    -"Beautiful Girls," Follies
    Lorelei was a siren of German legend who would lure boatmen in the Rhine to destruction.
  10. penchant
    a strong liking or preference
    In view of her penchant
    For something romantic
    De Sade is too trenchant
    And Dickens too frantic
    And Stendhal would ruin
    The plan of attack
    -"Now," A Little Night Music
  11. trenchant
    having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought
    In view of her penchant
    For something romantic
    De Sade is too trenchant
    And Dickens too frantic
    And Stendhal would ruin
    The plan of attack
    -"Now," A Little Night Music
  12. contemptuous
    expressing extreme scorn
    There are ships in the bay
    And they didn't ask permission
    But they sit there all day
    In contemptuous array
    With a letter to convey
    "Chrysanthemum Tea," Pacific Overtures
  13. gallant
    a man who attends or escorts a woman
    Sandwiches only
    But she eats
    What she wants when she wants
    Sometimes it's lonely
    But she meets
    Many handsome gallants
    -"The Glamorous Life," A Little Night Music (Film Version)
Created on Tue Dec 03 19:23:22 EST 2013 (updated Mon Mar 02 10:31:40 EST 2020)

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