“Quandary,” meaning uncertainty, or difficulty in knowing what to do.

Example: “Two of his friends asked him for a recommendation to the same job, and he’s in a quandary because he can’t sponsor one of them without alienating the other.”

“Pedestrian” –  When you’re walking down the street, you’re a pedestrian – that’s a noun. But unless you’re doing a very silly walk, you’re also being pedestrian – an adjective. The adjective “pedestrian” means “unremarkable” or “ordinary.”

Example: “The lives of the people around him seemed so pedestrian that the would-be author couldn’t use them for inspiration when writing his first novel.”

“Brook” – We’re not talking about the noun referring to a small stream, but rather a verb that means to tolerate or put up with, specifically with something negative.

Example: “I have been teaching school for over thirty years, and I will brook no interference in my classroom from parents who disagree with the grades I give the students.”

It’s a word you hear frequently in sports, when you’re talking about a winner, someone who’s made it to the top. The meaning we’re going to learn is actually very similar. As a verb, “to champion” means to promote, to “talk up,” or to advertise positively. You can champion a person or a cause, trying to get people to support them.

Example: “After the terrible earthquake that nearly destroyed the city, local officials and celebrities championed the movement to replace the wooden buildings with reinforced concrete.”

“Verbatim” means word for word, exactly as it was said.

Example: “The court reporter read back the lawyer’s words verbatim, and the judge realized that his arguments were based on false evidence.”

Something that seems believable and reasonable at first glance, but is easily proven false when examined closely, is said to be “specious”. This term is often used to describe argument, or reasoning.

Example: “The lawyer tried to prove that the woman was guilty by quoting her previous statements about the incident, but as she hadn’t said anything incriminating, this was a specious argument.”

A “chimera” is a creation of the imagination, a foolish fancy, or an imaginary thing.

Example: “Early European travellers to Africa brought back descriptions of giraffes and elephants that were dismissed as chimeras by people who didn’t believe such things could exist.”

“Erroneous” means “based on false information,” in error, mistaken.

Example:  “When the zoo reported a missing elephant, the city closed all of the schools, in the erroneous belief that the lions had also gotten loose.”

A “fabrication” is something that’s made up – that is, a lie. A fabrication is a story, a fiction, a falsehood.

Example:  “Steven was four hours late, but his explanation that his late arrival was due to an escaped circus elephant was obviously a fabrication.”

The word “potter” means to mess about doing nothing in particular. In parodies, this is a common foible of an older person, or one who’s not altogether mentally sound.

Example:  “After he won the lottery, Bruce quit his job and spent every day just pottering around in the garden.”