The Poster Below Me GRE Mnemonics Game

[JoeySsance]

Hey everyone! So I've gotten a few PMs from people who liked the vocab mnemonics I posted on other threads, so I thought I might start a new thread strictly for mnemonics and vocab practice. Here's how I'm envisioning the game will work (and I'm totally open to suggestions for modifying it). While it would be of most use to those of us who haven't taken the GRE yet or will be retaking it in the near future, anyone can play! (A good vocabulary is a great asset whether you have to take the GRE or not). This is how the game will work:

Poster #1:

• ...will define and offer a good mnemonic for a tough GRE word. "Tough" is relative, of course, but words with obscure second meanings and infrequently used English words are fair game. When I study vocab, I tend to go back and forth between making slightly longer, story-like mnemonics and short and sweet ones based on word roots or other cool tricks. Just be creative.
• After offering a mnemonic, the poster will provide a GRE verbal question (e.g. an antonym or an analogy) with multiple choices for more practice. It can either be made up by the poster or modified slightly from a review book or past test.
• Finally, with a little variation on "the poster below me" game, the poster will make a statement about the next poster using another good GRE word.
  
  • ...will first answer the practice question from the previous post (providing a good bridge if it's an analogy).
  • Then s/he will clear her/his good name by responding "true" or "false" to the statement made about her/him earlier.
  • And will then use that word to continue the cycle (define it --> offer a good mnemonic for it --> give a practice question --> pick a new word and attribute it in some way to the next poster).

I know it sounds pretty intricate, but I'm sure it'll be one of those things where if there's enough interest and the game reaches a critical mass of sorts, it will become second-nature to everyone. By the way, this is a better place than any to flaunt your GRE vocab without feeling like you'll raise people's eyebrows, so if you know some obscure words, come share; we won't judge you (at least not in simple terms!). I'll start. I'm labeling the four parts of the game for reference, i.e. "definition" --> "mnemonic" --> "question" --> "new word," but hopefully later on we won't need the labels. Oh yeah, and I'm throwing in some smileys for fun, because A: Grad Café smileys are awesome and, B: they happen to work well with my example. (Over)use of smileys is entirely optional.

DEFINITION -- Assignation n. a secret rendezvous (especially between lovers)

MNEMONIC -- The lovers assigned nicknames to each other so their spouses wouldn't suspect that they were planning their secret meetings:

Lover #1: "So are we still on for our 'business meeting,' Ms. Capulet?"

Lover #2: "Of course, Mr. Montague, anytime and anywhere that is convenient for you."

Lover #1: "Alright, 5:30pm in my office. See you there."

Unfortunately, the lovers underestimated their spouses' knowledge of Shakespeare (it just so happened that their spouses had Ph.Ds in English). Their little assignation was thwarted when they had unexpected company at their "business meeting."

QUESTION --

ASSIGNATION : LOVER ::

A. apportionment : aficionado

B. designation : passion

C. tryst : paramour

D. rendezvous : friend

E. assignment : student

NEW WORD -- TPBM (the poster below me) has a hirsute belly.

Edited November 14, 2010 by JoeySsance

[hotmessexpress]

What a creative idea, lol. I'm game!

ASSIGNATION : LOVER ::

A. apportionment : aficionado

B. designation : passion

C. tryst : paramour

D. rendezvous : friend

E. assignment : student

C. Assignation : lover :: tryst : paramour

An assignation is a secret meeting between lovers and a tryst is a secret meeting between paramours (which is a synonym for "lovers").

TPBM (the poster below me) has a hirsute belly.

True, lol. My chest and abdomen do happen to be somewhat hirsute.

Hirsute adj. hairy

George had to buy a hairy suit in order to pull off looking like a hirsute gorilla for Halloween.

HIRSUTE

A. congenial

B. whimsical

C. refulgent

D. glabrous

E. austere

The poster below me has at some point in his or her life secretly participated in the production of a samizdat publication.

Edited November 14, 2010 by hotmessexpress

[JoeySsance]

What a creative idea, lol. I'm game!

I'm glad to see some interest. Great response post by the way! Here's my attempt...

HIRSUTE

A. congenial

B. whimsical

C. refulgent

D. glabrous

E. austere

This question is chock-full of good GRE vocab. Would there ever be a question this sadistic on the exam? Thanks for the practice, though (and for teaching me some new words)!

The answer is, D: Glabrous means having no hair which is the opposite of hirsute, or hairy.

The poster below me has at some point in his or her life secretly participated in the production of a samizdat publication.

This was a new word for me, too! False, I have never helped write or distribute underground newspapers before. And if I had, what makes you think I would publicly admit to it here for the world to see?!

Samizdat n. / adj. Underground production of banned or censored literature or similar publications.

Dissident #1: Hey, isn't that a copy of the *whispers* banned newspaper you're reading?

Dissident #2: Well, it's the the same as that, only a samizdat, uncensored version, shhh...

Dissident #1: You'd better be careful! Sam's dad was involved in... distributing samizdat papers and now Sam's dad is dead !

SAMIZDAT : BANNED

A. amity : friendly

B. bootleg : illicit

C. law : abrogated

D. love : forbidden

E. money : offered

The poster below me can, like me, be minatory in the morning if unnecessarily disturbed from her/his sound sleep.

Edited to add a practice question!

Edited November 14, 2010 by JoeySsance

[HopefulGrad2B]

Sweet, this is just what I need!

SAMIZDAT : BANNED

A. amity : friendly

B. bootleg : illicit

C. law : abrogated

D. love : forbidden

E. money : offered

B. A samizdat is a banned publication distributed underground just as a bootleg is an illicit item distributed underground. Nice choice of words. I've never come across that one before, but it's good to know!

The poster below me can, like me, be minatory in the morning if unnecessarily disturbed from her/his sound sleep.

Well, maybe a little cranky, but I wouldn't exactly say minatory! Haha.

Minatory adj. Threatening, menacing; foreshadowing evil or tragic developments.

Little did the hero know the minatory fate that awaited him at the center of the labyrinth in the clutches of the evil Minotaur, the minatory monster of the maze who destroyed his human victims!

MINATORY

A. propitious

B. foreboding

C. sybaritic

D. labyrinthine

E. mettlesome

The poster below me was at some point or is currently a member of a coterie of some kind.

[hotmessexpress]

MINATORY

A. propitious

B. foreboding

C. sybaritic

D. labyrinthine

E. mettlesome

A. Propitious means likely to result in success while minatory means likely to result in tragedy.

The poster below me was at some point or is currently a member of a coterie of some kind.

Many think of the Ivy League as a coterie of its own, but I’ve personally never been the cliquish type.

Coterie n. A clique, an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose

High schools nowadays have the most bizarre cliques, like the group of friends who wear fancy fur coats while climbing trees. They call themselves the Coat Tree Coterie.

COTERIE

A. clique

B. reverie

C. dysentery

D. potlatch

E. hoi-polloi

The poster below me has no quarter sometimes (and I mean something very different from lacking 25-cent coins once in a while).

Edited November 15, 2010 by hotmessexpress

[monotreme]

A. Propitious means likely to result in success while minatory means likely to result in tragedy.

Many think of the Ivy League as a coterie of its own, but I’ve personally never been the cliquish type.

Coterie n. A clique, an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose

High schools nowadays have the most bizarre cliques, like the group of friends who wear fancy fur coats while climbing trees. They call themselves the Coat Tree Coterie.

COTERIE

A. clique

B. reverie

C. dysentery

D. potlatch

E. hoi-polloi

E. Hoi-polloi ~ the masses; common people

The poster below me has no quarter sometimes (and I mean something very different from lacking 25-cent coins once in a while).

i might have quarters of the monetary kind and/or lodgings, but i have no enemies to whom to give no quarter!

quarter (n) ~ pity or mercy shown toward an enemy or opponent who is in one's power

After being promised the kingdom by the emperor, the older twin brother gave no quarter to his sibling and promptly banished him to Siberia.

QUARTER : MERCY

A. temerity : boldness

B. sedulous : lazy

C. rapacious : generous

D. vouchsafe : forgive

E. gambol : walk

I hope the poster below me is not hapless in his/her pursuit of a high score on the GRE!

[JoeySsance]

Hey monotreme! I really like your sentence for quarter. Thanks for participating! I hope you and the rest who have posted so far will keep gracing this thread with your great mnemonics!

QUARTER : MERCY

A. temerity : boldness

B. sedulous : lazy

C. rapacious : generous

D. vouchsafe : forgive

E. gambol : walk

A. Quarter is characterized by a display of mercy while temerity is characterized by a display of boldness.

I hope the poster below me is not hapless in his/her pursuit of a high score on the GRE!

Don't worry, I think I'm bound to do well. The more awesome words that come up on this thread, perhaps the better!

Hapless adj. Deserving or inciting pity; very unlucky, ill-fated

"Wh-wh-why d-d-does th-this alw-w-ways hap-hap-hap-ppen to me?" the hapless bully magnet stuttered to himself in the cold, after his mean fellow campers deserted the lake with his clothes. "Wh-why c-c-an't I b-b-be hap-hap-hap-hap-happy ins-t-t-tead of hap-hap-hap-hapless all th-the t-t-t-ime?!"

HAPLESS

A. heedful

B. fractious

C. surreptitious

D. auspicious

E. harrowing

The poster below me didn't know (before doing a little research) that beneath the common misconception that enormity means largeness (which has become an accepted meaning), lies a definition that involves evil.

[GK Chesterton]

In response to beseeching personal messages -

D, auspicious. Auspicious: promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable: an auspicious occasion.

Indeed, the enormity of my ignorance surely deserves itself to be counted amongst histories great enormities.

Enormity (second definition) : N. A grave crime or sin: the enormities of the regime

The enormity of the GRE vocabulary, and its arbitrary nature with respect to alternate definitions, calls to mind a range of associations: e - norm - ity is a combination of e - vil, ab-norm-al moral standards and inequal - ity.

Enormity: Event

A brush : applicator

B lawmaker : government

C costume : gala

D conductor : orchestra

E novice : adept

Surely the person below me wishes that whomever designed the GRE vocabulary section receives condign compensation for such depravity.

Edited November 15, 2010 by GK Chesterton

[hotmessexpress]

Enormity: Event

A brush : applicator

B lawmaker : government

C costume : gala

D conductor : orchestra

E novice : adept

A. An enormity is a certain class of event and a brush is a certain class of applicator.

Surely the person below me wishes that whomever designed the GRE vocabulary section receives condign compensation for such depravity.

I wish you would receive condign compensation for the enormity of the GRE question you posted! *Whew*

Condign adj. Fitting, appropriate and deserved (usually said of punishment).

The murderer was condemned to die. Your view of whether this condemnation is condign depends on what you opine of capital punishment.

CONDIGN : APPOSITE

A. supine : fitting

B. recondite : abstruse

C. consigned : opposite

D. apropos : opportune

E. torpid : phlegmatic

The poster below me can have chutzpah sometimes, but may or may not have known that the "c" in that awesome adjective is silent.

Edited November 16, 2010 by hotmessexpress

[HopefulGrad2B]

CONDIGN : APPOSITE

A. supine : fitting

B. recondite : abstruse

C. consigned : opposite

D. apropos : opportune

E. torpid : phlegmatic

D. Something condign is done in an apposite (i.e. appropriate) manner. Something apropos is done in an opportune (i.e. appropriate) manner.

The poster below me can have chutzpah sometimes, but may or may not have known that the "c" in that awesome adjective is silent.

Sure, I can, depending on the situation. When I was younger, my friend’s grandfather would always say to my friend and his siblings, “You have a lot of chutzpah, you know!” when they talked back to their parents, so I’ve actually heard it pronounced before. It’s a really cool word!

Chutzpah n. The author of The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten, defines chutzpah as, “gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible 'guts,' presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to.”

This image should help it stick in your memory. Remember President Obama’s The Audacity of Hope?

http://starkster.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/audacity_of_chutzpah_cover.jpg?w=480&h=739

Remember this: The Audacity of Chutzpah (since chutzpah is roughly pronounced: HUTS-pah and “hope” shares the “h” and “p”). You have the added benefit of associating chutzpah with its definition: “audacity.” The Audacity of Chutzpah. The Chutzpah of Hope?

CHUTZPAH

A. effrontery

B. affront

C. doggerel

D. penury

E. deference

Can the poster below me make an analogy between chess and another game using the words gambit and a corresponding word from the other game? (I’ve actually seen an analogy like this on one of ETS’s released past GREs!)

[vertige]

Sorry this isn't playing the game well, but just fyi, for minatory I always think of "minotaur", as in a scary mythical beast haha....

Sweet, this is just what I need!

B. A samizdat is a banned publication distributed underground just as a bootleg is an illicit item distributed underground. Nice choice of words. I've never come across that one before, but it's good to know!

Well, maybe a little cranky, but I wouldn't exactly say minatory! Haha.

Minatory adj. Threatening, menacing; foreshadowing evil or tragic developments.

Little did the hero know the minatory fate that awaited him at the center of the labyrinth in the clutches of the evil Minotaur, the minatory monster of the maze who destroyed his human victims!

MINATORY

A. propitious

B. foreboding

C. sybaritic

D. labyrinthine

E. mettlesome

The poster below me was at some point or is currently a member of a coterie of some kind.

[JoeySsance]

CHUTZPAH

A. effrontery

B. affront

C. doggerel

D. penury

E. deference

E. Someone with chutzpah is brazen (unrestrained by propriety) while someone with deference is courteous (abiding by expectations of propriety).

Can the poster below me make an analogy between chess and another game using the words gambit and a corresponding word from the other game? (I’ve actually seen an analogy like this on one of ETS’s released past GREs!)

Hmm... this is an interesting one. Here's my best shot!

Gambit n. An opening remark intending to secure an advantage for the speaker; a chess move early in the game in which the player sacrifices minor pieces in order to obtain an advantageous position; a ploy or maneuver in a game or conversation.

I've scoured youtube to find the final battle scene in the movie X-Men: The Last Stand where Magneto restrains his most powerful allies who want to join the fight with alacrity and reminds them that, "In chess, the pawns go first." Well, I couldn't find the clip but if you remember: "in chess the pawns go first," that's essentially the gist of what gambit means. When the pawns are gone, it raises the stakes of the game a bit (and if one is particularly skilled at chess, they may be in one's favor).

GAMBIT : CHESS

A. fumble : football

B. legerdemain : cards

C. finesse : bridge

D. gamble : casino

E. gesture : charades

The poster below me will, with alacrity, define the underlined term in my mnemonic above.

[Rodeokinney]

GAMBIT : CHESS

A. fumble : football

B. legerdemain : cards

C. finesse : bridge

D. gamble : casino

E. gesture : charades

C.

GAMBIT : CHESS :: FINESSE : BRIDGE

A gambit is an opening sacrifice of a low value piece in order to gain an advantage in the game of chess.

A finesse is an opening sacrifice of a low value card in order to gain advantage in the game of bridge.

'Wikipedia:Finesse' saves the day! ... Sure hope we don't see sentences this intense on the GRE!!

The poster below me will, with alacrity, define the underlined term in my mnemonic above.

Alacrity - n. eager and enthusiastic willingness (as defined by The Princeton Review)

The alacrity with which students headed for the door when the bell rang was a sure indication that the class was boring.

Mnemonic: Someone with alacrity will lack resistance, or in other words they 'have willingness.'

ALACRITY : RECALCITRANT

A. Approval : Caustic

B. Complaisance : Dogmatic

C. Seditious : Resistant

D. Avarice : Generous

E. Profligation : Extravagant

TPBM might be parsimonious, and will share with the rest of the class what this word means in conventional definition form.