Descriptionary

grist for the mill useful material to work with. The latest scandal should provide plenty of grist for the pundits' mill.

grovel vb. (GROV ul) to fawn; to cringe and kiss up to someone. The dutiful peasant is always expected to grovel at the king's feet.

guile n. (GILE) slyness and deceit. The swindler used sheer guile to separate victims from their money.

gilding the lily dressing up something that is already beautiful and cannot be improved. To people who like things natural, trimming a Christmas tree is only gilding the lily.

gullible adj. (GULL uh bul) naive; prone to believ­ing anything. Young children are quite gullible and easy to fool.

hackneyed adj. (HAK need) overfamiliar and unoriginal and therefore dull or ineffective. Replete with cliches, the student's writing was hopelessly hackneyed.

haggard adj. (HAG urd) gaunt or wild-eyed from exhaustion. By the time they reached the summit, the climbers were out of breath and haggard.

hallmark n. (HALL mark) an identifying character­istic. One of the hallmarks of a poor economy is high unemployment.

harbinger n. (HAR binj ur) a sign of things to come. Frequent spring rain is a harbinger of May flowers.

harrowing adj. (HAIR oh wing) frightening. The

rollercoaster is the most harrowing ride at the amuse­ment park.

haughty adj. (HAWT ee) arrogant and disdainful of others. The snob gave us a haughty look and departed.

hedonist n. (HEE dun ist) a self-indulgent pleasure seeker. During weekdays, I'm a hard worker, but on weekends I tend to become something of a hedonist.

heinous adj. (HAY nus) extremely wicked or evil. Mass murder is a heinous crime.

heterogeneous adj. (HET ur o GEE nee us) com­posed of differing elements; incongruous. America is famous for its richly heterogeneous society.

hiatus n. (hye AY tus) a break or rest from work. I've worked without a vacation all year, so next week I'm going to take a three-week hiatus.

hierarchy n. (HYE uh RAHR kee) an order of rank; a tier system of command. In the corporate hierarchy, I was a common peon.

highbrow n. (HYE brow) an intellectual; a scholar. Don't let highbrows intimidate you; everyone has gaps in their education.

histrionic adj. (his tree ON ik) theatrical or overly dramatic. My teenage daughter claimed with all sin­cerity that she would die if she wasn't allowed to go to the party, but she is often histrionic.

Hobson's choice n. a choice that is in reality no choice at all because it offers no alternative. I was offered a Hobson's choice: either I would stop pro­testing about poor working conditions or I would be fired.