z Although +REVRQ¶VFKRLFH refers to a choice between something
and nothing, it has also taken on a second sense: a choice between
two equally undesirable alternatives. For example, suppose two
corrupt politicians were the only two candidates running for mayor
in your town. Strictly speaking, this would not be a Hobson’s
choice because you do have a choice, even if it’s a choice between
two terrible alternatives. Purists argue that this situation is more
properly termed a dilemma.Stultify (verb)
- To cause to lose interest; to cause to feel dull and not alert.
- To render useless or ineffectual.
z The word stultify brings to mind a hot, stuffy classroom with a
monotonous lecturer. The students are sapped of all energy and left
exhausted by the end of the class.z To remember stultify, use the word-part connection strategy.
Highlight the stul in stultify and connect it to the rhyming word
dull. In your vocabulary notebook, write down that a dull lecture
will stultify the listeners, leaving them bored and exhausted.Frisson (noun)
An almost pleasurable sensation of fright.z Frisson is the perfect word for those who like to watch horror
movies or read suspenseful thrillers. It refers to a strange
combination of fright and excitement. Perhaps vocabulary.com
describes frisson best: a “thrilling shiver” whose “meaning lies
directly between thrill and fear.”z Frisson came into English in the 1700s from the French word
frisson, meaning “shiver, thrill,” which came from the Latin frigeo,
“to be cold.”