1. antic: odd and funny; ludicrous; a playful or silly act, trick, prank or caper. Shakespeare has Hamlet hide his real intent by assuming an antic disposition.2. beguile: to charm; to divert attention in some pleasant way; to while away; to deceive.
3. bonhomie: frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner. The word is a combination of two French words meaning “good” and “man.” Bonhomie was the name given in order of begging friars and finally to French peasants in general.
4. dalliance: a trifling away of time; amorous toying; flirtation. In Hamlet, Ophelia reminds her brother Laertes not to give her moral advice while he follows “the primrose path of dalliance”
5. divertissement: a diversion or amusement; a short belief or other entertainment performed between the acts of a play.
6. euphoria: a feeling of well-being or high spirits, especially one that is groundless, disproportionate to its cause, or inappropriate to one’s life situation.
7. guffaw: a loud, coarse burst of laughter. This is an echoic onomatopoeic word. Laughs range from chuckles, giggles, and titters to snickers and guffaws
8. insouciance: calmness; freedom from anxiety; indifference
9. japery: jesting talk; mockery; a trick or practical joke
10. regale: to entertain by providing a splendid feast; to delight with something pleasing or amusing. The first meaning is related etymologically to the word regal, as it was customary for a king to treat his courtiers to sumptuous feasts.
11. risible: able or inclined to laugh; laughable; funny. Most people are familiar with Leoncavallo’s opera. Pagilacci, in which the major character sings “Ride, Pagilacci.” Our word ridiculous shows the close relationship to risible.
12. roguish: dishonest; unprincipled; pleasantly mischevious.
13. roister: to boast or swagger; to have a noisy; disorderly good time, especially under the influence of alcohol. This word can be traced to rustic and rural, indicating the low esteem in which the country ruffian and boor was held by the sophisticated city dweller.
14. squib: a firecracker that burns with a hissing, spurting noise before exploding; a short, humorous satirirc writing or speech; a short news item or filler.
15. waggish: roguishly merry, playful.
Exercises
I. Which Word Comes to Mind?
In each of the following, read the statement, then circle that comes to mind.
1. A pleasant intermission
(insouciance, divertissement, roister)
2. The laughter of the jolly green giant
(guffaw, euphoria, dalliance)
3. A ten-course banquet
(japery, regale, risible)
4. Racy humor
(bonhomie, waggish, beguile)
5. A satire
(antic, roguish, squib)
6. Laughing at the breakup of the marriage
(divertissement, insouciance, euphoria)
7. Honest, I was just kidding
(japery, regale, guffaw)
8. The morning-after hangover
(risible, roguish, roister)
9. A true friend
(bonhomie, squib, waggish)
10. A raging passion that cooled
(risible, dalliance, antic)
II. True or False?
In the space provided, indicate whether each statement is true or false?
____ 1. You cannot trust a man with bonhomie.
____ 2. A waggish person would be likely to indulge in japery
____ 3. A dalliance is a brightly colored flower
____ 4. A roisterer would be found at a bacchanal
____ 5. A squib is a variety of an octopus that has ten tentacles
____ 6. Euphoria is a ride on cloud nine
____ 7. A guffaw is to a snake as antic is to serious
____ 8. The natural reaction to a risible event is to burst into tears.
____ 9. Waggish is a miler trait than its close synonym, roguish
____ 10. A regal personality is expected to regale his guests.
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