SANDBAG是沙包吗？

sandbag \SAND-bag\ verb
1 : to bank, stop up, or weight with sandbags
2 : to hit or stun with or as if with a sandbag b : to treat unfairly or harshly
*3 : to conceal or misrepresent one's true position, potential, or intent especially in order to take advantage of

Example sentence: Shortly after agreeing to place a wager on the match, I realized I had been sandbagged and was clearly outmatched by my opponent.

Did you know? In the 19th century, the verb "sandbag" began to be used to describe the act of bludgeoning someone with a small, sand-filled bag -- a tactic employed by ruffians, usually as a prelude to robbing their victims. The verb went on to develop metaphorical extensions, such as "to coerce by crude means." By the 1940s, it was being used of a strategy in which a poker player with a good hand bets weakly, in order to draw other players into holding on to their hands and raising the bet. The use of "sandbag" has since evolved to refer to a general strategy of playing down one's position in order to gain some sort of advantage.

dilatory

dilatory \DILL-uh-tor-ee\ adjective
*1 : tending or intended to cause delay
2 : characterized by procrastination : tardy

Example sentence: The Senator's seemingly endless motions to adjourn were clearly dilatory.


Did you know? Slow down. Set a leisurely pace. What's the hurry? If procrastination is your style, "dilatory" is the word for you. That term has been used in English to describe things that cause delay since at least the 15th century, and its ancestors were hanging around with similar meanings long before that. If you take the time to trace the roots of "dilatory," you will discover that it derives from "dilatus," the past participle of the Latin verb "differre," which meant either "to postpone" or "to differ." If you think "differre" looks like several English words, you have a discerning eye. That verb is also an ancestor of the words "different" and "defer."

apathy \AP-uh-thee\ noun

apathy \AP-uh-thee\ noun
1 : lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
*2 : lack of interest or concern : indifference

Example sentence: Every electoral season, editorials in the local newspaper complain about voter apathy and cynicism.

Did you know? There's no reason to be uncaring about the origins of "apathy" -- though there is a clue to the word's beginnings in that sentence. "Apathy" was borrowed into English in the late 16th century from Greek "apatheia," which itself comes from the adjective "apathes," meaning "without feeling." "Apathes," in turn, was formed by combining the negating prefix "a-" with "pathos," meaning "emotion." Incidentally, if you've guessed that "pathos" is the source of the identically spelled noun in English (meaning either "an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion" or "an emotion of sympathetic pity"), you are correct. "Pathos" also gave us such words as "antipathy," "empathy," "sympathy," "pathetic," and even the archaic word "pathematic" ("emotional").

多姿多彩的chirography

chirography \kye-RAH-gruh-fee\ noun
*1 : handwriting, penmanship
2 : calligraphy

Example sentence: As she leafed through her father's old book, Sheila noted that its margins were filled with annotations made in his distinct chirography.

Did you know? Some might argue that handwriting is a dying art in this age of electronic communication. Nevertheless, we have a fancy word for it. The root "graph" means "writing" and appears in many common English words such as "autograph" and "graphite." The lesser-known root "chir," or "chiro-," comes from a Greek word meaning "hand" and occurs in words such as "chiromancy" ("the art of palm reading") and "enchiridion" ("a handbook or manual"), as well as "chiropractic." "Chirography" first appeared in English in the 17th century and probably derived from "chirograph," a now rare word referring to a legal document or indenture. "Chirography" should not be confused with "choreography," which refers to the composition and arrangement of dances.

SC：提到个有中国味的书法这个词，大家心中可以想出多少个英语单词呢，看到如今网络盛行的时代，提到书法不免有怀旧和心动的感觉，你也一样吗？

inveterate

inveterate \in-VET-uh-rut\ adjective
1 : firmly established by long persistence
*2 : confirmed in a habit : habitual

Example sentence: Since Ernie is an inveterate liar, we naturally didn't believe him when he told us he'd met the movie star.

Did you know? Like "veteran," "inveterate" ultimately comes from Latin "vetus," which means "old," and which led to the Latin verb "inveterare" ("to age"). That verb in turn gave rise eventually to the adjective "inveteratus," the direct source of our adjective "inveterate" (in use since the 14th century). In the past, "inveterate" has meant "long-standing" or simply "old." For example, one 16th-century writer warned of "Those great Flyes which in the springe time of the yeare creepe out of inveterate walls." Today, "inveterate" most often applies to a habit, attitude, or feeling of such long existence that it is practically ineradicable or unalterable.

somnolent

somnolent \SOM-nuh-luhnt\, adjective:
1. Sleepy; drowsy; inclined to sleep.
2. Tending to cause sleepiness or drowsiness.

In his case, restrained ultimately meant boring, as the audience was lulled into a somnolent state.-- Teresa Wiltz, "The Hip, the Flip, the Flop", Washington Post, March 3, 2000

Meanwhile, many a somnolent local authority has been stirred into action by Davidson's blunt approach.-- John Lucas, "Memorials are made of these on the eve of Remembrance Sunday", Daily Telegraph, November 7, 1998

Back in the somnolent heat of Bangalore he wrote a revealing novel entitled Savrola.-- David Stafford, Churchill and Secret Service


Somnolent is from Latin somnolentus, from somnus, "sleep." A related word is insomnia (in-, "not" + somnus).

sanative

sanative
Definition:
(adjective) Having the power to cure; healing or restorative.

Synonyms:
alterative, curative, healing, remedial, therapeutic

Usage:
The doctor suggested that his asthmatic patient relocate to the sanative environment of the countryside, where the fresh mountain air is free of smog and pollution.