WILDCAT WORD WALL
To prepare our WHS wildcats with the vocabulary section of the FCAT, ACT, and SAT they are presented with weekly words. Click on the month to see the words we have learned.
August/September | October | November | December | January | February | March | April/May
March 2008
Figurative Expressions
March 3 (Monday)
Dutch treat
Definition: meal or entertainment for which each participant pays his or her own share
Sentence: Sally would not go to lunch with me until I agreed that it would be Dutch treat.
March 5 (Wednesday)
eat crow
Definition: be forced into a humiliating or extremely disagreeable situation
Sentence: The pollster has predicted that the Democrats will win by a landslide. If they should lose, he will eat crow.
March 7 (Friday)
hold a candle to
Definition: compare favorably with
Sentence: I am more than a match for Rose in tennis, but I cannot hold a candle to her in golf.
March 10 (Monday)
lame duck
Definition: elected official who remains in office for a brief period after a successor has been elected
Sentence: If Senator Sims is defeated in November, she will be a lame duck until the winner is sworn in next January.
March 11-14 FCAT Testing
March 18 (Tuesday)
pay the piper
Definition: suffer the unfavorable consequences of one’s actions
Sentence: You were warned that failure to change the engine oil might cause irreparable damage, but you did not listen. Now, you must pay the piper.
March 20 (Thursday)
play the devil’s advocate
Definition: uphold the wrong side of a cause for the sake of argument
Sentence: We are fortunate to be living in a democracy, but let me play the devil’s advocate and point out some shortcomings of democracy.
March 24 (Monday)
white elephant
Definition: possession entailing expense and trouble far greater than its usefulness to the owner
Sentence: The gas-guzzling car we bought last year has already cost us a fortune in repairs. Let’s get rid of that white elephant.
March 26-27 Midterm Exams
March 31 Spring Break begins