English Words in Action, Group B

(a variety of English words which have developed through history and are currently used in our modern age)

English vocabulary quizzes in random order from easy to more difficult for greater word skills.

Simply click on this banner (or the following link) and you will be on your way to stimulate your brain for greater word comprehension with quizzes based on some of the words in this unit.

boner (s) (noun), boners (pl)
A foolish, a careless, or an embarrassing mistake: The manager of the baseball team made a boner when he substituted one pitcher with another one which resulted in his men losing the game.
A silly or stupid mistake.
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booby trap (s) (noun), booby traps (pl)
1. Something that appears to be harmless but which is set up so that it will explode and kill anyone who touches it: The apartment had booby traps that were rigged to go off if anyone touched a certain light switch, used a handle to open one or more of the doors to rooms, etc.

2. A humorous contraption that is set up to shock or to scare someone: Ken made a booby trap for his guests by making the bathroom door lock when anyone closed it and it could not be unlocked by the person who would go in to wash his or her hands, or to use any of the other facilities.

During World War II, booby traps were placed on doors of evacuated buildings, on equipment which might be picked up, in abandoned vehicles, and in just about anything; so, unsuspecting people would set them off merely by lifting or moving what seemed to be harmless objects.

booby trap (verb), booby traps; booby trapped; booby trapping
To put what appears to be a harmless object somewhere so it can explode and cause harm to anyone who touches it: The shooter at the theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012, had booby trapped his apartment and it took at least two days before the police could neutralize the explosives so they could safely enter the place to gather evidence.
  • James Holmes, the Aurora, Colorado shooter, who reportedly opened fire at a Batman movie premiere, admitted to police that he had booby trapped his apartment with explosives.
  • When police searched Holmes apartment, they discovered that it had been booby trapped and so they evacuated not only the building where his apartment was, but also the surrounding buildings.
booby-trapped (adjective), more booby-trapped, most booby-trapped
A reference to hidden explosives: The booby-trapped car presented a serious danger to anyone who was near it.
  1. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said James Holmes' booby-trapped apartment contained a "sophisticated" maze of flammable devices.
  2. Officials say they have removed all major threats at the booby-trapped apartment of the Aurora movie theater shooting suspect on Saturday. They used a robot to go inside James Holmes' apartment and they were able to disable a trip wire that was set to go off when the apartment door was opened.
boodler (s) (noun), boodlers (pl)
Someone who accepts bribery funds or corruption money: Joseph knows a boodler who obtains money fraudulently from public or government sources.
A person who participates in corruptions involving public funds.
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book (s) (noun), books (pl)
A published set of printed pages that are fastened together inside a cover, which may contain a story, information, poems, or other forms of writing presentations:
Sample of a book turning pages.
boor (s) (noun), boors (pl)
1. A person who behaves in a rude way and ignores other people’s feelings: Ted's wife said that she could not invite her husband's co-worker to dinner because he is a boor and would offend the other guests.
2. A crude, uncouth, or ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement: Mrs. Smith was very upset with her students who were evidently complete boors during the concert they attended because they talked and ate during the performance, and then left their garbage on the floor when they went back to the school bus at end of the recital.
A rude or ill-mannered person.
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boorish (adjective), more boorish, most boorish
1. Relating to an ill-mannered, coarse and contemptible behavior or appearance: The boorish conduct of one of the members of Mr. Kline's psychology class irritated him and the other students.
2. Descriptive of rudeness and not caring about other people’s feelings: One guest at Mildred's birthday party was boorish and insensitive with other individuals who were there.
Areference to being ill-mannered and rude.
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bot (s) (noun), bots (pl)
A term for "robot"; also known as, "autobot", "infobot", "knowbot", "mailbot", "shopping bot", or "softbot": A bot is a program that runs on a computer 24/7, automating tasks for the owner, even if the owner is not logged in.

Bots are used on the internet in a variety of ways, mostly in Internet Relay Chat; as well as, in search engines.

Also known as "automatons", bots are not liked by Internet Relay Chat operators and long-time users because of the extensive system resources that they consume.

Engine bots; also called spiders and crawlers, explore the World Wide Web; for example, they get Web pages and follow all of the hyperlinks in each one. Once they have that information, they generate catalogs that can be accessed by search engines.

Boyfriends of an Elderly Woman
MY FIVE BOYFRIENDS!
1. I am seeing 5 gentlemen every day.

As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me get out of bed.

2. Then I go to see John (the toilet).
3. Then Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of the day.

He doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint.

4. After such a busy day, I'm really tired and glad to go to bed with Ben Gay.

What a life!

5. Now remember this: Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes!
6. So have fun, think "good thoughts" only and learn to laugh at yourself and count your blessings!!!

Identification source is unknown!

braggadocio (brag uh DOH shee oh) (s) (noun), braggadocios (pl)
1. Someone who is pretentious, full of self-praise, and boasts: Tina, the new girl in the biology class, had a showy kind of character and seemed to be a braggadocio who was telling the other students about the yacht her parents had and of their traveling back and forth on the coast, but none of it was true!
2. The annoying egotistical talk of a person who is usually trying to sound very proud or brave: Andrew knows a professional wrestler who is a braggart and who hides his real cowardly feelings with braggadocios; especially, before he starts to grapple with his opponents.
Empty exaggerations or fradulellnt statements.
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Someone who is a boaster or a braggard.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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brandish (s) (noun), brandishes (pl)
A menacing or defiant wave or flourish: After they had broken up the large piece of concrete in the park, the teenagers gave several brandishes with a club to celebrate the fact that they had finished the job.
brandish (verb), brandishes; brandished; brandishing
To wave or to swing something; especially, a weapon, in a menacing, theatrical, or triumphant way: Although "brandishing" often refers to holding a weapon or tool and looking as if the person is going to use it, it’s also possible to brandish objects that aren't weapons; for example, if a team wins a sports event, they are often inclined to brandish their trophy in front of their competitors.
To shake or to wave; usually, in a menacing manner.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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brandisher (s) (noun), brandishers (pl)
A person who threatens or defiantly swings objects in dramatic or destructive ways: The TV news showed that the rioters were brandishers of steel bars and other destructive tools which they used to break car and shop windows.
brash (adjective); brasher, more brash; brashest, most brash
1. Regarding something which is accomplished in haste and is heedless of the consequences; rash: The brash decision James made, to be the first one to climb the most dangerous cliff in the area, turned out to be disastrous because he lost his grip and was killed when he fell down!
2. Pertaining to a clear-cut and brilliant contrast: Timothy used brash hues of colors in the painting he was working on.
3. Describing someone as being impudent and tactless: The elderly lady was very upset at the brash behavior of the young man as he entered the bus, pushing her to the side and being offensively arrogant and rude.
A reference to being impetuous or foolhardy.
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Relating to an offensive or brash request.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.


Links to all of the groups of English words in action, Groups A to Z.

You may see the bibliographic list of sources of information for these words in action.