2011-week-30-1

This word has many, many meanings. Athletes strain their knees, which strains the emotions of their fans. Usually, you have to strain a little to accomplish anything, like getting an A in math. A strain may also be a line, like a line of ancestry, of thought, or a melodic line in music. Maybe you have to strain to hear the quiet flute in an orchestra. Another meaning is to pass something through a filter, like tea leaves.

To stretch is to extend or lengthen something beyond the normal length. You stretched both your vacation and the truth when you called out of work on Monday saying your flight home from Ibiza was canceled.

Use vigilant to describe someone who keeps awake and alert in order to avoid danger or problems. When taking the subway, be vigilant about your wallet.

You know you're driving through an affluent neighborhood when you see large houses, perfect landscaping, and expensive cars in driveways. Use affluent to describe wealthy people or areas.

You can use affair as a kind of shorthand, to mean "that big mess," or "that complicated story I already told you about." Your affair can also mean your responsibility or job, like if your grandmother said, "I don't care about balloons for the party — that's your affair." Another way affair is frequently used is to mean a love affair, particularly if the relationship is brief and intense.

Soma means body in Latin, so somatic means of the body and is most often used in connection with one's health.
A somatic symptom or somatic illness.

The intrinsic qualities of something have to do with its nature. An intrinsic quality of dogs is that they're loyal.

Use the adjective hoary to describe something that is old and worn out — like the hoary jokes your great uncle Albert clings to.

A haiku is a three-line poem where the first line has five syllables, the second has seven, and the third has five.

Fraternal describes the relationship between brothers, but it is also used is to describe a club, society or fraternity, some brotherly group of people — usually men — with common interests.