South Africans "Burnish" While Ukrainians "Blandish": Ten Words in the News You Need to Know

While mourners burnish Mandela's memory, Ukrainian protesters brandish makeshift weapons against security forces. Meanwhile, in the US, legislators agree on budget terms, and we look at the term infrastructure.

To fully understand these unfolding news stories, learn ten key words taken from this week's New York Times and Washington Post coverage.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. queue
    form a line or stand in line
    She was part of a group that had been waiting from early in the morning and marched back and forth before being told to join the back of a queue of people waiting for a bus.
    -- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    As mourners pay their respects to Nelson Mandela, journalists use queue, a British synonym for line and line up to describe mourners' movements.
  2. pandemonium
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    At another designated assembly points, in the Pretoria showground, pandemonium broke out as thousands queued and tried to shove their way past police.
    -- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    To understand exactly what's happening in South Africa, you'll need to know that pandemonium means chaos. "Pan" means "many" as in pantheistic--so think of pandemonium as many people going in many different directions.
  3. phalanx
    a body of troops in close array
    On its way to the Union Buildings, the black hearse carrying the coffin past knots of well-wishers on the streets of Pretoria was escorted by a phalanx of police motorcycle outriders.
    -- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    File phalanx next to flank as words that describe troop movements. Literally, as it's used here, phalanx means a line of soldiers in close ranks working as one; figuratively, it means many working together as one.
  4. burnish
    polish and make shiny
    In death, Mr. Mandela seems to loom ever larger, his flaws sanded away in the many tributes, his image burnished for posterity, his successors smaller in comparison.
    -- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    You can burnish the blade of your sword until it shines in the sun. But you can also burnish something you can't see, like the memory of a great leader. It means "to polish," in the sense of removing tarnish to reveal shine.
  5. status quo
    the existing state of affairs
    With the deal already under fire from conservatives for weakening the sequester, Ryan argued that the package represents “a clear improvement on the status quo” by replacing one-time cuts to agency budgets with permanent savings from other programs.
    -- House, Senate negotiators reach budget deal, The Washington Post, Dec. 10, 2013
    Status quo is a Latin phrase meaning "the state in which." It's come into English to mean "current state of things." A politician might ask constituents contrast it to change.
  6. infrastructure
    the basic features of a system or organization
    The Pentagon would get a $2 billion increase over last year, while domestic agencies would get a $22 billion bump, clearing space for administration priorities such as fresh investments in education and infrastructure.
    -- House, Senate negotiators reach budget deal, The Washington Post, Dec. 10, 2013
    When reading about government budgeting, infrastructure is an important word to have under your belt. It refers to the underlying structure of things. A building's infrastructure might involve steel beams. A nation's consists of highways, railroads, and other government owned entities.
  7. truncheon
    a short stout club used primarily by police officers
    Officers in helmets pushed through the crowds with shields but did not use the truncheons hanging at their sides.
    -- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    Think trunk as in a tree to remember this word. Both trunk and truncheon evolved from the Latin truncus, meaning staff. Truncheoncame to refer to a policeman's club in 1880s England, and that's the context in which it's being used in these stories about security forces in the Ukraine.
  8. rebuke
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
    The effort to clear large parts of the main protest site overnight was a stinging rebuke to Western diplomats who thought they had received promises that force would not be used against peaceful demonstrators.
    -- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    A rebuke can run the gamut from a slap on the wrist to a slap in the face. Often it's used to characterize actions as aggressive as a rebuke to someone's wishes or desires can be a sign of disrespect.
  9. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    As the security forces spread throughout the square, a large crowd of protesters brandishing sticks, clubs, metal rods and anything else they could find massed in front of the Trade Unions building, which leaders of the demonstration had turned into the headquarters of what they call the National Resistance.
    -- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    When you brandish something you wave it in the air threateningly, or just put in on display. Just remember the phrase "brandishing a pistol" and you'll be able to reconstruct its meaning.
  10. vie
    compete for something
    Ukraine remains caught in a tug of war between Europe and Russia, which are vying for political sway over the country’s future.
    -- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
    This short and simple synonym for "compete" comes from the Middle English envie, which meant "to make a challenge." It might be more helpful, however, to associate it in your mind with envy because when you use vie you must also mention what's being vied for, as in athletes vying for first place and singers vying for fame.
Created on Wed Dec 11 08:58:50 EST 2013 (updated Wed Dec 11 10:49:00 EST 2013)

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