Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

PLOY

DEFINITION:
A cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one's own advantage.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” said the 44th president, conceding that it does serve as an effective distraction and ploy for attention.
►The Boston Herald, 02/16/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

Click on the correct answer in the quiz below.
Then see if you can find the word in your newspaper -- the print edition, the website or the digital edition and copy the sentence for context. NOTE: High School words are much harder to find!

1. Divulge

► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.

► Something that is passed down from preceding generations; a tradition.

► To proclaim publicly

► Being without or almost without hope

2. Solstice

► Having a backbone or spinal column.

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

3. Ellipse

► The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables

► Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.

► The locus of points for which the sum of the distances from each point to two fixed points is equal

► A form of a verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective.

4. Gargoyle

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.

► The method or result of concealing personnel or equipment from an enemy by making them appear to be part of the natural surroundings

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

5. Renaissance

► One that speaks for, represents, or advocates

► A rebirth or revival.

► A schedule of prices or fees.

► A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness

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Common Core State Standard
LS.CCS.4/5/6 Grades 3-12: Students are asked to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words through multiple choice vocabulary quizzes. Quizzes are designed to help students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in words, acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words, and gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Students are then asked to find the words within the newspaper and copy the sentence for context to its overall meaning or function in a sentence.