Word - 30

OLDSTER \OHLD-ster\ noun

: an old or elderly person

Example sentence:

More and more oldsters are embracing the Internet and connecting and interacting using social networking Web sites.

Did you know?

"Youngster" has been used since the 16th century as a word for a young person with a lot of spunk. It has also long been used by maritime people as a word for a midshipman who has served less than four years. This use is connected with the Dutch word "younker," which, like "youngster," refers to a young person as well as a young seaman. "Oldster" came about as a word used to differentiate the inexperienced midshipmen, or youngsters, from the experienced ones. To be exact, an oldster is a midshipman of four years' standing. Charles Dickens gets credit for the earliest known use of "oldster" in the general sense of "an old person." In his 1848 novel Dombey & Son he wrote, "Her eyes would play the Devil with the youngsters before long -- 'and the oldsters too, Sir, if you come to that,' added the Major."

Word - 29

WANGLE \WANG-gul\ verb

1 : to adjust or manipulate for personal or fraudulent ends
*2 : to make or get by devious means : finagle

Example sentence:
Steve didn't tell Sharon how he'd wangled an extra week of vacation, and she didn't care as long as it meant they could go to Greece for their honeymoon.

Did you know?

"Wangle," a verb of uncertain origin, has been used in its newest sense, "to obtain by sly methods," since at least the early 20th century. Occasionally, one sees "wrangle" used similarly, as in "wrangle a huge salary," but more typically it means "to argue or engage in controversy." Did the "obtain" sense of "wrangle" evolve through confusion with "wangle"? Not exactly. "Wrangle" was used with the meaning "to obtain by arguing or bargaining" as early as 1624, long before "wangle" appeared in the language. The sense had all but disappeared until recent decades, however, and its revival may very well have been influenced by "wangle." The "obtain" sense of "wangle" is currently more common than that of "wrangle," but both are considered standard.