Even More Vocabulary

Words—they’re everywhere, and I don't know most of them. Here’s my most recent list:

• whet: (tr.v.) to sharpen [a knife, tool, etc.] by grinding or friction; to make keen or eager; to stimulate. (n.) the act of whetting; something that whets [e.g. an appetizer or drink]; (in the southern U.S.) a spell of work; a while.
• feckless: (adj.) ineffective; incompetent; futile; having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy.
• reconnoiter: (tr.v.) to inspect, observe, or survey [the enemy, the enemy's strength or position, a region, etc.] in order to gain information for military purposes; to examine or survey [a region, area, etc.] for engineering, geological, or other purposes. (v.i.) to make a reconnaissance.
• weevil: {a.k.a. snout beetle} (n.) any of numerous beetles of the family Curculionidae, which have the head prolonged into a snout and which are destructive to nuts, grain, fruit, etc; any of numerous related beetles.
• puffery: (n.) undue or exaggerated praise; publicity, acclaim, etc., that is full of such praise.
• muddle: (tr.v.) to mix up in a confused or bungling manner, jumble; to cause to become mentally confused; to cause to become confused or stupid with or as if with an intoxicating drink; to make muddy or turbid, as water; to mix or stir [a cocktail, chocolate, etc.]; |Ceramics| to smooth [clay] by rubbing it on glass. (v.i.) to behave, proceed, or think in a confused or aimless fashion or with an air of improvisation. (n.) the state or condition of being muddled, esp. a confused mental state; a confused, disordered, or embarrassing condition; a mess.
• muddle through*: (v. phrase) to achieve a certain degree of success but without much skill, polish, experience, or direction.

*This particular word holds special significance to me, especially in light of the music theory quiz I took a few hours ago.