incipient

The incipient atrophy stems from the looming expiry of the Kyoto protocol, the United Nations’ treaty on global warming, at the end of 2012.

in·cip·i·ent 
adj.   Beginning to exist or appear: detecting incipient tumors; an incipient personnel problem.

zany

The latest tactic for authors: producing and starring in zany videos aimed at the YouTube audience.

za·ny
n.   pl. za·nies

1. A ludicrous, buffoonish character in old comedies who attempts feebly to mimic the tricks of the clown.
2. A comical person given to extravagant or outlandish behavior.

adj.   za·ni·er, za·ni·est

1. Ludicrously comical; clownish.
2. Comical because of incongruity or strangeness; bizarre.

lithe

Where his characters are ponderous, he’s lithe: more open-collared casual than suffed shirt.

lithe
adj.   lith·er, lith·est

1. Readily bent; supple: lithe birch branches.
2. Marked by effortless grace: a lithe ballet dancer.

sangfroid

But Firth, in a display of sangfroid worthy of types he frequently portrays onscreen – we might call them reserved, he has described them as “quintessentially repressed” - never breaks his stride.

sang-froid or sang·froid
n.   Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances.

aspersions

And I don’t want to cast aspersions on Yahoo!… they are, after all, a “frenemy” of ours.

as·per·sion
n.  

1. 1. An unfavorable or damaging remark; slander: Don’t cast aspersions on my honesty.
   2. The act of defaming or slandering.
2. A sprinkling, especially with holy water.

abstemiousness

Places such as New York and Portland have pockets of abstemiousness - just 9% of Manhattanites drive to work alone, compared with 75% of Angelenos.

ab·ste·mi·ous
adj.  

1. Eating and drinking in moderation.
2. Characterized by abstinence or moderation: The hermit led an abstemious way of life.

exchequers

Profits are going to ugly oil-fed regimes, not Western exchequers.

ex·cheq·uer
n.  

1. Exchequer The British governmental department charged with the collection and management of the national revenue.
2. Exchequer In Great Britain, the Court of Exchequer.
3. A treasury, as of a nation or an organization.
4. Financial resources; funds.

conducive

“Industrial civilization” has been pumping additional carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere and adding to the greenhouse effect, whereby carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor combine to trap sunrays bouncing off the earth’s surface, keeping the earth at a temperature conducive to supporting life.

con·du·cive
adj.   Tending to cause or bring about; contributive: working conditions not conducive to productivity.

quorum

Mr. Hayward rebuffed them, and then declined to take part in a regularly scheduled board meeting, leaving it without a quorum.

quo·rum
n.  

1. The minimal number of officers and members of a committee or organization, usually a majority, who must be present for valid transaction of business.
2. A select group.

prehensile

Harrison Ford maybe 65, but he still wields a prehensile bullship with aplomb and his punches sound as though they might fell an elephant.

pre·hen·sile
adj.  

1. Adapted for seizing, grasping, or holding, especially by wrapping around an object: a monkey’s prehensile tail.
2. Having keen intellect; insightful.
3. Greedy; grasping.