English

How paradoxical that the world's greatest chefs have all been men!

1. paradoxical [͵pærə`dɑksɪk!] (adj.) strange because of being the opposite of what you expect

    (adj.) consisting of two parts that seem to mean the opposite of each other

    Example: a paradoxical statement

    paradox(n.) a person, thing, or situation that is strange because they have features or qualities that do not normally exist together

    Example: We get this apparent paradox of people migrating to an area that has very high unemployment.

    paradoxically(adv.) used for saying that something is strange because it is the opposite of what you expect

    Example: Paradoxically, it is their differences that bring them closer to each other.

para- = beside

parallel, paranoid, paraphrase

Cooking would clearly seem to be a field that lies exclusively within women's realm, yet the annals of cookery are replete with masculine names.

2. realm [rɛlm](n.)[ formal ] a particular area of knowledge, experience, interest etc

    Example: This is not really within the realms of my experience.

    (n.)[ mainly literary ] a country ruled by a king or queen

3. annals[`æn!z](n.)[ plrual 用複數 ] the official records of an organization, arranged according to their date

    the annals of sth = the whole history of something

ann- = year

4. masculine [`mæskjəlɪn](adj.) with qualities considered typical of men

   Example: masculine voice

   (adj.) connected with men

   (n.)[ linguistics ] a word or form of a word that belongs to the masculine group of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives

    masculinity(n.) the qualities that are considered typical of men

To compound the puzzle, there has rarely been a tinge of rumor or scandal casting doubts on the masculinity of these heroes of cuisine.

5. compound(n.)[ science ] a chemical substance that consists of two or more elements

    Example: Why do chemical compounds behave as they do?

    (n.) a combination of things

    Example: John and Steve working together? That's a lethal compound.

    (n.) an enclosed area where a particular group of people live or where people such as soldiers and prisoners can exercise

    (n.)[ linguistics ] a combination of two or more words that is used  as a single word

    (v.) to make a problem or difficult situation worse

    Example: Their problems are compounded by the fact that Mary's just lost her job.

    (v.) to mix two or more substances together in order to make a new substance or product

com- = together

compose, companion, compress