Whether finding the precise word for the blurb in an editorial cartoon, the concise phrase for an editorial or the terse expression in a column, the writer needs a vocabulary of succinct words upon which to draw.

Here is a list of such words which express ideas in one word rather than five or more. You might have students fill in the definitions to test themselves. Those they do not know could be a personal vocabulary to learn.

They might be asked to write a column using any 10 of the words. They get to chose the type of column and topic. They might be asked to draw an editorial cartoon (or a caricature) expressing the definition or use of the word.

• Axiom
• Captious
• Coloratura
• Convivial
• Curry
• Demarche
• Discursive
• Eclectic
• Entice
• Glutton
• Gore
• Grandiloquent
• Homage
• Menagerie
• Myrmidon
• Nemesis
• Nepotism
• Pedantic
• Pizzicato
• Plutocratic
• Rancanteur
• Retrieve
• Retrogression
• Sanctuary
• Speculate
• Sybaritic
• Topiary
• Thwart
• Vocation
• Votary