[ linch-pin ]

a person or thing vital to an enterprise or organization

[ pleth-er-uh ]

overabundance; excess

[ hahy-pur-buh-lee ]

obvious and intentional exaggeration; an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

[ pur-kuh-leyt ]

to pass through a porous substance or filter; steep

[ spyoor-ee-uhs ]

(of offspring) illegitimate

[ uhb-sid-ee-uhn ]

a volcanic glass similar in composition to granite, usually dark but transparent in thin pieces, and having a good conchoidal fracture

[ shahr-luh-tn ]

a person who pretends or claims to have more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses; quack

[ tar-uh-did-l ]

a small lie; fib

[ haw-tee ]

arrogantly superior and disdainful