expedient--Sister Jen and Todd

ex·pe·di·ent  (k-spd-nt)

adj.

1. Appropriate to a purpose.

2.

a. Serving to promote one's interest: was merciful only when mercy was expedient.

b. Based on or marked by a concern for self-interest rather than principle; self-interested.

3. Obsolete Speedy; expeditious.

n.

1. Something that is a means to an end.

2. Something contrived or used to meet an urgent need. See Synonyms at makeshift.

Context:
Sister Jen and Todd invited Ranger into the family photograph only when it was expedient, but Rosie was never in the photograph for any reason.

Avoirdupois--Brother Matt

Avoirdupois

means

Weight, Heaviness

"Yet until middle age and avoirdupois overtook her, Mary was no slouch."-John Updike; From the French words: Avoir - to have, Du - "some" when preceded by a verb, Poids - pounds

http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words

Brother Matt's triathelons keep avoirdupois at bay, so that he can still sport his bicycle onesie.

extirpate--Kristin

ex·tir·pate  (kstr-pt)

tr.v. ex·tir·pat·ed, ex·tir·pat·ing, ex·tir·pates

1. To pull up by the roots.

2. To destroy totally; exterminate. See Synonyms at abolish.

3. To remove by surgery.

Kristin extirpated the weed growing in the tennis court, so that the surgeon wouldn't have to extirpate her ACL.

quixotic--Isabella

quix·ot·ic/kwikˈsätik/

Adjective:

Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical: "a vast and quixotic project".

Isabella, who read Don Quixote in its original Spanish, called her well-meaning but somewhat odd Auntie Mary "quixotic."

kinesthesia--Sam

kin·es·the·sia  (kns-thzh, kns-)

n.

The sense that detects bodily position, weight, or movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints.

Context
Athletes like Sam are well-known for their advanced kinesthesia.

aboulia--Willie

a·bu·li·a or a·bou·li·a (-bl-, -by-)

n.

Loss or impairment of the ability to make decisions or act independently.

---

* a·bulic (-lk) adj.

Some pre-teens seem aboulic, but not Willie: he's his own man.


* Thanks to http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words for the word.

Luddite--Hayden

Lud·dite  (ldt)

n.

1. Any of a group of British workers who between 1811 and 1816 rioted and destroyed laborsaving textile machinery in the belief that such machinery would diminish employment.

2. One who opposes technical or technological change

Hayden, who is no Luddite, knows more about technology than anyone else in the family.