GRE words

One of the obvious perks of studying for the GRE and spending hours a day at a desk covered in note cards, study books, scratch paper, and reference books (ugh!) is that you learn alternate, sometimes ironic, meanings to common words. Take for instance, August, the month after July before September, right. Wrong. When used as an adjective, august means dignified, grandiose, and admirable. Hum... kinda makes you wish you were born that month, doesn't it.

Other fun ones are:

Catholic - you would think this is a religion, right? But when used as an adjective catholic means universal, broad, comprehensive, and general

Flag - as a noun, flag is something you fly in front of your house. Well when used as a verb, flag means to decline in vigor, strength, or interest. Any thoughts on why we'd use a flag as a symbol of our country's strength?

Ford - this isn't your pick 'em up truck... ford used as a verb means to cross a body of water by wading. No wonder Ford always has trucks splashing through water in their commercials!

Wanton - ever since I was little this has meant one of my favorite soups at Chinese restaurants. But not anymore. When wanton is used as an adjective it means undisciplined, unrestrained, and reckless. What is this saying about my soup!?

And my all time favorite: Husband - not the guy with the ring on his finger who says he loves you. As a verb, husband means to manage economically, to use sparingly, to conserve.

Crazy, right! Got to love the English language!