#694. Director.—N. director, manager, governor, rector, comptroller. superintendent, supervisor, straw boss. intendant; overseer, overlooker[obs3]; supercargo[obs3], husband, inspector, visitor, ranger, surveyor, aedile[obs3]; moderator, monitor, taskmaster; master &c. 745; leader, ringleader, demagogue, corypheus, conductor, fugleman[obs3], precentor[obs3], bellwether, agitator; caporal[obs3], choregus[obs3], collector, file leader, flugelman[obs3], linkboy[obs3]. guiding star &c. (guidance) 693; adviser &c. 695; guide &c. (information) 527; pilot; helmsman; steersman, steermate[obs3]; wire- puller. driver, whip, Jehu, charioteer; coachman, carman, cabman; postilion, vetturino[obs3], muleteer, arriero[obs3], teamster; whipper in. head, head man, head center, boss; principal, president, speaker; chair, chairman, chairwoman, chairperson; captain &c. (master) 745; superior; mayor &c. (civil authority) 745; vice president, prime minister, premier, vizier, grand vizier, eparch[obs3]. officer, functionary, minister, official, red-tapist[obs3], bureaucrat; man in office, Jack in office; office bearer; person in authority &c. 745. statesman, strategist, legislator, lawgiver, politician, statist|!, statemonger[obs3]; Minos, Draco; arbiter &c. (judge) 967; boss [U.S.], political dictator. board &c. (council) 696. secretary, secretary of state; Reis Effendi; vicar &c. (deputy) 759; steward, factor; agent &c. 758; bailiff, middleman; foreman, clerk of works; landreeve[obs3]; factotum, major-domo[obs3], seneschal, housekeeper, shepherd, croupier; proctor, procurator. Adv. ex officio.
#695. Advice.—N. advice, counsel, adhortation|; word to the wise;
suggestion, submonition|, recommendation, advocacy; advisement.
exhortation &c. (persuasion) 615; expostulation &c. (dissuasion) 616;
admonition &c. (warning) 668; guidance &c. (direction) 693.
instruction, charge, injunction, obtestation[obs3]; Governor's
message, President's message; King's message, Queen's speech; message,
speech from the throne.
adviser, prompter; counsel, counselor; monitor, mentor, Nestor, magnus
Apollo[Lat][obs3], senator; teacher &c. 540.
guide, manual, chart &c. (information) 527.
physician, doctor, leech|!, archiater[obs3].
arbiter &c. (judge) 967.
reference, referment[obs3]; consultation, conference, pourparler.
V. advise, counsel; give advice, give counsel, give a piece of
advice[Fr]; suggest, prompt, submonish[obs3], recommend, prescribe,
advocate; exhort &c. (persuade) 615.
enjoin, enforce, charge, instruct, call; call upon &c. (request) 765;
dictate.
expostulate &c. (dissuade) 616; admonish &c. (warn) 668.
advise with; lay heads together, consult together; compare notes; hold
a council, deliberate, be closeted with.
confer, consult, refer to, call in; take advice, follow advice; be
advised by, have at one's elbow, take one's cue from.
Adj. recommendatory; hortative &c. (persuasive) 615; dehortatory &c.
(dissuasive) 616[obs3]; admonitory &c. (warning) 668.
Int. go to!
Phr. "give every man thine ear but few thy voice" [Hamlet]; "I pray
thee cease thy counsel" [Much Ado About Nothing]; "my guide, philosopher,
and friend" [Pope]; "'twas good advice and meant, my son be good" [Crabbe];
verbum sat sapienti [Latin: a word to the wise is sufficient]; vive memor
leti[Lat]; "we, ask advice but we mean approbation" [Colton].
#696. Council.—N. council, committee, subcommittee, comitia[Lat], court, chamber, cabinet, board, bench, staff. senate, senatus[Lat], parliament, chamber of deputies, directory, reichsrath[Ger], rigsdag, cortes[Sp], storthing[obs3], witenagemote[obs3], junta, divan, musnud[obs3], sanhedrim; classis[obs3]; Amphictyonic council[obs3]; duma[Russ], house of representatives; legislative assembly, legislative council; riksdag[obs3], volksraad[Ger], witan[obs3], caput[obs3], consistory, chapter, syndicate; court of appeal &c. (tribunal) 966; board of control, board of works; vestry; county council, local board. audience chamber, council chamber, state chamber. cabinet council, privy council; cockpit, convocation, synod, congress, convention, diet, states-general. [formal gathering of members of a council: script] assembly, caucus, conclave, clique, conventicle; meeting, sitting, seance, conference, convention, exhibition, session, palaver, pourparler, durbar[obs3], house; quorum; council fire [N.Am.], powwow [U.S.], primary [U.S.]. meeting, assemblage &c. 72. [person who is member of a council] member; senator; member of parliament, M.P.; councilor, representative of the people; assemblyman, congressman; councilman, councilwoman, alderman, freeholder. V. assemble, gather together, meet (assemblage) 72; confer, caucus, hold council; huddle [coll.]. Adj. senatorial, curule[obs3]; congressional, parliamentary; legislative, law-making; regulatory; deliberative.
#697. Precept.—N. precept, direction, instruction, charge;
prescript, prescription; recipe, receipt; golden rule; maxim &c. 496.
rule, canon, law, code, corpus juris[Lat], lex scripta[Lat], act,
statute, rubric, stage direction, regulation; form, formula, formulary;
technicality; canon law; norm.
order &c. (command) 741.
#698. Skill.—N. skill, skillfulness, address; dexterity, dexterousness; adroitness, expertness &c. adj.; proficiency, competence, technical competence, craft, callidity[obs3], facility, knack, trick, sleight; mastery, mastership, excellence, panurgy[obs3]; ambidexterity, ambidextrousness[obs3]; sleight of hand &c. (deception) 545. seamanship, airmanship, marksmanship, horsemanship; rope-dancing. accomplishment, acquirement, attainment; art, science; technicality, technology; practical knowledge, technical knowledge. knowledge of the world, world wisdom, savoir faire[Fr]; tact; mother wit &c. (sagacity) 498; discretion &c. *(caution) 864; finesse; craftiness &c. (cunning) 702; management &c. (conduct) 692; self-help. cleverness, talent, ability, ingenuity, capacity, parts, talents, faculty, endowment, forte, turn, gift, genius; intelligence &c. 498; sharpness, readiness &c. (activity) 682; invention &c. 515; aptness, aptitude; turn for, capacity for, genius for; felicity, capability, curiosa felicitas[Lat], qualification, habilitation. proficient &c. 700. masterpiece, coup de maitre[Fr], chef d'euvre[Fr], tour de force; good stroke &c. (plan) 626. V. be skillful &c. adj.; excel in, be master of; have a turn for &c. n. know what's what, know a hawk from a handsaw, know what one is about, know on which side one's bread is buttered, know what's o'clock; have cut one's eye teeth, have cut one's wisdom teeth. see one's way, see where the wind lies, see which way the wind blows; have all one's wits about one, have one's hand in; savoir vivre[Fr]; scire quid valeant humeri quid ferre recusent[Lat][obs3]. look after the main chance; cut one's coat according to one's cloth; live by one's wits; exercise one's discretion, feather the oar, sail near the wind; stoop to conquer &c. (cunning) 702; play one's cards well, play one's best card; hit the right nail on the head, put the saddle on the right horse. take advantage of, make the most of; profit by &e. (use) 677; make a hit &c. (succeed) 731; make a virtue of necessity; make hay while the sun shines &c. (occasion) 134. Adj. skillful, dexterous, adroit, expert, apt, handy, quick, deft, ready, gain; slick, smart &c. (active) 682; proficient, good at, up to, at home in, master of, a good hand at, au fait, thoroughbred, masterly, crack, accomplished; conversant &c. (knowing) 490. experienced, practiced, skilled, hackneyed; up in, well up in; in practice, in proper cue; competent, efficient, qualified, capable, fitted, fit for, up to the mark, trained, initiated, prepared, primed, finished. clever, cute, able, ingenious, felicitous, gifted, talented, endowed; inventive &c. 515; shrewd, sharp, on the ball &c. (intelligent) 498; cunning &c. 702; alive to, up to snuff, not to be caught with chaff; discreet. neat-handed, fine-fingered, nimble-fingered, ambidextrous, sure- footed; cut out for, fitted for. technical, artistic, scientific, daedalian[obs3], shipshape; workman- like, business-like, statesman-like. Adv. skillfully &c. adj.; well &c. 618; artistically; with skill, with consummate skill; secundum artem[Lat], suo Marte; to the best of one's abilities &c. (exertion) 686. Phr. ars celare artem[Lat]; artes honorabit[Lat]; celui qui veut celui-la peut[Fr]; c'est une grande habilite que de savoir cacher sonhabilite[Fr]; expertus metuit [Lat][Horace]; es bildet ein Talent sich in der Stille sich ein Charakter in dem Strom der Welt[Ger]; "heart to conceive the understanding to direct, or the hand to execute" [Junius]; if you have lemons, make lemonade.
#699. Unskillfulness.—N. unskillfulness &c. adj.; want of skill &c. 698; incompetence, incompentency[obs3]; inability, infelicity, indexterity[obs3], inexperience; disqualification, unproficiency[obs3]; quackery. folly, stupidity &c. 499; indiscretion &c. (rashness) 863; thoughtlessness &c. (inattention) 458 (neglect) 460; sabotage. mismanagement, misconduct; impolicy[obs3]; maladministration; misrule, misgovernment, misapplication, misdirection, misfeasance; petticoat government. absence of rule, rule of thumb; bungling &c. v.; failure &c. 732; screw loose; too many cooks. blunder &c. (mistake) 495; etourderie gaucherie[Fr], act of folly, balourdise[obs3]; botch, botchery[obs3]; bad job, sad work. sprat sent out to catch a whale, much ado about nothing, wild-goose chase. bungler &c. 701; fool &c. 501. V. be unskillful &c. adj.; not see an inch beyond one's nose; blunder, bungle, boggle, fumble, botch, bitch, flounder, stumble, trip; hobble &c. 275; put one's foot in it; make a mess of, make hash of, make sad work of; overshoot the mark. play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect, misapply, missend. stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself; act foolishly; play the fool; put oneself out of court; lose control, lose control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning. begin at the wrong end; do things by halves &c. (not complete) 730; make two bites of a cherry; play at cross purposes; strain at a gnat and swallow a camel &c. (caprice) 608; put the cart before the horse; lock the stable door when the horse is stolen &c. (too late) 135. not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know on which side one's bread is buttered; stand in one's own light, quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden, kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle, cut one's own throat, bum one's fingers; knock one's head against a stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall; fall into a trap, catch a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears; have too many eggs in one basket (imprudent) 863, have too many irons in the fire. mistake &c. 495; take the shadow for the substance &c. (credulity) 486; bark up the wrong tree; be in the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and kill a crow; take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick; put the saddle on the wrong horse, put a square peg into a round hole, put new wine into old bottles. cut blocks with a razor; hold a farthing candle to the sun &c. (useless) 645; fight with a shadow, grasp at a shadow; catch at straws, lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose chase; go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand; go further and fare worse; lose one's way, miss one's way; fail &c. 732. Adj. unskillful &c. 698; inexpert; bungling &c.v.; awkward, clumsy, unhandy, lubberly, gauche, maladroit; left-handed, heavy-handed; slovenly, slatternly; gawky. adrift, at fault. inapt, unapt; inhabile[Fr]; untractable[obs3], unteachable; giddy &c. (inattentive) 458; inconsiderate &c. (neglectful) 460; stupid &c. 499; inactive &c. 683; incompetent; unqualified, disqualified, ill-qualified; unfit; quackish; raw, green, inexperienced, rusty, out of practice. unaccustomed, unused, untrained &c. 537, uninitiated, unconversant &c. (ignorant) 491[obs3]; shiftless; unstatesmanlike. unadvised; ill-advised, misadvised; ill-devised, ill-imagined, ill- judged, ill-contrived, ill-conducted; unguided, misguided; misconducted, foolish, wild; infelicitous; penny wise and pound foolish &c. (inconsistent) 608. Phr. one's fingers being all thumbs; the right hand forgets its cunning; il se noyerait dans une goutte d'eau[Fr]; incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim[Lat]; out of the frying pan into the fire; non omnia possumus omnes [Lat][Vergil].
#700. Proficient.—N. proficient, expert, adept, dab; dabster[obs3], crackerjack; connoisseur &c. (scholar) 492; master, master hand; prima donna[Sp], first fiddle, top gun, chef de cuisine, top sawyer; protagonist; past master; mahatma. picked man; medallist, prizeman[obs3]. veteran; old stager, old campaigner, old soldier, old file, old hand; man of business, man of the world. nice hand, good hand, clean hand; practiced hand, experienced eye, experienced hand; marksman; good shot, dead shot, crack shot; ropedancer, funambulist[obs3], acrobat; cunning man; conjuror &c. (deceiver) 548; wizard &c. 994. genius; mastermind, master head, master spirit. cunning blade, sharp blade, sharp fellow; jobber; cracksman &c. (thief) 792[obs3]; politician, tactician, strategist. pantologist[obs3], admirable Crichton, Jack of all trades; prodigy of learning.
#701. Bungler.—N. bungler; blunderer, blunderhead[obs3]; marplot, fumbler, lubber, duffer, dauber, stick; bad hand, poor hand, poor shot; butterfingers[obs3]. no conjurer, flat, muff, slow coach, looby[obs3], lubber, swab; clod, yokel, awkward squad, blanc-bec; galoot[obs3]. land lubber; fresh water sailor, fair weather sailor; horse marine; fish out of water, ass in lion's skin, jackdaw in peacock's feathers; quack &c. (deceiver) 548; lord of misrule. sloven, slattern, trapes[obs3]. amateur, novice, greenhorn (learner) 541. Phr. il n'a pas invente' la poudre[Fr]; he will never set the Thames on fire; acierta errando[Lat]; aliquis in omnibus nullus in singulis[Lat][obs3].
#702. Cunning.—N. cunning, craft; cunningness[obs3], craftiness &c. adj.; subtlety, artificiality; maneuvering &c. v.; temporization; circumvention. chicane, chicanery; sharp practice, knavery, jugglery[obs3]; concealment &c. 528; guile, doubling, duplicity &c. (falsehood) 544; foul play. diplomacy, politics; Machiavelism; jobbery, backstairs influence. art, artifice; device, machination; plot &c. (plan) 626; maneuver, stratagem, dodge, sidestep, artful dodge, wile; trick, trickery &c. (deception) 545; ruse, ruse de guerre[Fr]; finesse, side blow, thin end of the wedge, shift, go by, subterfuge, evasion; white lie &c (untruth) 546; juggle, tour de force; tricks of the trade, tricks upon travelers; espieglerie[Fr]; net, trap &c. 545. Ulysses, Machiavel, sly boots, fox, reynard; Scotchman; Jew, Yankee; intriguer, intrigant[obs3]; floater [U.S.], Indian giver [U.S.], keener [U.S.], repeater [U.S. politics]. V. be cunning &c. adj.; have cut one's eyeteeth; contrive &c (plan) 626; live by one's wits; maneuver; intrigue, gerrymander, finesse, double, temporize, stoop to conquer, reculer pour mieux sauter[Fr], circumvent, steal a march upon; overreach &c. 545; throw off one's guard; surprise &c. 508; snatch a verdict; waylay, undermine, introduce the thin end of the wedge; play a deep game, play tricks with; ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces[Lat]; flatter, make things pleasant; have an ax to grind. dodge, sidestep, bob and weave. Adj. cunning, crafty, artful; skillful &c. 698; subtle, feline, vulpine; cunning as a fox, cunning as a serpent; deep, deep laid; profound; designing, contriving; intriguing &c.v.; strategic, diplomatic, politic, Machiavelian, timeserving[obs3]; artificial; tricky, tricksy[obs3]; wily, sly, slim, insidious, stealthy; underhand &c (hidden) 528; subdolous[obs3]; deceitful &c. 545; slippery as an eel, evasive &c. 623; crooked; arch, pawky[obs3], shrewd, acute; sharp, sharp as a tack, sharp as a needle|!; canny, astute, leery, knowing, up to snuff, too clever by half, not to be caught with chaff. tactful, diplomatic, politic; polite &c. 894. Adv. cunningly &c. adj.; slyly, slily[obs3], on the sly, by a side wind. Phr. diamond cut diamond; a' bis ou a blanc[Fr][obs3]; fin contre fin[Fr]; "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" [Hamlet].
#703. Artlessness.—N. artlessness &c. adj; nature, simplicity; innocence &c. 946; bonhomie, naivete, abandon, candor, sincerity; singleness of purpose, singleness of heart; honesty &c. 939; plain speaking; epanchement[Fr]. rough diamond, matter of fact man; le palais de verite[Fr]; enfant terrible[Fr]. V. be artless &c. adj; look one in the face; wear one's heart upon his sleeves for daws to peck at[obs3]; think aloud; speak out, speak one's mind; be free with one, call a spade a spade. Adj. artless, natural, pure, native, confiding, simple, lain, inartificial[obs3], untutored, unsophisticated, ingenu[obs3], unaffected, naive; sincere, frank; open, open as day; candid, ingenuous, guileless; unsuspicious, honest &c. 939; innocent &c. 946; Arcadian[obs3]; undesigning, straightforward, unreserved, aboveboard; simple-minded, single-minded; frank-hearted, open-hearted, single-hearted, simple-hearted. free-spoken, plain-spoken, outspoken; blunt, downright, direct, matter of fact, unpoetical[obs3]; unflattering. Adv. in plain words, in plain English; without mincing the matter; not to mince the matter &c. (affirmation) 535. Phr. Davus sum non Oedipus [Terence]; liberavi animam meam[Lat]; "as frank as rain on cherry blossoms" [E.B. Browning].