GRE word list

antic \an-tik\, adjective

1. Ludicrous; funny.

2. Fantastic; odd; grotesque: an antic disposition.

noun:

1. Usually, antics. A. A playful trick or prank; caper. B. A grotesque, fantastic, or ludicrous gesture, act, or posture.

2. Archaic. A. An actor in a grotesque or ridiculous presentation. B. A buffoon; clown.

3. Obsolete. A. A grotesque theatrical presentation; ridiculous interlude. B. A grotesque or fantastic sculptured figure, as a gargoyle.

From the subversive to the antic, the uproarious to the disturbing, the stories of Bruce Sterling are restless,

energy-filled journeys through a world running on empty.

-- Bruce Sterling, A Good Old-Fashioned Future

Grey Magic is a work of great scope and stylistic virtuosity, combining antic humor with immense sophistication, an Anglo-American setting with an Anglo-European sensibility and a profound insight into contemporary issues of both personal and collective resonance.

-- Richard Leigh, Grey Magic

Antic comes from the Italian word antico which meant "ancient." Apparently, it was associated with the fantastic figures of the Roman ruins and came to mean "grotesque."

versicolor \VUR-si-kuhl-er\, adjective

1. Changeable in color: versicolor skies.

2. Of various colors; parti-colored: a versicolor flower arrangement.

The three large versicolor flowers opened up with a silky slap…

-- Boris Vian, Foam of the Daze

The versicolor glow of the Algeron Effect, just a few hundred thousand kilometers from the space station, angled through the viewing port and stippled the far wall.

-- David R. George III, Serpents Among the Ruins

Versicolor comes from the Latin roots vers meaning "to turn" and color. It entered English in the 1620s.