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Sample 1

LINCHPIN  (pronounced linch-pin)

Definition

1. a pin inserted through the end of an axtetree to keep the wheel on.   2. something that holds the various elements of a complicated structure together.

Main Example

• The double-murder case against O.J. Simpson was largely circumstantial since there was no murder weapon and no eyewitnesses to the crime. Consequently, the linchpin of the prosecution's case was the blood DNA evidence, which supposedly linked Simpson to blood drops at the crime scene.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• Yes, yes, we need to urgently step up our product development, and our marketing, and our product quality, but remember, our number one goal has to be higher morale and productivity in the work force: those two things will be the linchpin of our strategy to grow faster.

Casual Workplace Example

• It’s amazing how quickly Suzy has become the very linchpin of this mammoth project. We’d be nowhere near completion were it not for her making sure every section, every activity is well coordinated.

Other Examples

• a study of the management style of its past CEO's being one of the linchpins for understanding how IBM's culture has evolved
• massive tax breaks to incoming industry, a linchpin of the nation's efforts to revive inner cities and other depressed areas
• the U.S. becoming the linchpin in the ongoing Mideast peace negotiations because of the Arabs' and Israelis' deep mistrust and hate for each other and their renewed respect for the U.S. following the Gulf War

Sample 2

MAELSTROM  (pronounced mayl-strum)

Definition

1. a powerful whirlpool often hazardous to approach.   2. a restless, disordered or tumultuous state of affairs; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence or turbulence.

Main Example

• The April 1994 killing of the president of Rwanda threw that tiny Central African nation into a maelstrom of murder and mayhem that has few parallels in history. Within two months, over 500,000 members of the Tutsi tribe were slaughtered, many of them hacked to pieces with machetes, by rival Hutu tribesmen.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• Our future planning sessions will be held off-site, away from this maelstrom, so we can think clearly and really get the big picture. There are just too many interruptions here.

Casual Workplace Example

• Elaine's telemarketing project sure is turning into a maelstrom ---it’s growing in scope almost daily, sucking in more and more resources from other departments.
• No, I don't listen to those instructional tapes during commute time. Rush hour is such a maelstrom-----total bedlam! It's too hard to concentrate.

Other Examples

• a job environment in which employees tend to fall into a maelstrom of company politics and turf-battles
• inner-city gangs, those maelstroms of violence, exerting a powerful draw on youth from broken families
• Bill Clinton expressing frustration that the maelstrom of the Whitewater affair was depriving him of time and energy needed to attend to the nation's business for which he was elected

Sample 3

DISQUIETING  (pronounced dis-kwy-et-ing)

Definition

1. adjective of disquiet.
(DISQUIET = (noun)   1. lack of calm, peace, or ease; anxiety; uneasiness.   (verb) 2. to deprive of calm or peace of mind.)

Main Example

• There was a disquieting development for cellular phone users when, in early 1993, a guest on CNN's “Larry King Live” claimed his wife had contracted brain cancer from a portable phone. The cellular phone industry quickly moved to dispel the disquiet by reassuring the public that no scientific studies link such phones with cancer.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• These are disquieting statistics! They suggest all our investment has gone up in smoke. Are you sure these numbers are right?

Casual Workplace Example

• Leslie, shouldn't we delay this announcement? The employees are already uneasy, thanks to everything that is going on. This news will only add to the disquiet.

Other Examples

• employees disquieted by rumors that several units of the company will soon be dissolved
• during a recent sharp rise in commodity prices, analysts reporting a disquieting similarity to the double digit inflation of the late 70s
• a disquieting news story, such as the one about Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina drowning her two young sons
• the disquiet caused in workplaces across the nation when a man, dressed in a business suit and carrying three assault weapons in briefcases, walked into a San Francisco law firm's downtown offices and opened fire, killing eight people and wounding six others

Sample 4

AFFRONT  (pronounced uh-frunt)

Definition

(noun) 1. a deliberate act or display of disrespect; insult;  2. to offend by an open manifestation of disrespect or insolence.
(Helpful tip: it implies open offense or disrespect, especially to one's face)

Other Forms AFFRONTING

Main Example

• In the continuing saga of public sparring between Russian Prime Minister Yeltsin and former Soviet President Gorbachev, Yeltsin has further affronted Gorbachev by withdrawing some of his perks, including a chauffeur-driven limousine.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• Don't be so defensive! Don't overreact to criticism! Look, in our situation, it's imperative we have a free flow of ideas-we can't afford to be affronted by objections and disagreements.

Casual Workplace Example

• Steve's been avoiding me lately: Looks like he's still upset at my reservations about that pet project of his. You were there! He took my comments as a personal affront, wouldn't you say?

Other Examples

• your having to endure several affronts from someone
• a peer affronting you by deliberately leaving you out of some important meetings
• during his drug trial in Florida, Gen. Manuel Noriega describing the U.S. invasion of Panama as illegitimate and an affront to Ms nation's sovereignty
• American conservatives urging strong sanctions against China, saying that the Tiananmen Square crack down was an affront to democracy and human rights

Sample 5

DOGGED  (pronounced dog-id)

Definition

1. persistent in effort; stubbornly tenacious.
(Helpful tip: DOGGED implies willfulness and tenacity, especially in the face of discouragements and obstacles)

Other Forms DOGGEDLY, DOGGEDNESS

Main Example

• Peace talks between Israel and the Arabs, the two bitterest of enemies, got started only because of the doggedness of Secretary of State James Baker's efforts. Following the Gulf War, the dogged Baker made numerous time- consuming trips to the area and held endless talks to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• Claudia is a very dogged researcher: you can bet she will locate every single newspaper article on the subject before turning in her report!

Casual Workplace Example

• You've been looking so doggedly for a new secretary, maybe you should take a break. You're so intense, you may run off any new prospects!

Other Examples

• to win praise for doggedly pursuing an objective to be doggedly ambitious
• someone remaining a dogged optimist despite unfavorable reviews
• subordinates who have impressed you by their doggedness in completing every job to your fullest satisfaction

Sample 6

UNFETTERED  (pronounced un-fet-erd)

Definition

1. released from fetters.  2. freed from restraint; liberated.
(Helpful tip: FETTER = a chain or shackle placed on the feet; anything that confines or restrains

Other Forms UNFEITERING

Main Example

• Public interest groups such as Common Cause, Public Citizen, and the League of Women Voters seek a ban on political contributions to candidates' election campaigns. They argue such money makes lawmakers beholden to special interests and, as a result, prevents them from making decisions that are completely unfettered and in America's best interests.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• Of course, we'll do everything we can to help you in using our new product, but, for obvious reasons, we can't give unfettered guarantees.

Casual Workplace Example

• Rachel lets her people operate pretty much unfettered---no rules or constraints of any kind! All that matters to her is meeting the month's target.
• I often circulate magazine articles among my employees to help unfetter their minds... you know, open up their thinking with ideas from the outside world.

Other Examples

• a manager giving free rein to subordinates, thus unfettering decision making and creativity at lower levels
• blaming the slump in real estate on unfettered construction
• the National Rifle Association fighting for unfettered rights to gun ownership
• American firms seeking unfettered access to Japanese markets

Sample 7

APOCALYPTIC  (pronounced uh-pok-uh-lip-tic)

Definition

predicting or presaging imminent disaster and total or universal destruction.
(Note: APOCALYPTICAL is identical to APOCALYPTIC in meaning and usage)

Other Forms APOCALYPTICALLY and APOCALYPTICISM

Main Example

• Do you remember the Bush / Quayle TV ad showing buzzards on treetops in what looked like a devastated Arkansas? Aired during the final days of the '92 presidential election, the ad's purpose was to create an apocalyptic vision of what would happen to the nation if Clinton were to be elected president.

Formal / Semiformal Workplace Example

• In the meeting tomorrow, don't sound too apocalyptic. You'll alarm the employees. Go ahead and acknowledge there are some serious problems in the factory, but as for the outlook, tell them the chances of a complete shut down are presently very small.
• Frankly, I don't buy your gloom and doom scenario. I think your forecasts are way out of line, unjustified apocalypticism!

Casual Workplace Example

• Have you seen the memo from the head office? They're planning to close several branch offices because sales are plummeting. Pretty scary, apocalyptic stuff, huh?

Other Examples

• the apocalyptic warnings of scientists who believe in the Greenhouse effect and who are predicting a disastrous global warming if carbon dioxide emissions are not curbed
• while withdrawing from the presidential race in March '92, candidate Paul Tsongas saying apocalyptically that America faces economic peril and social disharmony

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