[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.meretricious.Vulgar, insincere.meringue.Confection made from egg whites and sugar.merino.Type of sheep; pl.merinos.meritocracy.System of government based on merit.Merkel, Angela.(1954–) German chancellor (2005–).Merrion Square, Dublin.mesmerize.Messaggero, Il.Italian newspaper.Messerschmitt, not -schmidt, for the type of aircraft.metal, mettle.Metal denotes chemical elements such as gold and copper; mettle is for contexts describing courage or spirit.metamorphose (verb), metamorphosis (noun), pl.metamorphoses.metaphor, simile.Both are figures of speech in which two things are compared.A simile likens one thing to another, dissimilar one:“He ran like the wind”; “She took to racing as a duck takes to water.” A metaphor, on the other hand, acts as if the two compared things are identical and substitutes one for the other.Comparing the beginning of time to the beginning of a day, for instance, produces the metaphor “the dawn of time.”metathesis.The transposition of sounds or letters in a word or between words; the latter commonly are called spoonerisms.mete, meet / Midwest, Middle West � 225mete, meet.The first means to allot; the second means suitable.One metes out punishment, but a fitting punishment is meet.meteor, meteorite, meteoroid.Meteoroids are pieces of galactic debris floating through space.If they enter Earth’s atmosphere as shooting stars, they are meteors.If they survive the fall to Earth, they are meteorites.meter, but metric and metrical; one meter equals 39.37 inches.meticulous.Several usage books, though fewer and fewer dictionaries, insist that the word does not mean merely very careful, but rather excessively so.Unless you mean to convey a negative quality, it is usually better to use scrupulous, careful, painstaking, or some other synonym.metonymy.Figure of speech in which a thing is described in terms of one of its attributes, as in calling the monarch “the crown.”Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.Hollywood film studio, abbreviated MGM.metronome.Instrument for marking time.mettle.Courage or spirit.Meuse.River in northern Europe; in Dutch, Maas.mezzanine.Mezzogiorno.The southern, poorer half of Italy.mezzotint.Method of engraving, and the engraving so produced.MGM.Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.miaow.British spelling of meow.Michaelmas.Feast of St.Michael, September 29.Michelangelo.(1475–1564) Italian artist, architect, and engineer; full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni.micro.Prefix meaning one-millionth, or very small.Micronesia, Federated States of.Comprises Korsae, Ponape, Truk, and Yap; capital Kolonia.Middlesbrough.Not -borough.City in northern England.Mid Glamorgan.(Two words, no hyphen.) County in Wales.Midi-Pyrénées.Region of France.Midwest (one word), Middle West (two words).226 Mientkiewicz, Doug / MindanaoMientkiewicz, Doug.(1974–) American baseball player.Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig.(1886–1969) German-born U.S.architect.mijnheer, mynheer.The first is the Dutch spelling, the second the En -glish of the Dutch term for “sir.” Either should be capitalized when placed before a name.mileage.miles gloriosus.Latin for “glorious soldier.” A braggart, particularly a braggart soldier.Pronounced meel-us glor-ee-oh-sus.milieu.Environment.militate, mitigate.Often confused.To militate is to operate against or, much more rarely, for something: “The news of the scandal militated against his election promises.” To mitigate means to assuage, soften, make more endurable: “His apology mitigated the insult.” Mitigate against often appears and is always wrong.Milius, John.(1944–) American film writer and director.Milken, Michael.(1946–) American financier.Millais, Sir John Everett.(1829–1896) British painter.Millay, Edna St.Vincent.(1892–1950) American poet.millennium.Note -nn-.The preferred plural is millenniums, but mil -lennia is also accepted.milli-.Prefix meaning one-thousandth.milliard.British term now almost never used there or anywhere else, meaning 1,000 million or 1 trillion.millipede.Miloˇsević, Slobodan.(1941–2006) President of Serbia (1989–1997).He died while on trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in The Hague.milquetoast, not milk-, for a timid person.The name comes from an old newspaper cartoon called The Timid Soul featuring a character named Caspar (not -er) Milquetoast.Mindanao.Island in the Philippines.Mindszenty, József, Cardinal / misshapen � 227Mindszenty, József, Cardinal.(1892–1975) Roman Catholic primate of Hungary, long opposed to Communist regime.minimize, strictly speaking, does not mean merely to play down or soften.It means to reduce to an absolute minimum.Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain; in Spanish, Menorca.Minos.In Greek mythology, a son of Zeus and Europa, and king of Crete.Minotaur.In Greek mythology, a figure that is half man and half bull.Minsk.Capital of Belarus.minuscule [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]