Historically Speaking...
Ralph Waldo Emerson and his literary cadre encouraged people to rise above or ____ the trials of this world.
transcend
When kids are little, we spend so much time _____ing their pain by kissing boo-boos.
assuag(ing)
to reason with a person for purposes of dissuasion
expostulate
taking one of these over our 3-day weekend
hiatus
Some countries _____d on behalf of the desperate country, trying to defend them against attack.
intercede
When they finally tinkle in the potty, we practically throw a parade for their ____ act, which deserves praise.
meritorious
feeling or showing a lack of interest or excitement
jaded
lying in the ___ of a grove of palm trees
umbrage
Many saw the Roaring Twenties as a time of cultural ________ with that rascally jazz playing and flappers wearing short hair.
Truth be told, sometimes at night, we _____ sleep complete with fake snores because we are tired of answering questions
simulate
a statement which suggests that someone has done something wrong
innuendo
reading a sweet poem from my boo Denzel that is free of ____, stale phrases
hackneyed
The scenes from the concentration camps were especially ____.
lurid
Children seek our ___ for a good part of their youth...until they don't care what we think any more.
approbation
excessively or ingratiatingly flattering
unctuous
exercising my _____ to eat whatever I want without fear of the dreaded scale
prerogative
A ____ of suffragettes converged on Washington in March of 1913 to lobby for the right to vote.
coalition
When they're in high school, sometimes ___ing answers from them is like pulling teeth. (We really do want to hear your sweet voices.)
elicit(ing)
insolent or rude in speech or behavior
petulant
taking another quick jaunt to the _____ countryside of France.
provincial