Clearly, he's up to no good. I mean, look at the moustache! It's so pic____que: so roguish, so fitting for a sneaking, swashbuckling adventurer. Can you recall that word?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "dastardly" might trace back to the word "daze."
In English, the oldest meaning of "dastard" is "a dull, stupid person," but it eventually grew to mean "a sneaky, cowardly person."
And today, to call something dastardly is to say that it's wicked, especially in a sneaky, cowardly way.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "her dastardly grin;" "The plot was absolutely dastardly."
Other common forms:
dastard(s), dastardliness
how to use it:
"Dastardly" is the funny, semi-common word we pick when we need to exaggerate or be sarcastic about how bad, evil, and sneaky something is.
We talk about dastardly people and characters, as well as dastardly deeds, plots, plans, smiles, laughs, etc. Bwa ha ha ha!
examples:
"It was one of those cartoon monster smiles, where the monster rubs his hands as he thinks of something dastardly."
— Ernesto Quiñonez, Bodega Dreams, 2000
"Artemis cracked his knuckles. Time to do what he did best--plot dastardly acts."
With Artemis in mind as an example, talk about another character (in fiction or real life) who's known for plotting dastardly acts.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for February is "Piece It Together."
Use your knowledge of the given terms to define a related, ultra-rare term.
For example, you could use your knowledge of CELLULAR and MULTUM IN PARVO ("a lot in a little") to define the ultra-rare PARVOCELLULAR as "small-celled."
To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy!
2.
The word "dastardly" is most likely to describe _____.
A. deeds, doings, and despots
B. dances, dresses, and debutantes
C. dreams, dragons, and derring-do
Answers to review questions:
1. C
2. A
Answer to the game question: BON GRÉ MAL GRÉ, literally "good grace [or] bad grace," means "whether you like it or not, willingly or unwillingly." Much like our term NOLENS VOLENS.
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
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