upshot	final result, an outcome
to spurn	to refuse scornfully
to gush	to flow out in great quantities
punctilious	very attentive to details
overtures	friendly approaches, proposals
foray into sth	a sudden attack meant to obtain sth
to remonstrate	to protest, to complain
to sear	to burn on surface/ to affect sb's emotions
cornucopia	an abundant source of information
blatant	shameless, obvious
close at hand	very near
to juxtapose	to place things next to each other in order to compare them
monstrosity	sth large and ugly
imperturbable	calm, not easily worried
to espouse	to give one's support to a theory
to proclaim	to make sth known officially, to promulgate
piddling	trivial, small
travail	painful effort, labour
defunct	no longer in use, no longer effective
to throw caution to the wind	to stop being cautious
to be at variance with sb	to disagree
walkover	an easy victory
wherewithal	money, resources to do sth
yesteryear	belonging to the past
to epitomise	to be the perfect example
to underpin	to form the basis of sth
succour	help/support given to sb in danger
not to be a patch on sb	not to be nearly as good as sb
assides	incidental, critical remarks
sojourn	stay
versimilitude	appearance of being true or real
to bite off more than one could chew	to try to do sth that is too difficult
to be at the receiving end	to be ready to accept criticism/punishment
to proscribe	to state officially that sth is forbidden
vehicle for sth	a means of expressing sth
affable	polite and friendly
duplicity	deliberate deception
impecunious	having no or little money
to beat around the bush	to avoid getting to the point
mendacious	untruthful, lying
industrious	hard-working, diligent
contrite	showing regret, repentant
decrepit	made weak by age or hard use
languid	slow-moving, languish, lazy
to bend over backwards to do sth	to make great effort in order to please sb
to get wind of sth	to hear a rumour about sth
to coop sb up	to restrict sb's freedom by keeping him inside
to emulate	to try to do sth equally good as sb else
effusive	too emotional
to fall by the wayside	to fail to make progress