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An executive at the company that manufactures Cristal champagne has expressed his antipathy to hip hop culture and its songs that promote cupidity and relate the details of salacious exploits. He believes that the culture brings "unwanted attention" to the brand; in response to this negative stance, Jay-Z has joined a boycott of Cristal. When Jay-Z's patrons at his restaurant would like to indulge in a decadent potation, they will have to choose between Dom Perignon and Krug.

antipathy – (noun) deep distate

cupidity – (noun) excessive desire for wealth and possessions

salacious – (adjective) lustful

exploit – (noun) adventure, deed

indulge – (verb) to engage in freely; to yield to (as a desire)

decadent – (adjective) self-indulgent

potation – (noun) a drink

Nick Lachey, who has been equivocal about the glut of speculation concerning his affairs since his separation from Jessica Simpson, was seen leaving a party with Vanessa Minnillo. They danced and cavorted, then subsequently left for a presumed tryst.

equivocal – (adjective)

glut – (noun) excessive supply

speculation – (noun) a conclusion reached by guessing

cavort – (verb) to play in a loud and celebratory manner

subsequently – (adverb) following at a time after the occurrence of something else

presume – (verb) to assume without proof

tryst – (noun) an agreement to meet (usually in a romantic way)

Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillippe share a proclivity for running track. If they are sedulous in their training, they should obviate any need for further aerobic exercise.

proclivity – (noun) a tendency to prefer something

sedulous – (adjective) persistent in effort

obviate – (verb) make unnecessary

Paris Hilton was caught on videotape as she backed her SUV into a parked car and drove off, seemingly without contrition. Her publicist explained that she was addled by the flashbulbs of a swarm of photographers and the tumult caused her to effect the accident. He further explicated that, in accordance with social mores and the laws of California, Paris notified a parking attendant and provided her contact information to be delivered to the victim.

contrition – (noun) regret for one's wrongdoing

addle – (verb) to confuse

tumult – (noun) the noise and commotion of a large crowd

effect – (verb) to bring about

explicate – (verb) to explain

mores – (noun) traditional ways

Orlando Bloom is planning to climb the august heights of Mount Everest as a respite from his promotional campaign for the sequel to The Pirates of the Caribbean. Orlando's vocation is acting and his avocation is mountain climbing.

august – (adjective) inspiring awe; majestic

respite – (noun) a short period of rest or relief

vocation – (noun) job

avocation – (noun) hobby [The prefix "a-" means "not" or "without." "Avocation" means "not vocation."]

A portion of the sales of Taylor Hicks' single, "Do I Make You Proud," will be allotted as a philanthropic contribution to the American Red Cross. The donation, in combination with those from other benefactors, will facilitate the organization's efforts to provide sustenance during emergencies.

allot – (verb) to give out a portion

philanthropic – (adjective) charitable

benefactor – (noun) a person who provides aid [ben/bene = good; mal/male = bad]

facilitate – (verb) to make easier

sustenance – (noun) 1. support 2. nourishment

Hugh Jackman will supersede Russell Crowe in the lead role in Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming film about an uncouth cattle driver who has an affair with an English woman who has inherited a ranch on a prodigious piece of land in World War II-era Australia.

supersede – (verb) to replace

uncouth – (adjective) unrefined; coarse

prodigious – (adjective) extremely large in size, extent, or force

The sanguine Queen Latifah has espoused an apt cause: she traveled to Washington, D.C., to show her support of a National Women's Confidence Day. She said she attributes her own self-confidence to her supportive family and that she is living proof that belief in one's self can lead to attaining one's goals.

sanguine – (adjective) 1. optimistically cheerful 2. reddish in color [like blood]
espouse – (verb) to support or adopt (a cause, etc.)

apt – (adjective) appropriate

attain – (verb) to gain or to arrive at

In keeping with the lore of a new mother's shining aura, Gwen Stefani sported a resplendent glow as she left the hospital after giving birth to her first child, a baby boy named Kingston James McGregor Rossdale. Her make-up was impeccable and her hair was pulled back in a comely ponytail.

lore – (noun) traditional belief

aura – (noun) an intangible quality that seems to surround a person or thing
resplendent – (adjective) brightly shining

impeccable – (adjective) flawless

comely – (adjective) attractive

Trey Parker and Matt Stone received a Peabody Award for their meritorious work on South Park. Ceremony host Jon Stewart extolled the show's enduring freshness and hilarity during his introduction of the honorees.

meritorious – (adjective) worthy of honor

extol – (verb) to praise greatly

enduring – (adjective) lasting

Donald Trump has abrogated his responsibility as a parent to change his son's diaper. He claims that he does not know how to perform this apparently arcane task. (Notice the mordant tone of that sentence. What could be more mundane than changing a diaper?)

abrogate – (verb) to abolish or do away with

arcane – (adjective) requiring secret or mysterious knowledge

mordant – (adjective) sarcastic

mundane – (adjective) ordinary

The Church of Scientology is skilled at bringing public attention to itself through the cunning recruitment of celebrities such as Tom Cruise into its fold. The religious group has parlayed this finesse into extending its hegemony to include NASCAR racers, sponsoring a racing team and setting up a Dianetics Racing website.

cunning – (adjective) clever, crafty

parlay – (verb) to exploit successfully

finesse – (noun) skillful elegance or expertise

hegemony – (noun) influence or authority over others

Winona Ryder has reunited with the writer of Heathers, the movie that captured the zeitgeist of the Generation X era with lines like "What is your damage, Heather?" They are working on a new independent film that will cast Winona as a feminist vigilante who chases down male sex offenders.

zeitgeist – (noun) the spirit of the age

vigilante – (noun) a self-appointed doer of justice

The Break-Up, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, has been excoriated by the press. Apparently, the performances are graceless and the plot is execrable.

excoriate – (verb) to censure scathingly

graceless – (adjective) devoid of attractive qualities, artistically inept

execrable – (adjective) very bad, detestable

Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, who has been given the sobriquet "Baby Brangelina" by the media, will be the subject of a documentary airing on VH1. The program will touch upon the full gamut of the frenetic media coverage surrounding her birth and will include candid footage of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's expatriate activities in Namibia.

sobriquet – (noun) nickname

gamut – (noun) range

frenetic – (adjective) frenzied

candid – (adjective) honest and open, fair and impartial

expatriate – (adjective) living in a foreign land [the noun form of this word means "someone who lives abroad;" the verb form means "to live abroad"]

Scientology zealot Tom Cruise reportedly sent Katie Holmes to the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles for a clandestine meeting with Katharine McPhee to arrange for the singer to perform at their wedding.

zealot – (noun) a single-minded and determined supporter of a political cause, religion, etc.

clandestine – (adjective) concealed, secret, furtive

Lindsay Lohan's fervor for shopping reportedly cost her over a million dollars last year. Rumors abound that she may be seeking the services of a hypnotist to help quell her inclination to make imprudent purchases.

fervor – (noun) passionate enthusiasm

abound – (verb) to exist in large numbers

quell – (verb) to suppress or put an end to

imprudent – (adjective) lacking in good sense

Pop icon and perennial maverick Prince will receive a Special Achievement Webby Award for staying at the vanguard of music technology. He is being formally recognized as the first major artist to release an entire album on the Web.

perennial – (adjective) continuing without interruption

maverick – (noun) an independent individual

vanguard – (noun) the forefront of an action or movement

In her forthcoming memoir, Dirty Blonde, Courtney Love elucidates salient aspects of her life. She ponders about her fame, shares memorabilia collected throughout her career, and even concedes that Kurt Cobain's overdose in Rome was actually a suicide attempt.

elucidate – (verb) to make clear or explain

salient – (adjective) prominent

ponder – (verb) to consider or contemplate

memorabilia – (noun) souvenirs 
concede – (verb) to admit to be true or correct

A judge asked Kanye West to say the first two lines of his song "Stand Up" during a copyright infringement trial. The bawdy lyrics disconcerted the judge but amused nearly everyone else in the courtroom.

bawdy – (adjective) lewd

disconcert – (verb) to make someone feel uneasy

Feliciations to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the birth of their daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt!

felicitations – (noun) congratulations

Some mothers believe that the media has been too harsh in casting aspersions on Britney Spears' parenting skills. A recent poll of 10,000 people on a parenting website showed that 75% of respondents believe that the criticism of the star is unfairly censorious.

aspersion – (noun) a damaging or spiteful remark

censorious – (adjective) inclined to find fault; severely critical

• Review more words that relate to "verbal attacks" at SAT+ACT+writing.

An impertinent British DJ made an inappropriate impersonation of a "big, fat, black guy" during an interview with X-Men: The Last Stand star Halle Berry. Halle responded with indignation, asking, "Are we having a racist moment here?"

impertinent – (adjective) rude; not showing respect

indignation – (noun) anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean

Tonight is the final show-down between Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee on American Idol. Betting pools give Taylor a slight edge, and Simon Cowell prognosticates an auspicious outcome for him as well.

prognosticate – (verb) 1. to foretell 2. to indicate in advance

auspicious – (adjective) promising future success; favorable

Elton John lambasted photographers in a diatribe filled with invectives during a speech he was giving at the Cannes Film Festival.

lambaste – (verb) 1. to attack verbally 2. to accost

diatribe – (noun) abusive speech or writing

invective – (noun) an abusive expression; insulting language

• Review more words about "verbal attacks" at SAT+ACT+writing.

There is conjecture that Angelina Jolie might be in labor. Some sources posit that the baby's arrival is imminent!

conjecture – (noun) an opinion or conclusion based on incomplete evidence

posit – (verb) to assume something as a basis for discussion; to postulate

imminent – (adjective) likely to happen soon

Mischa Barton divulged the fate of her character on The O.C. in an interview with Access Hollywood prior to the airing of the show's season finale. The actress has intimated that she wants to leave the show to pursue a film career.

divulge – (verb) to reveal something

intimate – (verb) 1. to announce 2. to hint

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have reportedly signed a deal with a magazine for the first pictures of their new baby. True to form, the magnanimous couple has an unselfish ulterior motive for this agreement.

Brad and Angelina's altruistic plan for the $5 million they will receive for the pictures is to donate the money to UNICEF.

magnanimous – (adjective) generous

ulterior – (adjective) beyond what is openly said or shown

altruistic – (adjective) unselfishly devoted to the welfare of others

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York made a fallacious comment implying that Scarlett Johansson would be attending his press conference, when in fact she had made no commitment to participate in the event.

Scarlett issued a statement in which she said, "I am simply in New York trying to do my job… Production always comes first." One can infer from her comments that her career is of paramount importance to her.

fallacious – (adjective) false or mistaken

imply – (verb) to express indirectly, suggest

infer – (verb) to reach a conclusion by reasoning from evidence, conclude

paramount – (verb) greatest in degree or importance

Christina Aguilera disparaged Mariah Carey’s reputation with harsh remarks in an interview in GQ, and Mariah reciprocated with scathing censure of Christina in an interview with Access Hollywood.

disparage – (verb) to speak ill of

reciprocate – (verb) to give in return

scathing – (adjective) bitterly critical

censure – (noun) public or formal expression of disapproval

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are planning a line of African homeware products that will combine his penchant for design with her fervor for humanitarian work.

penchant – (noun) an inclination

fervor – (noun) passionate enthusiasm

Britney Spears is hardly a paragon of motherhood: she received an injunction in February for driving with her infant son on her lap, and now she's been spotted with an improperly installed child seat in her car. She seems to be incorrigible with respect to automotive child safety!

paragon – (noun) a model of excellence or perfection

injunction – (noun) an order or a warning (In lay terms, an injunction is simply an order or a warning; in legal terms, it is a formal directive issued by a court with instructions to do or to refrain from doing something.)

incorrigible – (adjective) incapable of being corrected or reformed

Thieves absconded with a package of lavish gifts that Paris Hilton had bought to give her mother for Mother's Day.

abscond – (verb) to depart quickly and secretly, usually in order to avoid punishment for doing something wrong

lavish – (adjective) luxurious, extravagant, excessive

Religious leaders have decried the claims put forth in The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and some have called for a boycott of the upcoming film, but movie pundits believe that the controversy will not have deleterious effects on ticket sales.

decry – (verb) to express strong disapproval of

pundit – (noun) authority on a subject

deleterious – (adjective) harmful

The mercurial Lindsay Lohan, who has been romantically linked with model Jamie Dornan and shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, was recently seen in an amorous embrace with singer Jamie Burke.

mercurial – (adjective) characterized by a rapid change of temperament

amorous – (adjective) showing love, particularly sexual

Despite receiving adulation from the fans and acclaim from the judges, Chris Daughtry was cut from American Idol.

adulation – (noun) extreme praise

acclaim – (noun) high praise

Paris Hilton confounded fans when she mistakenly referred to her new video game as "Diamondquest" instead of "Paris Hilton's Jewel Jam."

confound – (verb) to confuse, to frustrate

Denise Richards alleged that Charlie Sheen threatened to kill her, but he argued against the veracity of her statements and claimed that she is simply trying to vilify him with a "most obvious immature and transparent smear campaign."

allege – (verb) to assert, usually without proof

veracity – (noun) truthfulness, accuracy

vilify – (verb) to lower in importance, defame

Tom Cruise gave Katie Holmes an ostentatious gift of $900 flowers in a Limoges vase for Mother's Day.

ostentatious – (adjective) excessively showy