From csmonitor.com: An abridged dictionary.

When I’m reading, I hate to stop to look up unfamiliar words. Fortunately, I don’t need to rely on a dictionary. I can figure out the meanings of words using my extraneous knowledge of English word roots, prefixes, and suffices.

I don’t need to look up "salacious," for instance, because I immediately recognize that it refers to specially discounted prices, as in, "The Fourth of July is a salacious holiday." I quickly see that "strident" means walking with long steps and that a "barista" is a female lawyer. My perfidious knowledge of the English language enables me to deduct the meaning of any unfamiliar word. For example: [continue]