A Dictionary of Cont..

extort 170
surface of the pumpkin is smooth and hard.
The exterior decorations of the building were
not in keeping with its dignity). External is the
opposite of internal. It is the outer part of something,
as contrasted with its inner part, not
merely the outer surface, and it is that which
is apart from something else by being outside of
it (The external structure of the building did
not prepare one for the inner arrangement of its
space. External influences affect the child far
less the first three years of its life than, of
course, they will later).
extort. See elicit.
extract. See elicit.
extraneons; extrinsic. That is extraneous which
does not belong to a thing but has been introduced
or has come in from the outside. Fossils
were once called extraneous shells because it
was felt that they could not naturally belong
in the rocks in which they were found but must
have been introduced in some mysterious manner.
An extraneous consideration is a thought
brought into a discussion that has no real place
in it, that did not arise in the course of the
discussion.
Extrinsic exists now wholly as an antithesis to
intrinsic. It means something operating or coming
from the outside. Intrinsic merit is inherent
virtue; extrinsic merit would be some virtue or
fabrication. See fiction.
fabulous, which originally meant told about in
fables (the fabulous voyage of Ulysses) and
known only through myths and legends (the
fabulous Golden Age in Greece), has come to
mean, chiefly, almost incredible (My dear, she
paid a simply fabulous price for it). As such it
it a vogue word, overworked and weakened
from overwork, and should be allowed to rest.
face; countenance; physiognomy. The face is the
front part of the head, from the forehead to
the chin, with special reference to its composite
features (But Lancelot mused a little
space./ He said, “She hath a lovely face”). The
countenance is the face with special reference
to its expression (God made your features, but
you made your countenance. His countenance
fell at the news). The verb to countenance,
meaning to support, to regard with favor (I beseech
you sir,/ To countenance William Visor
of Wonscott, against Clement Perkes of the
hill) is derived from turning a favorable countenance
upon.
Physiognomy, when used seriously, refers to
the face as an index of character (His physiognomy
reflected great benevolence). However,
since many believe that “there is no art to find
F
evaluation imposed from without, unrelated to
an inner merit. The intrinsic value of a certain
cancelled stamp might be inestimably small,
whatever so little a piece of old paper was worth;
but its extrinsic value, if it were a rare item,
might be enormous.
eyeglasses. Until recently, the word eyeglasses
meant spectacles that did not have side pieces
going over the ears. In the United States today
these things are called eyeglasses so long as the
frames have a modern design, ear pieces or no
ear pieces. The word spectacles suggests the very
old. The singular eyeglass means one lens and is
used in this way when speaking of a scientific
instrument, such as a telescope. The pair of
lenses ordinarily worn for reading is treated as
a plural, as in these eyeglasses are too strong.
In order to treat this object as a singular or to
speak of more than one of them, it is necessary
to say this pair of eyeglasses is too strong or
three pairs of eyeglasses.
Theoretically, the singular form eyeglass
should be used as the first element in a compound,
even when referring to reading glasses,
as in an eyeglass case. But in actual practice,
the word is always shortened to glasses and this
form is used in compounds, as in my glasses
case.
the mind’s construction in the face,” it should
be used seriously with caution. Facetiously used,
it is ponderous and tedious.
face the music, as a term for standing up to
trouble, accepting punishment, is a cliche, and,
as in many cliches, the figure is not certain.
Some think it refers to a singer’s facing the
orchestra as he or she faces the audience. But
this is not entirely satisfactory, since very few
performers regard facing the music in this way
as trouble or punishment. Some think it has to
do with being drummed out of a regiment in
disgrace.
facies has the same form in the singular as in the
plural and may be used with either a singular
or a plural verb.
facile; easy. As a synonym for easy, facile has a
disparaging sense (With no facile labor did I
gather these materials). There is a feeling that
since “nothing great is lightly won,” that which
is done facilely is not much worth the doing. A
facile pen is the counterpart of a glib tongue.
facility; faculty. A facility is something which
makes possible the easier performance of an
action, freedom from difficulty, ease, opportunities
or conditions which make an easier performance
possible (Every facility was placed at