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car • ob n., leguminous tree of the eastern Mediterranean, bearing long, flat, leathery, brown pods with a sweet pulp. The fruit of the carob tree, when dried and made into a powder, serves as a substitute for chocolate.

fis • sure n., long, narrow, deep cleft or crack. In a fairy tale, a young man makes his fortune with a magic stick he finds in a fissure that has opened in the ground during an earthquake.

muse vi., think deeply and at length; meditate. While he mused on the stars, the philosopher fell into a well.

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per • ver • si • ty n., quality or condition of deviating from what is considered right or good. They thought they were ready to depart when they had packed the car, but out of sheer perversity the engine would not start.

hu • mil • i • ty n., absence of pride or self-assertion. Said the old man of the hills, “Humility is a basic requirement for perfection.”

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con • vulse vt., shake or disturb violently; agitate. The film was so funny that the audience was convulsed with laughter.

pal • try adj., practically worthless; trifling; insignificant; contemptible; petty. In some countries, workers earn the paltry sum of a dollar a week.