Tag: New Words (Page 10 of 20)

Bailiwick – a person’s area of skill, knowledge, or authority

“The law of the sea is your bailiwick, not mine,” General Barnes, the air force chief of staff, commented. “But from where I sit doing that cold be called anything from piracy to an overt act of war. Isn’t this exercise complicated enough already?”

General Barnes, The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy

Senescence – growing old; aging

“Ethan Allen‘s was generation-old technology. Her S5W reactor was too dated for much more use. Nuclear radiation had bombarded the metal vessel and its internal fittings with many billions of neutrons. As recent examination of test strips had revealed, over time the character of the metal had changed, becoming dangerously brittle. The system had at most another three years of useful life. A new reactor was too expensive. The Ethan Allen was doomed by her senescence.”

The Hunt for Red October, Tom Cancy

Feint – a movement made in order to deceive an adversary; an attack aimed at one place or point to distract from the real target

“A hundred miles behind the four fighters, ninety aircraft were following at thirty thousand feet in what would look very much to the Soviets like an alpha strike, a weighted attack mission of armed tactical fighters. It was exactly that – and also a feint. The real mission belonged to the low-level team of four.”

The hunt for red october, Tom Clancy

Supernumerary – being in excess of the usual, proper, or prescribed number; addition; extra

“Everyone was busy – except him. The pilots were up twice a day or more, exercising with their U.S. Air Force and Navy Counterparts working from shore bases. The ships were practicing surface war tactics. As Admiral White had said at breakfast, it had developed into a jolly good extension of NIFTY DOLPHIN. Ryan didn’t like being supernumerary.

The hunt for red october, Tom Clancy

Deadpan – marked by a fixed air of seriousness or calm detachment

“Dr. Tyler thinks we should hold onto [Red October] if we get her,” Harris said deadpan. “And he thinks he has a way we can do it.”

General Harris, The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy

Obfuscate – to confuse; to make unclear

“[Ambassador] Arbatov probably has his instructions on what to tell us already, but he’ll play for all the time he can. It’s also vaguely possible that he’s in the dark. We know how they compartmentalize information. You suppose we’re reading too much into his talent for obfuscation?”

The President, The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy

Folderol – useless accessory; trifle, nonsense

“Anyway, I hardly thing we need to attach legal folderol to a situation involving nuclear weapons.”

Admiral Daniel Foster, The hunt for red october, Tom Clancey

Phlegmatic – unemotional or unenthusiastic

“There was nothing, nothing at all funny about a reactor leak. But Melekhin was known for his heavy sense of humor, and the doctor imagined that twenty years of working on reactors allowed him and the captain to view the potential dangers phlegmatically. Then, there was the implicit lesson in the story: never let someone who does not belong into the reactor spaces.”

thoughts of the soviet doctor, petrov, The hunt for red october, Tom Clancy