Answers

1. bugbear – [C] object of dread. Rain is the biggest bugbear for the organisers of our town’s annual autumn festival. 2. sopor – [B] deep sleep. Rip Van Winkle wasn’t just napping – he was in a doozy of a sopor. 3. parlance – [A] manner of speaking. Juan’s keynote speech was ‘mic drop’ good, to use the current parlance. 4. prate – [A] chatter. Do you have anything useful to tell me, or are you just prating into the air? 5. bireme – [A] ancient ship propelled by oars. Don’t the centipede’s legs remind you of the oars on a Roman bireme? 6. tiki – [B] wooden or stone image of a Polynesian god. I travelled to Maui and returned with a lei, a ukulele and a wooden tiki. 7. weir – [C] dam in a stream or river. The river’s weir helps to prevent flooding. 8. ovine – [B] of sheep. The ovine residents of our farm always bleat loudly when they’re sheared. 9. anathema – [C] someone or something intensely disliked. I don’t mind snakes, but spiders are anathema. 10. acolyte – [C] follower. We couldn’t even hear the speaker over the chants of his fervent acolytes. 11. vituperate – [C] use harsh language. You will get further by being polite than by vituperating at full volume. 12. lasciviously – [A] with lust. Ali dipped her finger into the bowl of vanilla icing and then licked it lasciviously. 13. tittle – [A] dot in writing. Ryan meticulously dots each ‘i’ with a perfect tittle. 14. auspices – [C] patronage. Under the auspices of her mother, little Courtenay has opened a lemonade stand. 15. arboreal – [C] concerning trees. The birds in my backyard prefer their arboreal nests to my adorable birdhouses.