Question

Based on the context of each excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams," choose the definition that most closely matches the denotation of the bolded word. childish sulkiness or bad-temper practical, ordinary to emphasize As she took her stance for a short mashie shot, Dexter looked at her closely. She wore a blue gingham dress, rimmed at throat and shoulders with a white edging that accentuated her tan. arrowBoth During dinner she slipped into a moody depression which gave Dexter a feeling of uneasiness. Whatever petulance she uttered in her throaty voice worried him. arrowBoth "You're not. I like you. But I've just had a terrible afternoon. There was a man I cared about, and this afternoon he told me out of a clear sky that he was poor as a church-mouse. He'd never even hinted it before. Does this sound horribly mundane?" arrowBoth

Answer 1

• Childish sulkiness or bad-temper: petulance
• Practical, ordinary: mundane
• To emphasize: accentuated

The first excerpt tells us that the white edging of the dress "accentuated" the woman's tan. This means that her tan became more obvious due to the edging, or that it was "emphasized."

In the second excerpt, we learn that the woman is "uttering petulance" because she is in a sad mood. What the author means is that she was sulking and uttering words that matched this mood.

Finally, in the last excerpt we learn that the man is worried his feelings sound "mundane." Mundane is another way to refer to something ordinary.

Answer 2

Emphasize - Accentuated: As she took her stance for a short mashie shot, Dexter looked at her closely. She wore a blue gingham dress, rimmed at throat and shoulders with a white edging that accentuated her tan.

In this passage it is saying that the white edging of the dress made the darkness of her skin stand out. Emphasize means the same as stand out of accentuate.

Childish sulkiness or bad-temper - petulance: During dinner she slipped into a moody depression which gave Dexter a feeling of uneasiness. Whatever petulance she uttered in her throaty voice worried him.

She is described as being in a moody depression. This best fits with the definition of sulkiness or bad-temper.

Practical, Ordinary - mundane: "You're not. I like you. But I've just had a terrible afternoon. There was a man I cared about, and this afternoon he told me out of a clear sky that he was poor as a church-mouse. He'd never even hinted it before. Does this sound horribly mundane?"

Another word for mundane is ordinary. Mundane is used to give ordinary a more boring connotation.