After a some­what humil­i­at­ing attempt at doing one of my sister’s cross­word puz­zles (I didn’t get that gene), I decided that maybe I should start doing them reg­u­larly. There is a daily free news­pa­per in Boston that has cross­word puzzle that’s more my speed. Got to start some­where. I learned three new words yes­ter­day. Here they are (from the Apple dictionary).

pert

adjec­tive

1. (of a girl or young woman) sex­u­ally attrac­tive because lively or saucy : a pert Bel­gian actress.
2. (of a bodily fea­ture or gar­ment) attrac­tive because neat and jaunty : she had a pert nose and deep blue eyes.
3. (of a young person or their speech or behav­ior) impu­dent : no need to be pert, miss.
4. another term for PEART .

dross

noun

1. some­thing regarded as worth­less; rub­bish : there are bar­gains if you have the patience to sift through the dross.
2. for­eign matter, dregs, or min­eral waste, in par­tic­u­lar scum formed on the sur­face of molten metal.

codger

noun, often deroga­tory

1. an elderly man, esp. one who is old-​fashioned or eccen­tric : old codgers always harp on about yes­ter­year.