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swindler, who would enter a town, mount a bench in the public
square to draw a crowd, and try to sell fake potions to a susceptible
public. To remember this word, picture a similar situation in your
mind or draw a quick sketch of it in your vocabulary notebook.
Keep mount in mind as your key word for PRXQWHEDQN.z You might also jot down a personal experience you’ve had with
someone who made extravagant claims about a product that didn’t
live up to its billing. Remember, making personal connections to
word meanings will help you to store these words in your lexicon
for later use in conversation and writing.z Synonyms for PRXQWHEDQN include charlatan, con artist,
ÀLPÀDPPHU, conniver, and shyster.Sophist (noun)One skilled in elaborate and devious argumentation.z Sophist refers to a different type of trickster—not one who tries to
sell you a counterfeit product, such as a PRXQWHEDQN, but one who
tries to sell you a counterfeit argument. Sophistry is a related word
that refers to the act of intentionally attempting to deceive someone
with a tricky, intellectually dishonest argument.z Think back to a time when you have watched a political debate. You
may have been swayed by one politician’s argument until a second
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reasoning and demonstrating how he or she played fast and loose
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politician was intentionally trying to deceive you with verbal
gymnastics. The name for a politician who tries to pull the wool
over your eyes in this way is a sophist.z Sophist comes from the Greek root sophos, meaning “wise,” as well
as “skilled or clever.” For sophists, the emphasis is more on “skilled
and clever” than “wise.”