Bigoted (bi’goted): one who has strong beliefs and does not accept the opinion of those who disagree.

Synonym — intolerant, opinionated.

Antonym — tolerant, open-minded.

Tardy (taadi): slow to act or happen.

Synonym — unhurried, sluggish.

Antonym — speedy, prompt.

Epilogue (epilog): concluding part of a book, play, film, etc.

Synonym — afterword, postscript.

Antonym — foreword, prologue, prelude.

— I have been asked to speak the epilogue in the play.

Esculent (eskewlent): suitable for eating.

Synonym — edible, palatable.

Antonym — inedible, indigestible.

Deride (de’raid): to mock somebody or something.

Synonym — disparage, ridicule.

Antonym — esteem, honour, revere

Immaculate (i-mackew-late): perfectly neat.

Synonym — spotless, clean and tidy.

Antonym — untidy, unclean, messy.

Complete the following similes:

1. As speechless as a _______.

2. As spruce as an _______.

3. As ruthless as the _______.

4. As shallow as a _______.

5. As safe as a _______.

6. As immaculate as an ______.

Looking back

To make a hash of is to carry out some work so badly that it is a complete failure or to make a mess of something. The allusion in ‘hash’ is to a dish of small pieces of vegetable or meat added to a sauce or gravy, which is previously cooked and then warmed up.

Temper if ungoverned, governs the whole man. — Shaftesbury

stone, onion, sea, pan, shrine, angel.

— Illa Vij