UNUSUAL WORDS XXXIV

Reader's Digest 

September, 2009

Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Each of the common words listed below has a second, surprisingly different, meaning. Do you know any of them?

1. PEN

2. SHY

3. ROTE

4. POKE 

5. BARK

6. PANIC

7. PULSE

8. FETCH

9. OUNCE

10. DEFILE

11. BURDEN

12. PAINTER

13. MOGUL 

14. KEEN

15. SPOON

Answers:

 

1. PEN - Male swan

2. SHY - To sling or hurl 

3. ROTE - Sound of the surf 

4. POKE - A sack or bag

5. BARK - Bump or scrape

6. PANIC - A kind of grass

7. PULSE - Plants like peas and beans

8. FETCH - A ghost

9. OUNCE - Snow leopard

10. DEFILE - A narrow ravine

11. BURDEN - The refrain of a song

12. PAINTER - Line for mooring a boat 

13. MOGUL - Ski slope bump 

14. KEEN - Lament, wail

15. SPOON -Be lovey-dovey