Etiquette is a code of polite conduct. If you practice proper etiquette, you are less likely to offend or annoy people — and you may even charm them.

Texture is the physical feel of something — smooth, rough, fuzzy, slimy, and lots of textures something in between.

Consolation is something that makes someone feel better after they're disappointed or sad.

If you have the ability to say the right thing when two friends are fighting, making both sides happy, you are diplomatic. You have tact. You are a peacemaker.

Use the noun frock as an old-fashioned way to say "dress." You might wear a new pinkfrock to your best friend's birthday party.

A pearl is a white, round gem formed inside an oyster or clam. Pearl can also refer to something that resembles the gem in color or shape, like a pearl of sweat that forms on your forehead when you're hot.

A bistro is a cozy little restaurant. The word comes from Paris, of course, but there are bistros all over the world.

A maestro is an artistic master: someone who is skilled enough to be considered an artistic genius.

We love words that sound like what they mean, and bolt is no exception. It's a quick, sharp word that either means to move quickly or refers to a stroke of lightning, as in "lightning bolt."

To deceive means to trick or lie. A crafty kid might deceive his mother into thinking he has a fever by holding the thermometer to a light bulb to increase the temperature.

If you make bad decisions in the morning after drinking coffee, you might conclude that caffeine tends to impair your judgment. When you impair something, you damage it or make it work poorly.

An artery is a major blood vessel that pumps blood away from your heart. For a healthy heart, keep your arteries clean!

Excavation is the act or process of digging, especially when something specific is being removed from the ground. Archaeologists useexcavation to find artifacts and fossils.

A prospectus is a written catalog or brochure that offers a plan, as of school courses to take or which stocks to buy. The idea of a prospectus is to offer a variety of options and a plan of action.

Acrobatic describes something that's an amazing physical feat, especially if it involves agility and balance. An acrobatic dance routine might include back flips and handstands.

If you are glee club treasurer, and you pocket twenty glee dollars saying you used it to buy lozenges, you are committing embezzlement, the theft of money or property that you officially manage.

Things that are glacial are super cold. A place can be glacial — like the South Pole — but a person can be glacial, too, like that unfriendly girl who gave you a glacial stare.

Think of something hard breaking in a crisp, snapping manner, and you've just imagined a fracture. The word is most often applied to a broken bone, but it can used to describe any sharp, sudden break of something solid.

You might call the old lady next door who yells at you to stay off her lawn a harridan. When you see the word harridan, think of the Wicked Witch of the West — a mean-tempered, sharp-tongued old woman.

Use the noun chancellor to describe the president of your college, or the head of the German government.