Cracking down on idol-looters – The Hindu (June 17, 2016)
The thriving trade in illicitly procured temple idols was exposed yet again after officers of the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police raided the premises of the Chennai-based businessman Deenadayalan on May 31. The sheer scale of the seizure — 71 stone idols, 41 metal idols, 90 paintings and an ivory item — signals how big and brazen the idol-looting business is in India. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.
Today’s Words:
- Crack down (phrasal verb) – get tough on, take severe action against, eliminate/eradicate/abolish.
- Thriving (adjective) – growing, developing, flourishing.come down heavily on,
- Illicitly (adverb) – illegally, wrongfully, unlawfully. (denoting something forbidden by society).
- Sheer (adjective) – total, complete.
- Seizure (noun) – confiscation, impounding, commandeering, expropriation.
- Ivory (noun) – a precious substance which is hard & white coloured. This substance is forming tooth like part (tusk) of some animals (elephant, walrus & etc).
- Brazen (adjective) – bold, shameless, blatant, impudent.
- Rob (verb) – steal from, loot, plunder.
- Yield (verb) – provide, give, produce, gather in.
- Refinement(noun) – culture, elegance, style, classiness, finesse, majesty.
- Octogenarian (noun) – a person who is between 80 and 89 years old.
- Ply (verb) – engage in, carry on, conduct, pursue, practise, to work at.
- Kingpin (noun) – gang leader, the most important person in a group/organisation.
- Artefact (noun) – man-made artful/crafty/decorative/ornamental object of cultural/archaeological/historical interest.
- Antiquities (noun) – antique, period piece, museum piece, treasure.
- Stretch (verb) – extend, cover, spread, span, continue, range (period of time).
- Plunder (verb) – rob, loot, steal, seize, take something illegally/illicitly.
- Signatory (noun) – the one (person/party/organisation/country) which signed an official document.
- Rubric (noun) – category.
- Enforcement (noun) -imposition, administration, execution, prosecution.
- Trickle (verb) – move, go, come slowly.
Note:
- Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ .
- Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press.
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