Brevity. “Brevity is the soul of wit,” wrote Shakespeare.  What does that mean?  Simple.  Good, clever writing gets to the point; it’s short, concise, brief—that’s brevity.  But the line comes at the end of a long, rambling speech from a doddering old man.  He’s not concise; he’s verbose!  And when does he take his own advice and get to the point?  Just in time to tell the king, straight-out, that the prince is off his rocker.  Brevity’s good… but some things should be sugar-coated just a little.  Brevity: being concise.

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Smattering. Having trouble choosing a major?  Don’t panic.  A broad base of knowledge can be a good thing; science and art leaped forward in the Renaissance, when scholars studied many different fields and explored the connections between them.  But, unless you’re as brilliant as da Vinci, you’ll have to focus eventually, or you risk merely dabbling, picking up a little of this, a little of that, a smattering of each field, becoming a “jack of all trades, master of none.”  Smattering: just a little; or, superficial knowledge.

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Extant. “Beowulf” is one of the most thoroughly-studied works of literature in the world, but we’re missing large pieces of it.  You see, over the course of a thousand years, almost every copy was lost or destroyed.  In the 1720s, only one complete manuscript survived.  Or, still existed.  Or, was extant.  And what did the British government do with this one-of-a-kind masterpiece?  They stored it in a house with the unfortunate name, Ashburnham.  One guess what happened to it then.  Extant: currently in existence.

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Voracious. Did you ever think about the wolves in fairytales?  I mean, an ordinary wolf might eat a pig if he was hungry, but he wouldn’t blow down three houses to get at it.  And even if he was starving, he wouldn’t gobble up a Grandma in one bite.  The wolves in these stories aren’t just hungry or famished, they’re absolutely voracious—excessively hungry, insatiable.  So maybe the real moral of these stories is, feed the wolves! Keep them well-fed, and they’ll leave you alone.  Voracious: extremely hungry, insatiable.

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Tyro. When you’ve been playing a sport or participating in an activity for years and years, it can be a challenge to have patience with newcomers.  It’s tempting to roll your eyes and grumble about the ignorant rookie, or the bumbling wannabe.  But you were there once, right?  And you turned out okay.  So maybe that amateur has potential, too.  Maybe she’s a tyro: a novice, a trainee, a beginner eager to learn.  Instead of complaining, maybe you can be her mentor.  Tyro: a beginner, just starting to learn.

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Spleen. When you lose your temper, you’re said to be “venting your spleen.”  Why the spleen?  Why not the pancreas?  Well, doctors used to think a healthy personality required balancing four fluids, or humours.  Too much blood made you sanguine—calm, even apathetic—and you might need leeches.  Too much spleen made you melancholy, or bad-tempered, or angry.  Modern psychology says venting is good because repressed rage can build up and explode like… well, like a ruptured spleen.  Spleen: pent-up anger.

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Have you ever watched little kids?  When the teacher asks a question, they don’t just raise their hands.  They raise their whole arms, reaching for the ceiling, screaming, “Oh, oh, oh, I know, I know, call on me!”  They’re absolutely positive they know the answer.  That’s certitude.  They’re not necessarily right, but they’re sure.  By high school, though, things change.  Certitude gives way to doubt, and to the grownup fear of being wrong.  And then it’s hard to raise even a fingertip.  Certitude: being sure.