Corey Shepherd

Category: Archer Vocabulary

  • Archer Vocabulary: jingoist

    archervocab


    I won’t go off on a Ferris Bueller-esque rant about -isms in society today. I also won’t rant about people unnecessarily adding -esque to proper nouns. Having removed myself almost entirely from the realm of mainstream political news, I tend to encounter words like this less often than before.

    Context

    Season 3 – Episode 6 “The Limited”
    The ISIS gang is transporting Nova Scotian separatist, Kenny Bilko, back to Canada to curry favor with the RCMP. The unusual setting of a train and the general incompetence of the ISIS staff drives much of the plot. The action culminates on the roof of the train where Archer and Bilko discuss how fighting on the roof of a train is a ridiculous plot device.

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  • Archer Vocabulary: putative

    Archer Vocabulary: putative

    archervocab


    For too long, I have heard about television’s deleterious effects on child development. I don’t know about all of that, but some shows are definitely beneficial to vocabulary development. Animated comedies occasionally push the intellectual envelope but, more often than not, they tend to cater to the lowest common denominator. Archer is a shining example of witty, intelligent, and non-formulaic programming that you find quite often on its network, FX. FX is where some really great TV is happening right now with Louie, Wilfred, Fargo, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sons of Anarchy, et.al.

    Context

    Season 2 – Episode 12 “White Nights”
    Archer drops into Russia to confront the head of the KGB, who is possibly his father, and is captured in the attempt. Mallory contracts Archer’s nemesis, Barry, to smuggle him home. Hilarity ensues.

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  • Archer Vocabulary: aquiline

    Archer Vocabulary: aquiline

    archervocab


    I found that after writing the first “Archer Vocabulary” post, I not only quickly internalized the definition of “bailiwick,” I found myself trying to use it in sentences. So whether anyone else is reading this or not, it’s a potentially fantastic way for me to expand my word choice.

    Context

    Season 1 – Episode 8 “The Rock”
    After a botched job in San Marino, Mallory Archer finds herself on a video call with Len Trexler, head of ODIN, ISIS’s chief competitor in the world of espionage and security contracting. What starts as a verbal assault softens into a schoolgirl’s yearning as Mallory begins to list Len’s physical features.

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  • Archer Vocabulary: bailiwick

    Archer Vocabulary: bailiwick

    Archer Vocabulary

    If you enjoy edgy, animated comedies, I hope you’ve checked out Archer on FX. Intelligence agency ISIS boasts a motley crew of vain and arrogant secret agents and incompetent support staff that spoofs many popular espionage tropes in an anachronistic modern day New York City.

    Context

    Season 2 – Episode 6 “Tragical History” ISIS is facing a cyber attack and all hands are on deck scrambling to find a solution. In an attempt to shut down the mainframe computer, the agents must disable a batter backup secured behind a door that is controlled by the virus-infested mainframe. Agent Sterling Archer, the sauve seducteur, has no help to offer his fellow field agent, Lana Kane, and is sipping bourbon. ARCHER: Sorry. I have no idea how to open this thing. Not really my legerdemain. LANA: You mean “bailiwick”? ARCHER: I don’t know. Whatever. The scene winds down as Archer opens fire on the door’s lock sending ricocheting bullets in all directions.

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