self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain

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Definition: verb to deviate from the truth : equivocate : lie
Etymology: Latin praevaricatus, past participle of praevaricari to act in collusion, literally, to straddle, from prae- + varicare to straddle, from varus bowlegged
(circa 1631)
Quotation:
In my younger days, when I was sent out from Patton, Corbett & Strode to depose people — claimants, witnesses, local [...]

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Definition: noun 1: the low-cut neckline of a dress  2: a décolleté dress   3: bust
Etymology: French, action of cutting or wearing a low neckline, from décolleter
Quotation: “First came Casual Fridays, that dread episode in the history of fashion, with their invitation for men to trade in suits for Dockers and to swap a proper [...]

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Definition: noun (also leitmotiv) a dominant recurring theme
Etymology: German Leitmotiv, from leiten to lead + Motiv motive
Quotation: “Salvatore’s suppressed longings are a sly leitmotif: on Valentine’s Day all across the city the women want to watch television to see Jacqueline Kennedy give a tour of the White House, whereas their men grouse and turn away. [...]

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Definition: noun  1: writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased  2: something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface
Etymology: Latin palimpsestus, from Greek palimpsēstos scraped again, from palin + psēn to rub, scrape; akin to Sanskrit psāti, babhasti he [...]

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Definition: the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase; especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context.
Etymology: Mrs. Malaprop, character noted for her misuse of words in R. B. Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals (1775)
Quotation: “Earlier this year a friend of [...]

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Definition: noun 1a: a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning b: a widely held belief c: truism, platitude   2a: a use of language regarded as distinctive of a particular group b: a custom or usage regarded as distinguishing one [...]

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Definition: 1: hairy   2: covered with coarse stiff hairs
Etymology: Latin hirsutus; akin to Latin horrēre to bristle
Pronunciation: \ˈhər-ˌsüt, ˈhir-, ˌhər-ˈ, hir-ˈ\
Quotation: Flight of the Conchords’ “two laconic, hirsute New Zealanders — Jemaine Clement (glasses, sideburns) and Bret McKenzie (no glasses, beard) — are emblematic artists for an age of diminished expectations.”
- from “Where a Little [...]

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Definition: 1: marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness   2: marked by a careless unconventionality : rakish
Quotation:
For the museum, founded in 1917 and guarded by two 18-inch guns from a World War I dreadnought, there is something — well, raffish — in the staging of an exhibition about the glamorous, gadget-wielding, womanizing, devil-may-care [...]

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Definition: 1: the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal : treachery  2: an act or an instance of disloyalty
Etymology: Latin perfidia, from perfidus faithless, from per- detrimental to + fides faith
Quotation:
When the facts started surfacing in the ’60s, his sole comment was two dry lines about the duke in his diary: “Secret papers [...]

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