"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 35

Philip Geer's "Simon's Saga" includes 820 SAT-level words and gives students an entertaining glimpse into college life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25, Episode 26, Episode 27, Episode 28, Episode 29, Episode 30, Episode 31, Episode 32, Episode 33, Episode 34, Episode 35, Episode 36, Episode 37
20 words 222 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ensconce
    fix firmly
    Simon was ensconced at a table at DelMonico’s.
  2. gustatory
    of or relating to the sense of taste
    Gustatory paradise.
  3. hedonistic
    devoted to pleasure
    Hedonistic heaven.
  4. glutton
    a person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess
    Glutton’s delight.
  5. olfactory
    of or relating to the sense of smell
    In some ways, Simon thought, this was the best part of the experience—looking forward to those first few wonderful mouthfuls of mussels and garlic bread, olfactory senses going full bore.
  6. legerdemain
    an illusory feat
    It was not something that would shake the edifices of the mathematical establishment, but it was a pretty piece of mathematical legerdemain, a beautifully balanced equation: DelMonico’s = Heaven.
  7. quantify
    express as a number or measure or quantity
    Who said pleasure could not be quantified?
  8. rectify
    make right or correct
    That could be rectified.
  9. cuisine
    the manner of preparing food or the food so prepared
    He had been so moved by the cuisine that he had felt compelled to seek out the chef and personally express his gratitude.
  10. epicurean
    displaying luxury and furnishing gratification to the senses
    And it wasn’t like Simon to just find the guy and say, “Hey man, thanks for one really fantastic meal—an epicurean delight, a transcendent culinary experience, a bodacious repast.”
  11. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    No, with Simon an expression of gratitude would have to take some palpable form.
  12. trepidation
    a feeling of alarm or dread
    When Simon had really enjoyed a meal, Jaz usually waited with some trepidation to see exactly what form his “thank you” would take.
  13. chagrin
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    And the chef had—to Jaz’s chagrin—received the full treatment.
  14. rapture
    a state of elated bliss
    Suddenly, a look of rapture was on Simon’s face.
  15. burly
    muscular and heavily built
    When the chef, Angelo—a burly man who spoke mainly Italian and very little English—appeared, Simon had drawn him close and held him.
  16. efficacious
    producing or capable of producing an intended result
    But, like Simon, he used the words he did know efficaciously.
  17. nomenclature
    a system of words used to name things in a discipline
    Her deeply considered conclusion about the behavior was, while not likely to be cited as a major contribution to psychology, relatively straightforward and admirably free of technical nomenclature: “Guys can be pretty weird sometimes.”
  18. incognito
    without revealing one's identity
    Except for the fact that Jaz had convinced him to go incognito.
  19. impartial
    free from undue bias or preconceived opinions
    How was he going to observe the flow of life impartially if people kept ogling him
  20. ogle
    stare or look at, especially with amorous intentions
    How was he going to observe the flow of life impartially if people kept ogling him and he heard them saying, “Hey, that’s the big football star! Did you see the game he had on Saturday? That guy can bring it"?
Created on Tue Aug 19 09:31:11 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Aug 19 17:35:35 EDT 2014)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.