Vocabulary Word Accolade n An expression of approval

Vocabulary Word: Accolade (n): An expression of approval; an award

Impromptu Topic #1 Convince us to vote for you as President of the USA.

Vocabulary Word: Acrimony (n): Bitter, sharp hostility, especially in speech

Impromptu Topic #2 Explain three uses for a pencil besides for writing.

Vocabulary Word: Angst (n): A feeling of anxiety or apprehension

Impromptu Topic #3 Explain which letter of the alphabet is the best and why.

Vocabulary Word: Boondoggle (n): An unnecessary or wasteful activity

Impromptu Topic #4 If I could only eat three foods forever…

Vocabulary Word: Bravado (n): A show of bravery or defiance intended to impress

Impromptu Topic #5 Explain why books are important.

Vocabulary Word: Brusque (n): Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; rudely blunt

Impromptu Topic #8 You are an ant. Convince an anteater not to eat you.

Vocabulary Word: Cabalistic (adj): Having a secret or hidden meaning

Impromptu Topic #6 Convince us that homework is bad for your health.

Vocabulary Word: Capricious(adj) Impulsive and unpredictable

Impromptu Topic #7 Things I’ll never eat…

Vocabulary Word: Carte blanche (noun) Unrestricted, unconditional authority

Impromptu Topic #6 The most dangerous jobs in the world…

Vocabulary Word: Catch-22 (noun) A set of contradictory rules that make it impossible to attain a desired outcome

Vocabulary Enrichment: Catch-22 was invented by Joseph Heller in his 1955 novel, Catch-22, which takes place in Italy during WWII. When the main character, a pilot, asks if it is possible to be grounded for insanity, here is the answer:

Vocabulary Enrichment: “There was only one catch and that was Catch 22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. ”

Impromptu Topic #11 You are a salesperson trying to sell us the shirt you have on.

Vocabulary Word: Caustic (adj): Critical or sarcastic; cutting

Impromptu Topic #13 You are a mad scientist. Tell us about your latest invention.

Vocabulary Word: Disheveled (adj): Marked by disorder; untidy

Vocabulary Enrichment: Disheveled comes from the Middle English discheveled, meaning, “having no hat or headdress on, and therefore (since a hat or headdress kept the hair in place) having one’s hair in disorder. ” In modern English, of course, more than hair can be disheveled!

Impromptu Topic #15 If everything in the world had to change to the same color, what color would you choose and why?

Vocabulary Word: Ennui (noun): Listlessness and boredom resulting from lack of interest

Impromptu Topic #9 Explain three different ways to eat an Oreo cookie.

Vocabulary Word: Esoteric (adj): Intended for or understood by only a restricted number of people.

Impromptu Topic #12 Explain the benefits of drinking milk.

Vocabulary Word: Fastidious (adj): Displaying meticulous attention to detail

Impromptu Topic #14 Explain which came first: the chicken or the egg.

Vocabulary Word: Faus Pas (noun): A social blunder

Impromptu Topic #16 Describe how you would modify a snail so it can go faster.

Vocabulary Word: Freudian Slip (noun): A verbal mistake thought to reveal an unconscious belief, thought, or emotion

Impromptu Topic #17 Convince our principal to give students their birthdays off of school.

Vocabulary Word: Glib (adj): Performed with a natural, offhand ease

Impromptu Topic #18 If I had a million dollars to give away…

Vocabulary Word: Heresy (noun): An opinion or teaching in conflict with established beliefs and opinions

Impromptu Topic #19 If dogs ruled the world…

Vocabulary Word: Idyllic (adj): Tranquil, carefree, or picturesque

Impromptu Topic #20 If I could design a school…

Vocabulary Word: Junket (noun): A trip taken by an official at public expense

Impromptu Topic #21 If I could have dinner with anyone…

Vocabulary Word: Kitsch (noun): Art or other objects appealing to popular taste, as by being gaudy or overly sentimental

Impromptu Topic #22 If I could travel through time…

Vocabulary Word: Litany (noun): A repetitive recital or list

Vocabulary Enrichment: Originally the word litany designated a specific type of liturgical prayer. A member of the clergy pronounces a long series of varying supplications or invocations, after which the congregation responds with a fixed formula. Litanies can be quite long, thus the modern day meaning.

Impromptu Topic #24 Three things that I’d change if I ruled the world are…

Vocabulary Word: Lurid (adj): Vivid description or explicit details meant to shock

Vocabulary Enrichment: When lurid first appeared in English in the mid 1600 s, the word described things that are pale in a sickly or disturbing way. Pliny the Younger in Rome used the adjective to describe the unsettling color of the sun shining through a cloud of ash in his account of the devastating volcanic eruption that buried Pompeii.

Impromptu Topic #25 The worst chores to do at home are…

Vocabulary Word: Machiavellian (adj): Characterized by cunning and deceit

Vocabulary Enrichment: Niccolo Machiavelli’s two major works, The Prince and Discourses on Livy, describe the ways in which a determined ruler can achieve and maintain power through indifference to moral considerations. His soberly realistic assessments of human affairs led to the use of the word Machiavellian to describe any policy or behavior characterized by expediency, deceit, or cunning.

Impromptu Topic #23 What I’ve learned from cartoons…

Vocabulary Word: Machismo (adj): A strong sense of masculinity; aggressiveness, domination of womebn

Impromptu Topic #24 If I could be a certain age forever…

Vocabulary Word: Malaise (n): A vague feeling of bodily discomfort; depression; unease

Impromptu Topic #26 Some situations in which lying is morally justified are…

Vocabulary Word: Moribund (adj): Approaching death; about to die

Impromptu Topic #26 If you were an animal, what would you be?

Vocabulary Word: Malinger (v): To fake illness in order to avoid work or duty

Impromptu Topic #27 Make up a threesentence story using the following items: 1. Cabbage 2. A pencil 3. Brad Pitt

Vocabulary Word: Mantra (n): A word or phrase expressed repeatedly to motivate

Vocabulary Enrichment: In Hindusim and Buddhism, a mantra is a sacred verbal formula recited, often repeatedly, as a part of prayer, meditation, or incantation. A mantra can be an invocation of a god, a magic spell, a portion of scripture, or even a single syllable, like OM, that is believed to have mystical properties.

Impromptu Topic #27 If I were invisible for a day, I would…

Vocabulary Word: Maudlin (adj): Excessively sentimental

Impromptu Topic #29 Defend a position: Teachers should/should not give grades

Vocabulary Word: Misnomer (n): A name wrongly or unsuitably applied to a person or an object

Impromptu Topic #27 A law should be made that….

Vocabulary Word: Narcissist (n): One who is excessively preoccupied with oneself

Vocabulary Enrichment: Narcissus was a beautiful young man, the son of a nymph and a river-god. He had many admirers but spurned them all, so he was cursed for his hardheartedness. He fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water, even trying to kiss it and talked to his reflection. Eventually, he pined away and died of his unfulfilled love. When the nymphs came to give him a proper funeral, they found the narcissus flower nodding over the pool in place of his body.