"I Like Words": A Job Seeker's Brilliant Chutzpah

When Academy Award winning screenwriter Robert Pirosh was first looking for a job at a Hollywood studio in 1934, he penned a vocabulary-rich missive, which we found featured on the blog and book, Letters of Note.

An example of brilliant chutzpah, the letter shows eschews any mention of his credentials and demonstrates only his pithy brilliance and rich vocabulary.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. buttery
    resembling or containing or spread with butter
    Cooked medium-rare, the buttery juiciness of the meat shines through. Forbes (Aug 11, 2014)
  2. ooze
    pass gradually or leak or as if through small openings
    Even the oozing, crisply fried tacos stuffed with baked lamb's brain. Los Angeles Times (Aug 8, 2014)
  3. turpitude
    a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice
    “We would argue that these are not crimes of moral turpitude but unfortunate decisions.” Washington Post (Feb 2, 2014)
  4. glutinous
    having the sticky properties of an adhesive
    My mouth was dry and pasty, coated with a glutinous saliva as foul to taste as it was to smell. Life of Pi
  5. toady
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
    It wasn't just blind loyalty, though, toadying up to the manager - more a conviction that given time he would come good. BBC (May 18, 2013)
  6. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Dalit leaders have seen his solemn monuments as particularly useful in almost deifying leaders who came from this group, once known as untouchables. New York Times (Aug 4, 2014)
  7. angular
    having straight lines and sharp points or corners
    Its construction combines angular expanses of glass and concrete, earning the project the moniker Planar House. Architectural Digest (Mar 6, 2014)
  8. creaky
    having a rasping or grating sound
    As Puig stared into space with the ball in his glove, the 34-year-old with creaky knees tagged up from first base. Los Angeles Times (Aug 5, 2014)
  9. straitlaced
    exaggeratedly proper or morally strict
    His biggest acting role was as the most straitlaced and scientifically inclined of the Ghostbusters team. BBC (Feb 25, 2014)
  10. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
  11. impecunious
    not having enough money to pay for necessities
    Poetry may be a noble vocation, but poets are generally an impecunious lot. New York Times (Jul 17, 2014)
  12. valedictory
    a farewell oration
    It is a valedictory homage, Jacobson admits, and he asks them how they will face their own ends. The Guardian (May 31, 2014)
  13. spurious
    plausible but false
    That will take time and will probably produce plenty of reversals and spurious predictions. New York Times (Jul 21, 2014)
  14. mortician
    one whose business is the management of funerals
    Both men plunged into the work of preserving her with unguents and filling her with mortician’s paste. The House of the Spirits: A Novel
  15. liquidate
    eliminate a debt by paying it off
    Other options include trying to sell more shares, liquidating some assets or finding another lender. Los Angeles Times (Jul 8, 2014)
  16. tonsorial
    of or relating to barbers and barbering
    Not that Beckerman's hair represents the most eye-catching tonsorial display from USA players. The Guardian (Jun 5, 2014)
  17. suave
    having a sophisticated charm
    Suave and silky, this vermouth comes across as green and cool as a forest glade. Los Angeles Times (Jul 3, 2014)
  18. Svengali
    someone (usually maleficent) who tries to persuade or force another person to do his bidding
    Behold the mind-bending Svengali power of Swedish furniture. Time (Jun 3, 2014)
  19. svelte
    being of delicate or slender build
    He married a Seattle woman of Illini stock, corn blond, svelte, and somber eyed. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel
  20. bravura
    brilliant and showy technical skill
    Soon the shy woman was adopting all the bravura of the “right stuff,” even buying aviator shades and a leather jacket. Washington Post
  21. verve
    an energetic style
    Yet he tells those stories with a verve that carries readers along, even when they know they’ve heard the stories before. Washington Post
  22. brittle
    having little elasticity
    They are terrified of getting too old and too brittle, too fast. Los Angeles Times (Aug 1, 2014)
  23. splinter
    a small thin sharp bit of wood, glass, or metal
    The ceiling fan lay in splinters, the sink ripped from the wall, a portrait of her long-deceased father torn in two. Time (Aug 8, 2014)
  24. grapple
    work hard to come to terms with or deal with something
    Williams had grappled with bouts of severe depression for many years, and had spoken openly about his battle with both drugs and alcohol. The Guardian (Aug 12, 2014)
  25. jostle
    make one's way by pushing or shoving
    And the veterinary student was in contention in Glasgow as runners jostled for places ahead of the home straight. BBC (Aug 11, 2014)
  26. crusty
    having a hardened outer part as a covering
    Any melted butter left over gets mopped up with crusty bread. Washington Post
  27. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    In the beginning, they were sullen and despondent. Forbes (Aug 13, 2014)
  28. crabbed
    annoyed and irritable
    The difficulty was perhaps the old one, that crabbed age and youth cannot live together. Power, Eileen
  29. scowling
    sullen or unfriendly in appearance
    Slim’s hands were black with tar and he was scowling. Of Mice and Men
  30. skulk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    He skulked down alleys, a roll of lock- picking wire in his pocket. Unbroken
  31. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    The through-line of troubled kids stretched a little thin, the grim romance of the glowering skies became oppressive. Los Angeles Times (Jul 31, 2014)
  32. scabby
    covered with scabs
    Her patroness, Queen Isabella, is dying of what looks like a very scabby plague. Seattle Times (Jun 11, 2014)
  33. churl
    a crude or uncouth person lacking culture or refinement
    Yet it is true: I am better clad better shod and better fed than those — churls. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
  34. tricksy
    marked by skill in deception
    Exams are a tricky and tricksy business at the best of times. The Guardian (May 31, 2014)
  35. tucker
    wear out completely
    Seeing how sad and tuckered out Johanna looked, I felt all choked up. The New Yorker (Nov 11, 2013)
  36. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    It’s the story of an orphaned brother and sister of modest means but genteel origins. Salon (Jul 16, 2014)
  37. horrid
    grossly offensive to decency or morality
    This was supposed to be a horrid day of rain, wind, thunder and lightning. Los Angeles Times (Jul 19, 2014)
  38. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    I was fascinated by how he could make things simple and elegant. The Guardian (Aug 12, 2014)
  39. flowery
    marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with details
    He has lauded at least 16 “magic” weight-loss “miracles” in what he himself calls “flowery language” in recent years. US News (Aug 1, 2014)
  40. estivate
    sleep during summer
    If they were dry, they would be estivating, or excreting a thick coating of mucus around their bodies. New York Times (Mar 28, 2012)
  41. peregrinate
    travel around, through, or over, especially on foot
    Who can fancy or feel so much as the shadow of a demur, when peregrinating Rome, that we might be losing our toil? Japp, Alexander H. (Alexander Hay)
  42. Elysium
    a place or condition of ideal happiness
    Then he creates a region of delight, the fields of Aalu, the Elysium of Egyptian mythology, which he peoples with stars. Various
  43. halcyon
    a mythical bird said to breed at the winter solstice
    The neighborhood’s halcyon age as a stable and secure upper-middle-class enclave lasted for maybe a single generation. The New Yorker (Jul 1, 2014)
  44. wormy
    totally submissive
    “Well, lookie who’s here,” he said with a wormy smile. Flush
  45. squirm
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
  46. blubber
    cry or whine with snuffling
    Anyone who continued to blubber would feel the lash. Chains
  47. squeal
    utter a high-pitched cry, characteristic of pigs
    His screams and squeals could be heard throughout our entire place. Time (Aug 12, 2014)
  48. drip
    fall in drops
    But its dramatic slow drip becomes wearying; you will get the point quickly. New York Times (Aug 9, 2014)
  49. cowlick
    a tuft of hair in a different direction from the rest
    Most had been squeezed into suits, their cowlicks plastered to their foreheads. Washington Post
  50. gurgle
    make sounds similar to bubbling water
    A gurgling stream at the entrance frames the idyll. New York Times (Aug 3, 2014)
  51. bubble
    form, produce, or emit bubbles
    It wasn't uncommon for filthy water to bubble over the seat, fill up the floor, enter the garage and run down the driveway. US News (Aug 13, 2014)
  52. burp
    a reflex that expels gas from the stomach through the mouth
    Cows burp major amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that is dozens of times more potent than carbon dioxide. Seattle Times (Jul 21, 2014)
Created on Wed Aug 13 11:02:11 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Aug 13 12:21:12 EDT 2014)

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