Vocabulary from David Letterman's Finest Hour

David Letterman, who hosts his last show tonight, always treated his audience like family. They were always in on the joke, and they got to know his mother and later his son. This sense of community was never clearer than on Letterman's first show back after the 9/11 attacks. Here are ten words from Letterman's monologue that night, when this prince of sarcasm spoke from his heart.

Find the complete text of Letterman's post 9-11 monologue here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. zealot
    a fervent and even militant proponent of something
    And we're told that they were zealots, fueled by religious fervor... religious fervor.
  2. fervor
    the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
    And we're told that they were zealots, fueled by religious fervor... religious fervor.
  3. rally
    a large gathering of people intended to arouse enthusiasm
    Last night at the high school auditorium in Choteau, Montana, they had a rally (home of the Bulldogs, by the way)... they had a rally for New York City.
  4. courageous
    able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
    And it's very simple... there is only one requirement for any of us, and that is to be courageous, because courage, as you might know, defines all other human behavior.
  5. obscene
    offensive to the mind
    To run the city in the midst of this obscene chaos and attack, and also demonstrate human dignity... my God... who can do that?
  6. indulgence
    a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone
    This is our first show on the air since New York and Washington were attacked, and I need to ask your patience and indulgence here because I want to say a few things, and believe me, sadly, I'm not going to be saying anything new, and in the past week others have said what I will be saying here tonight far more eloquently than I'm equipped to do.
  7. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    , Mayor Giuliani encouraged us -- and here lately implored us -- to go back to our lives, go on living, continue trying to make New York City the place that it should be.
  8. eloquent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    This is our first show on the air since New York and Washington were attacked, and I need to ask your patience and indulgence here because I want to say a few things, and believe me, sadly, I'm not going to be saying anything new, and in the past week others have said what I will be saying here tonight far more eloquently than I'm equipped to do.
  9. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    To run the city in the midst of this obscene chaos and attack, and also demonstrate human dignity... my God... who can do that?
  10. circumstance
    the set of facts that surround a situation or event
    So, to come to this circumstance that is so desperately sad, I don't trust my judgment in matters like this, but I'll tell you the reason that I am doing a show and the reason I am back to work is because of Mayor Giuliani.
Created on Wed May 20 17:39:50 EDT 2015 (updated Wed May 20 20:33:03 EDT 2015)

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