• A feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action.
• (Archaic)A weight equal to 20 grams, used by apothecaries
• A very small amount of something, especially a quality.

2. unscrupulous (adjective)

Having or showing no moral principles: not honest or fair.

3. literary device (noun)

a literary or linguistic technique that produces a specific effect, especially a figure of speech, narrative style, or plot mechanism.

“Short story writers will often use a literary device such as repetition, or foreshadowing to leave clues for the readers to figure out the story.”

4. catalyst (noun)

• Chemistry A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.

• One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences.  In the film industry, this is also known as a MacGuffin.

5. imply (verb)

• To indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated.
• To signify or mean.

“While he tried not to give too much away, the teacher did imply that there would be a vocabulary component on the upcoming short story test.”

6. retribution (noun)

• Something given or dispensed in compensation.

• “Feeling that he’d never be caught, the criminal acted without fear of retribution.”

7. impunity (noun)

• Exemption from punishment or loss; escape from fines to which others are subject.
• “Known for their desire to get revenge, the famous coat of arms of the Montessor family loosely translates to ‘No one attacks me with impunity’.”

8. ebb and flow

A decline and increase, constant fluctuations. For example, He was fascinated by the ebb and flow of the Church's influence over the centuries. This expression alludes to the inward and outward movement of ocean tides. [Late 1500s]

9. sanctimonious (adjective)

• pretending to be morally better than other people.
• Making a show of being morally superior to other people.

10. euphemism (noun)

• The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt. The expression so substituted: “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”

11. physiognomy (noun)

• a person's features or characteristic expression considered as an indication of personality
• the art or practice of judging character from facial features
• the outward appearance of something, especially the physical characteristics of a geographical region.

12. namesake (noun)

• A  person or thing named after another
•  A person or thing with the same name as another.

13. esoteric (adjective)

• Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

14.deus ex machina (noun)

• (in ancient Greek and Roman drama) A god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot.
• Any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.
• Latin – “god from a machine” (referring to mechanical rigging used in a theatre to lower god-like statues or actors in a play.)

15. pathetic fallacy (noun)  

• The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.
• The use of environment to mirror the entanglements of a plot.

16. infer (verb)

• Deduce or conclude from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements.

17.  inference (noun)

• A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

18. metaphor (noun)

• An implied comparison between two different items;
• A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily means one thing is   used to describe another thing in order to suggest a likeness between the two.

 

BACK