From time to time we encounter words whose meanings may be surprising or elusive; some illustrations (pronunciations are in parenthesis with accented syllables in capital letters):
Akimbo (uh-KIM-boh): With hands on hips, elbows bent outward (Benito Mussolini in World War II).
Avuncular (un-VUN-kyuh-ler): Having qualities of a benevolent uncle.
Bowdlerize (BOHD-luh-righs): To remove words that are considered offensive from a text; expurgate..
Cache (kash): Anything stored or hidden. (Not to be confused with “Cachet”.)
Cachet (ka-SHAY): Distinction or prestige.
Cenotaph (SE-nuh-taf): Monument to a decedent whose body is elsewhere.
Coterminous (KOH-ter-MUH-nuhs): Having a common boundary.
Eponymous (i-PA-ne-mes): Bearing the name of the owner (“Joe Smith’s Bar”; assuming there is a Joe Smith who owns the bar).
Fey (fay): Doomed to die; able to see into the future; excessively refined.
Halcyon (HAL-see-ahn): Calm; peaceful; happy; idyllic.
Internecine (in-ter-NEE-si