CW3: Ten Definitions

Prompt: The dictionary atop your shelf has more than 200,000 words defined. Why don`t you blow off some of the dust on its cover and randomly pick out 10 words? Don`t look at the meanings; just concentrate on the words. Write down your chosen words on a (blank) sheet of paper. Now, you`re going to have fun creating meanings for those words. What do the words make you think of? What do you think should they mean?

I chose words I did not know by using dictionary.com's word of the day. Here are the meanings I invented.

1. louche: someone who refuses to do work; a freeloader

2. sartorial: a literary article that focuses on debunking statements or ideas rather than making a statement of its own

3. gauche: snobby, especially in high society

4. bravura: brave with female qualities; feminine form of bravado. A strong woman.

5. cosset: a large hood to keep rain and snow off the face

6. hortatory: of or having to do with horticulture (if I could remember what horticulture is)

7. abstemious: adamantly refusing to change ones's opinion even in the face of truth

8. mores: pron: MORE-ess. any land or area that is dark, dangerous, evil, scary, or otherwise bad. (or am i thinking of morass?)

9. tergiversation: an offering that has the illusion of value; a promise of an offering with nothing to back it slang: Indian giving.

10. disport: to unplug (from)

.....

I just looked up the right answers and boy did I get these wrong. But then, this was a creative writing excercise, not a class exam. I hope I didn't just scar my memory with the wrong definitions. Here are the real definitions:

louche: of questionable taste or morality.
sartorial: of or relating to a tailor, tailoring, or clothing.
gauche: lacking social polish; tactless.
bravura: a showy display.
cosset: to treat with excessive indulgence; to pamper.
hortatory: serving to encourage or incite.
abstemious: temperate; abstinent; refraining from indulgence.
mores: customs; habits; ways.
tergiversation: evasion; also, desertion of a cause, party, etc.
disport: to frolic; to amuse (oneself).

I wonder what my definitions say of me, psychologically: freeloader, debunk, snobby, brave, hood, horticulture, refusing to change, evil, empty promise, unplug. God, I really am a pessimist.