Author: Evelyn Ng

noun

“the marking of the limits or boundaries of something : the act, process, or result of demarcating something” – Merriam-Webster dictionary

The word was encountered through the article”Here, Poverty And Privilege Are Neighbors; Income Gaps Are a Source Of Resentment and Guilt” by  JANNY SCOTT

The sentence it was used in is”They range from Ms. Davis’s neighborhood, where two public housing projects bookend a gentrifying corridor of brownstones and row houses, to an area along the beach in Brooklyn where West End Avenue appears to be a stark line of demarcation between the serene old-immigrant opulence (great wealth or luxuriousness) of Manhattan Beach and the teeming new-immigrant enclave ( social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory) of Brighton Beach.”

The author in the article mostly talks about how there’s a always a borderline in New York even though there is diversities. This quote ”Even as a young child, there’s a sense that you sort of stay with the people that you’re most comfortable with — people in the same income bracket or gender or ethnicity or class.” Demarcation is utilized to say New York has always been divided. There’s aways a borderline between rich/poor neighborhoods or maybe a split between two ethnicities.

Definition

noun

“a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory” Merriam-Webster dictionary

The word was encountered through the article”Here, Poverty And Privilege Are Neighbors; Income Gaps Are a Source Of Resentment and Guilt” by  JANNY SCOTT

The sentence it was used in is”They range from Ms. Davis’s neighborhood, where two public housing projects bookend a gentrifying corridor of brownstones and row houses, to an area along the beach in Brooklyn where West End Avenue appears to be a stark line of demarcation (the marking of the limits) between the serene old-immigrant opulence (great wealth or luxuriousness) of Manhattan Beach and the teeming new-immigrant enclave of Brighton Beach.”

The author utilizes this word to describe Brighton Beach as a neighborhood or area that’s separated because of its differences with Manhattan Beach. The sentence talks about how the buildings are different neighborhood to neighborhood but where the borderline is in New York is between old buildings and the newer ones that look newer and more expensive. The word enclave is utilized to say that Brighton Beach has a old, more worn down building side that is in their own “distinct territory” compared to the rich looking side Manhattan Beach possibly with newer buildings.

Definition

noun

“a divine imparting of knowledge or power : INSPIRATION” – Merriam-Webster dictionary

The word was encountered in “A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport” by Charles Mcgrath

The sentence it was used was “There!” he said. “There’s the interface!” A little later, after pausing briefly near the Utica Avenue intersection to inspect, in vain, a curbside book table for Will Self titles, he caught a whiff of subway. “Ah,” he said. “The afflatus of the city’s bowels — now we’re getting into the real body of the city.”

The author utilizes this word to try to say that where they were trying to say where they were wasn’t what New York is known for. But since now they smell the subways and are going near a big avenue filled with people they are going to the body of the body which bowels is defined as “the parts deep inside something large.” Afflatus is the word used to say that they now know that they are in the city’s “core” and that they are in the “body of the city” which means what New York really is known for.

Definition

noun

“sudden enlightenment and a state of consciousness attained by intuitive illumination representing the spiritual goal of Zen Buddhism” Merriam-Webster dictionary

The word was encountered in “A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport” by Charles Mcgrath

The sentence it was used was “It’s a work of beauty and a joy to behold,” he told the homeowner. The morning was foggy and unseasonably warm, and a few blocks later, near the entrance to Aqueduct Race Track, he shed his jacket and announced: “We’ll, we’re only a fraction of the way there, but in terms of my longer walk, starting in London, I’m already halfway, and I can say that I am ludicrously (Foolish or unreasonable) happy. I am in a state of almost absurd satori.”

The author utilizes the word to express the perfect state of happiness. With some research, Zen is to be “fully aware, here and now” which also translates to meditation. Because he says he feels satori which is Zen he’s saying that the walk is a way for him to meditate and be with himself. He’s feeling peaceful and relaxed on his walk and is grounding himself. When he later encounters someone who “couldn’t conceptually grasp the idea of walking to New York.” I think he’s trying to say is as a New Yorker you’re always on the move to get to your destination the fastest which makes us normally think, for example, the only way to getting to Manhatten is by train when there is a bridge to get there by bike or walking. But the bigger idea is that we don’t enjoy the scenery we have around us as it’s always changing. We notice when things get replaced.

Definition

adverb

“amusing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggeration, or eccentricity” – Merriam Webster dictionary

The word was encountered in “A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport” by Charles Mcgrath

The sentence that this was used in is“It’s a work of beauty and a joy to behold,” he told the homeowner. The morning was foggy and unseasonably warm, and a few blocks later, near the entrance to Aqueduct Race Track, he shed his jacket and announced: “We’ll, we’re only a fraction of the way there, but in terms of my longer walk, starting in London, I’m already halfway, and I can say that I am ludicrously happy. I am in a state of almost absurd satori. (a Spiritual goal of Zen Buddhism)”

The author utilizes this word to express his emotions while going through his walk in London. To this author taking walks is better than the drinking because “Alcohol and drugs tend to keep you from taking walks”. He walks out of his own free will and doesn’t force it upon himself to “score a walk”.  Because he describes it as foggy warm mornings one could say he admires the scenery around him which makes him absurdly happy probably because on his walks he’s able to see scenery normal people would miss because they only walk from point A to point B instead of taking detours.

Definition 

adjective

“coming or occurring without advance notice : UNEXPECTED”– Merriam-Webster dictionary

This word was encountered in the article “The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found” by COLSON WHITEHEAD

The sentence it was used in is”If you had known, perhaps you would have stepped behind the counter and shaken everyone’s hand, pulled out the disposable camera and issued posing instructions. But you had no idea. There are unheralded tipping points, a certain number of times that we will unlock the front door of an apartment. At some point you were closer to the last time than you were to the first time, and you didn’t even know it. You didn’t know that each time you passed the threshold you were saying goodbye.”

The author was trying to describe how when we don’t pay attention to the environment around us. We take it for granted that the store, monument or item will always be there forever. Everyone has a personal New York city so the things that you pass by the most you never really expected to change but when it does it comes unheralded which means unexpectedly. The author also brings the idea that everyone’s New York is different, so even if the shops around us change we will always remember it as that the first store we saw it as but other tourists, and people moving in won’t see the location the way you do.

Definition 

verb

“to call forth or draw out (something, such as information or a response)” Merriam-Webster dictionary

The sentence this word was encountered was “How better photos can help you document, and shape, your neighborhood” by Patrick Sisson

The sentence this word was used in is “Part of the beauty of this book is that it was written at a time when smartphone photography is getting better and more common and relevant. It really works well with the book’s focus on crowdsourced and elicited photography. ”

The author used this word to talk about how he takes photos or what he looks for in a photo. In the section before he’s describing how he chooses the images he takes and reveals that he normally takes photos from Paris. Because Paris has a lot of history and old buildings and also because it’s popular for one thing one can argue that maybe people don’t notice the changes happening in Paris which then brings photography to reveal things that aren’t normally seen. This can give us information, or a better look at what Paris is like through daily life and neighborhood is like.

Definition

verb

“to take part in or experience something along with others” -Merriam-Webster dictionary

The word was encountered through the reading “Wind Sand and Stars” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The sentence that it was used in is “It is as if there were a natural law which ordained that to achieve this end, to refine the curve of a piece of furniture, or a ship’s keel, or the fuselage of an airplane, until gradually it partakes of the elementary purity of the curve of ‘a human breast or shoulder, there must be the experimentation of several generations of craftsmen. In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.”

The author is trying to contribute to the idea that it takes experimentation, exploration and discovery to achieve perfection. There is a-lot of effort, trial and error to achieve a final product before the object is perfect. When he utilizes the word partakes he’s using it to talk about how machines will “take part in “the element of purity in the curve in a human breast or shoulder”. Since purity means it’s not contaminated they’re trying to say that basically it takes time and effort until a machine can become simplified and perfect. It’s when all the unnecessary and extra parts are taken away and the machine functions as it should with only the important parts.

Definition