Hector and the Search for Happiness Words

pop1
verb (pops, popping, popped)
1 make or cause to make a sudden sharp explosive sound.
2 (often pop in/out) go or come for a short time, often without notice. (pop off) informal die.
3 put or place quickly in a particular position.
4 (of a person's eyes) open wide and appear to bulge, especially with surprise.
5 informal take or inject (a drug).
6 British informal pawn.
noun
1 a sudden sharp explosive sound.
2 informal, dated or North American fizzy soft drink.
3 (also pop fly or pop-up) Baseball a ball hit high in the air but not far from the home plate.

PHRASES
a pop North American informal costing a specified amount per item.
have (or take) a pop at informal attack.
pop one's clogs British informal die.
pop the question informal propose marriage.

twirl
verb spin quickly and lightly round.
noun an act of twirling. a spiralling or swirling shape, especially a flourish made with a pen.

DERIVATIVES
twirler noun
twirly adjective

statuette
noun a small statue.

quirk
noun
1 a peculiar behavioural habit.
2 a strange chance occurrence.
3 a sudden twist, turn, or curve.
4 Architecture an acute hollow between convex or other mouldings.
verb move or be moved suddenly or jerkily.

DERIVATIVES
quirkish adjective

consultation
noun the action or process of formally consulting or discussing. a meeting with an expert or
professional in order to seek advice.
tranquillize or tranquillise; United States tranquilize
verb [usually as adjective tranquillizing] (especially of a drug) have a calming or sedative effect on.
administer a tranquillizing drug to.

DERIVATIVES
tranquillizer noun

1
fed up
adjective informal annoyed or bored.

conscientious
adjective
1 wishing to do what is right.
2 relating to a person's conscience.

DERIVATIVES
conscientiously adverb
conscientiousness noun

busman
noun (plural busmen) a bus driver.

PHRASES
a busman's holiday leisure time spent doing the same thing that one does at work.

put
verb (puts, putting; past and past participle put)
1 move to or place in a particular position.
2 bring into a particular state or condition: they tried to put me at ease. express in a particular way: to
put it bluntly, he was not really divorced.
3 (put something on/on to) cause to carry or be subject to something: commentators put the blame on
Congress. assign a particular value, figure, or limit to.
4 (of a ship) proceed in a particular direction: the boat put out to sea.
5 throw (a shot or weight) as an athletic sport.
noun a throw of the shot or weight.

PHRASES
put someone's eyes out blind someone in a violent way.
put one's hands together applaud.
put one's hands up raise one's hands in surrender.
put one over on informal deceive (someone) into accepting something false.
put up or shut up informal justify oneself or remain silent.

PHRASAL VERBS
put about Nautical (of a ship) turn on the opposite tack.
put someone about chiefly Scottish & North English upset or trouble someone.
put something about British spread information or rumours.
put something aside (or by) save money for future use.
put someone away informal confine someone in a prison or psychiatric hospital.
put something away
1 save money for future use.
2 informal consume food or drink in large quantities.
put someone down informal criticize someone.
put something down
1 suppress a rebellion or riot by force.
2 kill an animal because it is sick, injured, or old.
3 pay a specified sum as a deposit.
4 preserve or store food or wine for future use.
put something down to attribute something to.

2
put someone off
1 cancel or postpone an appointment with someone.
2 cause someone to feel dislike or lose enthusiasm.
3 distract someone.
put something off postpone something.
put someone on informal try to make someone believe something that is untrue.
put something on
1 place a garment on part of one's body.
2 present or provide a play, service, etc.
3 become heavier by a specified amount.
4 assume a particular expression, accent, etc.
put someone on to draw someone's attention to.
put out North American informal agree to have sex with someone.
put someone out inconvenience, upset, or annoy someone.
put something out
1 dislocate a joint.
2 (of an engine or motor) produce a particular amount of power.
put something over North American postpone something.
put someone through
1 subject someone to a gruelling or unpleasant experience.
2 connect someone by telephone to another person or place.
3 pay for one's child to attend school or college.
put something to
1 submit something to (someone) for consideration. (put it to) make a statement or allegation to
(someone) and challenge them to deny it.
2 couple an animal with (another of the opposite sex) for breeding.
put someone up
1 accommodate someone temporarily.
2 propose someone for election or adoption.
put something up
1 present something for discussion or consideration.
2 publish banns.
3 provide money as backing for an enterprise.
4 offer something for sale or auction.
5 offer a specified degree of resistance or skill in a fight or contest.
6 cause game to rise from cover.
7 archaic return a sword to its sheath.
be put upon informal be taken advantage of.
put someone up to informal encourage someone to do (something wrong or unwise).
put up with tolerate; endure.

blue1
adjective (bluer, bluest)
1 of a colour intermediate between green and violet, as of the sky or sea on a sunny day. (of a cat, fox,
or rabbit) having fur of a smoky grey colour.
2 informal melancholy, sad, or depressed.
3 informal (of a film, joke, or story) with sexual or pornographic content.
4 British informal politically conservative.
5 (of a ski run) of the second-lowest level of difficulty.
noun
1 blue colour, pigment, or material. (the blue) literary the sky or sea, or the unknown. another term for
bluing.
2 British a person who has represented Cambridge University or Oxford University in a particular sport in
a match between the two universities.

3
3 used in names of small butterflies with predominantly blue wings. [Polyommatus icarus (common
blue) and related species.]
4 Australian/New Zealand informal a nickname for a red-headed person.
5 Australian/New Zealand informal an argument or fight.
verb (blues, bluing or blueing, blued)
1 make or become blue.
2 chiefly historical wash (white clothes) with bluing.

PHRASES
blue on blue Military denoting or relating to an attack made by one's own side that accidentally harms
one's own forces: blue-on-blue incidents. [from the use of blue to indicate friendly forces in military
exercises.]
once in a blue moon informal very rarely. [because a 'blue moon' is a phenomenon (due to atmospheric
dust) that occurs only very rarely.]
out of the blue (or out of a clear blue sky) informal without warning; unexpectedly.
talk a blue streak North American informal speak continuously and at great length.

DERIVATIVES
blueness noun

vice versa
adverb with the main items in the preceding statement the other way round.

clutch1
verb grasp tightly. (clutch at) seize eagerly or in desperation: he clutched at the idea.
noun
1 a tight grasp.
2 (clutches) power or control: she was about to fall into his clutches.
3 a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the engine and the transmission system in a vehicle, or
the working parts of any machine.
4 North American a clutch bag.

villain
noun
1 a wicked person or a person guilty of a crime. (in a play or novel) a character whose evil actions or
motives are important to the plot.
2 archaic variant spelling of villein.

DERIVATIVES
villainous adjective
villainously adverb
villainousness noun
villainy noun (plural villainies).

overbook
verb accept more reservations for (a flight or hotel) than there is room for.

grumble
verb
1 complain in a bad-tempered way.
2 make a low rumbling sound.
3 [usually as adjective grumbling] (of an internal organ) give intermittent discomfort.

4
 noun
1 a complaint.
2 a grumbling sound.

DERIVATIVES
grumbler noun
grumbling noun
grumblingly adverb
grumbly adjective

spoil
verb (past and past participle spoilt (chiefly British) or spoiled)
1 diminish or destroy the value or quality of. (of food) become unfit for eating. mark (a ballot paper)
incorrectly so as to invalidate one's vote.
2 harm the character of (a child) by being too indulgent. treat with great or excessive kindness or
generosity.
3 (be spoiling for) be extremely or aggressively eager for.
4 archaic rob by force or violence.
noun
1 (spoils) stolen goods.
2 waste material brought up during the course of an excavation or a dredging or mining operation.

PHRASES
be spoilt for choice British have so many options that it is difficult to make a choice.

DERIVATIVES
spoilage noun

wedge1
noun
1 a piece of wood, metal, etc. with a thick end that tapers to a thin edge, that is driven between two
objects or parts of an object to secure or separate them.
2 a wedge-shaped thing or piece. a golf club with a low, angled face for maximum loft.
3 a shoe with a fairly high heel forming a solid block with the sole.
4 British informal money or earnings.
verb
1 fix in position using a wedge.
2 force into a narrow space.

PHRASES
drive a wedge between cause a breach between.
the thin end of the wedge informal an action of little intrinsic importance that is likely to lead to more
serious developments.

jowl
noun the lower part of a cheek, especially when fleshy or drooping. North American the cheek of a
pig as meat. the dewlap of cattle or wattle of birds.

DERIVATIVES
-jowled adjective
jowly adjective

5
merger
noun an act of merging two things, especially companies, into one. Law the merging of one estate or
title in another.

acquisition
noun
1 a recently acquired asset or object.
2 the action of acquiring.

fuzzy
adjective (fuzzier, fuzziest)
1 having a frizzy texture or appearance.
2 indistinct or vague. (of an electric guitar) having a distorted, buzzing sound.
3 Computing & Logic relating to a form of set theory and logic in which predicates may have degrees of
applicability, rather than simply being true or false.

DERIVATIVES
fuzzily adverb
fuzziness noun

soothe
verb gently calm (a person or their feelings). reduce pain or discomfort in. relieve (pain).

DERIVATIVES
soother noun
soothing adjective
soothingly adverb

bowl2
noun
1 a wooden or hard rubber ball used in the game of bowls. a large ball used in tenpin bowling or
skittles.
2 a spell of bowling in cricket.
verb
1 roll (a round object) along the ground.
2 Cricket (of a bowler) propel (the ball) towards the wicket for the batsman to attempt to hit. dismiss (a
batsman) by knocking down the wicket with a bowled ball.
3 move rapidly and smoothly.
4 (bowl someone over) knock someone down. informal completely overwhelm or astonish someone.

DERIVATIVES
bowling noun

decisive
adjective
1 settling an issue quickly and effectively: a decisive battle.
2 able to make decisions quickly.

DERIVATIVES
decisively adverb
decisiveness noun

6
foyer
noun an entrance hall or other open area in a public building, especially a hotel or theatre.

passer-by
noun (plural passers-by) a person who happens to be going past something, especially on foot.

doodle
verb scribble absent-mindedly.
noun a drawing made absent-mindedly.

DERIVATIVES
doodler noun
doodling noun

mischief
noun
1 playful misbehaviour or troublemaking.
2 harm or trouble caused by someone or something.
3 Law a wrong or hardship which it is the object of a statute to remove or for which the common law
affords a remedy.

PHRASES
do someone a mischief British informal injure someone.

Mogul (also Moghul or Mughal)

noun
1 a member of the Muslim dynasty of Mongol origin which ruled much of India in the 16th19th centuries.
(often the Great Mogul) the Mogul emperor of Delhi.
2 (mogul) an important or powerful person.

shriek
verb utter a high-pitched piercing sound, cry, or words.
noun
1 a high-pitched piercing cry or sound.
2 informal an exclamation mark.

DERIVATIVES
shrieker noun
shrieking adjective
shriekingly adverb

wisdom
noun
1 the quality of being wise.
2 the body of knowledge and experience that develops within a specified society or period.

PHRASES
in someone's wisdom used ironically to suggest that someone's action is ill judged: in their wisdom they
decided to dispense with him.

glimpse
noun a momentary or partial view.
verb see briefly or partially.

7
afar
adverb chiefly literary at or to a distance.

mock
verb
1 tease scornfully; ridicule. mimic contemptuously.
2 (mock something up) make a replica or imitation of something.
adjective
1 not authentic or real.
2 (of an examination, battle, etc.) undertaken for training or practice.
noun
1 (mocks) British informal mock examinations.
2 dated an object of derision.

DERIVATIVES
mockable adjective
mocking adjective
mockingly adverb

quayside
noun a quay and the area around it.

quay
noun a platform lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships.

DERIVATIVES
quayage noun

oilcloth
noun cotton fabric treated with oil to make it waterproof.

footbridge
noun a bridge for pedestrians.

weigh1
verb
1 find out how heavy (someone or something) is. have a specified weight. balance (something) in the
hands to assess its weight. (weigh something out) measure and take out a portion of a particular
weight. (weigh in) (of a boxer or jockey) be officially weighed before or after a contest. (weigh out)
(of a jockey) be weighed before a race.
2 (weigh someone down) be heavy and cumbersome or oppressive to someone. (weigh on) be
depressing or burdensome to.
3 (often weigh something up/against) assess the nature or importance of. (often weigh against)
influence a decision or action.
4 (weigh in) informal make a forceful contribution to a competition or argument. (weigh into) join in or
attack forcefully or enthusiastically.

PHRASES
weigh anchor Nautical take up the anchor when ready to sail.

DERIVATIVES
weighable adjective
weigher noun

8
impoverish
verb
1 make poor.
2 exhaust the strength or natural fertility of.

DERIVATIVES
impoverishment noun

archipelago
noun (plural archipelagos or archipelagoes) an extensive group of islands.

midst archaic or literary

preposition in the middle of.
noun the middle point or part.

PHRASES
in our (or your, their, etc.) midst among us (or you or them).

chuckle
verb laugh quietly or inwardly.
noun a quiet or suppressed laugh.

DERIVATIVES
chuckler noun

cobble1
noun (also cobblestone) a small round stone used to cover road surfaces.

DERIVATIVES
cobbled adjective

delicate
adjective
1 very fine in texture or structure; of intricate workmanship or quality. (of food or drink) subtly and
pleasantly flavoured.
2 easily broken or damaged; fragile. susceptible to illness or adverse conditions.
3 requiring sensitive or careful handling. skilful; deft.
noun (delicates) garments made from delicate fabric.

PHRASES
in a delicate condition archaic pregnant.

DERIVATIVES
delicately adverb
delicateness noun