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jealous, and perverse." Alexander Hamilton, speech, 1782

pesky

"Oranges down there is like a young man's whiskers; you enjoy them at first, but they get to be a pesky nuisance." Ring W. Lardner, "The Golden Honeymoon"

phenomenon

"This phenomenon is characterized by a temporary reversal of the normal atmospheric conditions, in which the air near the earth is warmer than the air higher up." Berton Roueché, "The Fog"

phlegmatic

"Duncan had a phlegmatic fourth quarter, dooming the Spurs' opportunity to humble the New York Knicks." TV announcer, NBA Finals, 6/22/99

phobia

"My phobia was such that the slightest touch produced twinges of pain." Guy De Maupassant, "Looking Back"

pinnacle

"Their little barber-shop quartet reached the pinnacle of their career with a first-place finish on Major Bowes' 'Amateur Hour.'" David and Marge Buchanan, "No Business Like You Know What"

pique

"In a fit of pique he raised his pistol to take aim at me but Masha threw herself at his feet." Aleksandr Pushkin, "The Shot"

pittance

"To be paid a mere pittance and yet to be suspected of theft; never in her life had she been subjected to such an outrage." Anton Chekhov, "An Upheaval"

placards

"Yet a mile away at the ultra-orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood, wall placards now warn residents not to have Internet-linked computers in their homes." Thomas Friedman, "All in the Family," New York Times, 6/22/99

plaintiff

"When the attorney for the palsied plaintiff finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom." Rose Axelsohn, "The Defense Rests" [adapted]

platitudes

"The topic was, 'What Is Life?' and the students labored at it busily with their platitudes." Philip Roth, American Pastoral

plethora

"SUFFERERS CONFRONT A PLETHORA OF POLLEN" Headline, New York Times, 6/5/99

plight

"I had the sense that his loneliness was not merely the result of his personal plight." Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome

poignant

"Keen, poignant agonies seemed to shoot from his neck downward through every fiber of his body and limbs." Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

pondered

"As I made my way back, I pondered the significance of what I'd seen." Nicholas Kristof, "1492: The Prequel"

potent

"Those huge differences in income found in our society must have potent causes." Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel

potentates

"The racing season at Saratoga invited all manner of societyfrom potentates to paupers." Lanny Richards, "They're Off!"

potential

"We realized that this system had worked because the potential targets were so many that the Germans could not get a definite idea of where we would strike." Ewen Montagu, The Man Who Never Was

potpourri

"A potpourri of fresh fruits and cool cottage cheese make for a delicious lunch treat when the temperatures rise into the high 90s." Martha Stewart, CBS News, 5/23/98

pragmatic

"His conservative approach to investing has made millions of dollars for those who share Warren Buffet's pragmatic philosophy." "Master of Berkshire-

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Hathaway," Profile of Warren Buffet, New York Times

precedent

"One can imagine a time when the voters ignore precedent and elect a woman to the office of President of the United States." Barbara Walker, The Women's Encyclopedia

precipitate

"The weight of a finger might precipitate the tragedy, hurl him at once into the dim, gray unknown." Stephen Crane, "An Episode of War"

precluded

"I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settledbut the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk." Edgar Allan Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado"

precocious

"Pediatricians interviewed this week were somewhat divided on the value of TV viewing by precocious children." Lawrie Miflin, "Tough Rules for TV," New York Times, 8/4/99

prelude

"Bounderby's prelude to his main point was very well received by Mrs. Sparsit who said, 'Very sagacious indeed, sir.'" Charles Dickens, Hard Times

premise

"That train of reasoning has all the various parts and termsits major premise and its conclusion." T. H. Huxley, "We Are All Scientists"

premonition

"There seemed to be a gentle stir arising over everythinga very premonition of rest and hush and night." Mary Wilkens Freeman, "The New England Nun"

prerogative

"Governor Pataki exercised his prerogative as titular head of the party to endorse Mayor Rudolph Giuliani." Editorial, "Truce Among New York Republicans," New York Times, 8/7/99

prestigious

"He had finally reached his present prestigious position of wealth and security, and he felt he was entitled to sit back and enjoy his happiness." Ronald Byron, "Happy Days for Harrison Gumedi"

pretext

"Our mother had been expressly enjoined by her husband to give Madame Cornouiller some plausible pretext for refusing." Anatole France, "Putois"

prevalent

"On the all-news channels the most prevalent images were from a helicopter pursuing the police chase." New York Post, 7/30/99

prevarication

"They must honestly swear to this oath without prevarication or reservation." Supreme Court Justice Byron White, speech, 12/1/64

privations

"It aroused a strong response in our hearts when he told about their sufferings and privations." Selma Lagerlöf,

Harvest

procrastinated

"Mr. Brooksmith procrastinated for several days before accepting my offer." Henry James, "Brooksmith"

prodigious

"He knew from the moment he left the ground that it was a prodigious jump." Joseph N. Bell, "The Olympics Biggest Winner"

prodigy

"I grant you CliveClive was a prodigy, a genius and met the fate of geniuses." Stephen Vincent Benet, "The Curfew Tolls"

proffer

"Orin came to proffer his condolences when, wonder of wonder, he fell in love with the grieving widow." Terence Cavanaugh, "An Ill Wind"

profligate

"Her innocent appearance had a peculiar attraction for a vicious profligate, who had hitherto admired only the coarser types of feminine beauty." Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Käramazov

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