Self-belief: the soul of sport – The Hindu (June 02, 2016)
After watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni casually steer his team home with a sensational, unbeaten 64 off 32 balls in an Indian Premier League match recently — a knock that demanded something slightly stronger than nerves of steel and an innings that included consecutive sixes off the last two balls — I was reminded of an old professor friend of mine who was equally in love with both cricket and alliteration. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.
Today’s Words:
- Steer (verb) – lead, guide, marshal, shepherd.
- Have nerves of steel (idiom) – be strong, fearless, unfrightened, undaunted.
- Alliteration (noun) – repetition of same letter or sound for words when they were grouped together. (Example: D, D, D, D, D – Dhoni, Determined, Dominant, Dare-devil, Debonair)
- Put me off (phrasal verb) – off-putting, making [me] to dislike something.
- Insouciantly (adverb) – casually, calmly, in a relaxed way.
- Daredevil (adjective) – adventurous, daring, courageous, brave.
- Debonair (adjective) – suave, confident, stylish, elegant, charming.
- Time and again (idiom) – very often, frequently, repeatedly.
- Amalgam (noun) – mixture, combination, blend.
- Undaunted (adjective) – unafraid, audacious, determined, confident.
- Intrepid (adverb) – adventurous, undismayed, indomitable, spirited, heroic.
- Audacious (adjective) – bold, daring, fearless,
- Elusive (adjective) – difficult to find, evasive, mysterious.
- Confer (verb) – bestow, grant, give.
- Novel (adjective) – new, unfamiliar, unique, unusual.
- Sweat (verb) – worry about, agonize.
- Man of colour (noun) – a dark skinned-person who is not White.
- Coup (noun) – success, triumph, feat.
- Innate (adjective) – inherent, intrinsic, natural, inborn.
- When the chips are down (idiom) – in a tough time/situation.
- Well up (phrasal verb) – (of a strong feeling) appear, develop, surge.
- Cockiness (noun) – boldness, a state of over-confident & arrogant.
- Throwing in the towel (idiom) – admitting defeat.
- Insurmountable (adjective) – unconquerable, unassailable, insuperable, unbeatable.
- Cliche (noun) – overused, hackneyed phrase. predictable one.
- Pummel (verb) – hit, beat, knock, strike someone (with the closed hands (fists)).
- Mediocre (adjective) – ordinary, inferior, common.
- Defiance (noun) – resistance, aggression, daring, boldness.
- Grey matter – dark tissue in the brain & spinal cord composed of neuronal cell bodies, axons terminals and others.
- Egalitarian (noun) – common, equal.
- Discriminate (verb) – differentiate, distinguish, separate.
- Lesser mortals (noun) – ordinary person.
- Lurk (verb) – hide, move stealthly, keep out of sight.
- Timid (adjective) – fearful, afraid, frightened, lacking courage.
- Customary (adjective) – usual, ordinary, normal.
Note:
- Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ .
- Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press.