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be of historic dimension." Theodore H. White, The Making of the President

spontaneous

"Professor Einstein burst out in spontaneous candidness." Thomas Lee Bucky, "Einstein: An Intimate Memoir"

sporadic

"TROOPS ENCOUNTER SPORADIC VIOLENCE" Headline, Newsday, 6/14/99

spurious

"The only known picture, albeit a spurious one, had been printed some years earlier." James Monaghan, Diplomat in Carpet Slippers

squeamish

"My brother, who voted for Mr. Mbeki and who has faith in his leadership, is not squeamish." Mark Mathabane, "South Africa's Lost Generation"

stagnant

"The place was small and close, and the long disuse had made the air stagnant and foul." T. E. Lawrence, The Desert of the Stars

staunch

"Known as a staunch supporter of the Republican agenda, the young politician astounded us all by his defection." Monte Halperin, "Party Turncoat?"

steeped

"Edward Francis had steeped himself in the internal mystery of the guinea pig." Paul De Kruif, Hunger Fighters

stentorian

"He proclaimed the fact in stentorian tones that were easily heard throughout the auditorium." A. A. Berle, The 20th Century Capitalist Revolution

stereotypes

"Treating the most respected leader in the land that way confirms the worst stereotypes and that really hurts us." Alessandra Stanley, "Asking a Favor of the Pope," New York Times, 6/12/99

stigmatized

"People who so much as whisper during a performance are stigmatized as barbarians." Joseph Wechsberg, The Best Things in Life

stipulated

"I shall come out from here five minutes before the stipulated term, and thus shall violate the agreement." Anton Chekhov, "The Bet"

strident

"No matter how strident or insulting he became, he was not interrupted by the police." New York Daily News, 9/5/99

strife

"Either there is a civil strife, Or else the world, too saucy with the gods, Incenses them to send destruction." William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

stunted

"Their physical and mental development became stunted during childhood." Roger Pineles, Shame of the Cities

stupor

"If your child watches late night television and comes home from school in a stupor, she's not getting enough sleep." "Getting Enough Sleep," Working Mother, 5/98

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operator so no prosecution would take place." Queens Courier, 1/18/00

subterfuge

"He was a free-will agent and he chose to do careful work, and if he failed, he took the responsibility without subterfuge." Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, "A Mother in Mannville"

subterranean

"Another celebrity expected during the three games at Madison Square Garden is Ed Nortonthe actor, not the subterranean sanitation professional." Richard Sandomir, "N.B.A. Finals," New York Times, 6/21/99

succinct

"In clear and succinct tones, our division head proceeded to tear me to shreds in front of the entire staff." Elleyn Falk, "They Promised Me a Rose Garden"

succulent

"Use this coupon to get $1 off on a succulent holiday turkey." Advertisement, Waldbaum's Supermarket, 11/99

succumbed

"This young gentleman was of an excellent family but had been reduced to such poverty that the energy of his character succumbed beneath it." Edgar Allan Poe, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"

sullen

"My decision to leave put her into a sullen silence, broken only by a mumble under her breath." Alan Lelchuk, "American Mischief"

sultry

"The sun would shine up there in the lengthening spring day and pleasant breezes blow in sultry summer." Maurice Walsh, The Quiet Man

sumptuous

"In the summer the table was set, and the sumptuous mealswell, it makes me cry to think of them." Mark Twain,

Autobiography

superficial

"His teachings had only a superficial relationship to the orthodox religion he advocated." Carl Dreyer, "The Roots of Anti-Semitism"

superfluous

"He drove through the beautiful countryside in silence; conversation would have been superfluous." Travel and Leisure, 10/94

supine

"The clergy as a whole were therefore obedient and supine." G. M. Trevelyan, Carlyle

supplication

"The last supplication I make of you is that you will believe this of me." Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

surfeit

"A surfeit of the sweetest things The deepest loathing to the stomach brings." William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

surge

"In one wild surge they stormed into a police station, where the bewildered officers tried to maintain order." James Michener, "The Bridge at Andau"

surmised

"The commanding officer surmised that the other ship in the cove was a coaster." Joseph Conrad, Tales of Hearsay