A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

A FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

abiding, abominable, aboveground, absolute, absorbing, abstract, abstruse,

abstrusive, absurd, abundant, accepted (commonly, generally, widely),

accessible, accidental, accomplished (long), accumulated, accurate, accusing,

additional, adequate, admitted (officially), agreed, agreed-upon, alarming,

all-impotant, alleged, almighty, alternative, amazing, ambiguous (still),

American (depressing, exceptionally3), ample, analogous, anatomical,

anatomically grounded, ancestral, anchoring, ancient, animal (brute),

annoying, anthropological, apocryphal, apparent, appalling, appreciated

(little), appropriate, arcane (very), archeological, archival, arranged

(carefully), arresting, ascertainable (easily), ascertained, astonishing

(-but true, single most, slightly), astounding, astrological, astronomical

(mind-bending), attested (well), authenticated (independently), available

(every, readily, all), awesome, awkward (slightly), axiomatic

B FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

background (detailed), bald, banal, bare, bare-boned, barefaced, baseless,

basic (really), bedeviling, bedrock, beguiling, believable (hardly), best,

bewildering, biblical (factual), big, biographical (prime, simple),

biological (awkward, immutable, obscure, real, sad but primitive), bitter,

bizarre, black, bleached, blessed, blistering, bloodless, bloody,

bludgeoning, blunt, boggling, book-learned, boring, bounteous, brand-new,

brief, brutal, brutalizing, brute, budgetary, business (sheer)

C FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

cardinal, cartographic, catchy, cautionary, central, certain (most), changing

(ever-), charming, chastening, checkable, checked (double-), cheerful (many),

cherished, chilling, circumstantial, clangorous, classical, clear (very), clear-cut,

clinical, cloudy, cluttering, cogent (physically), coincidental, cold,

cold-blooded, collateral, comforting, common-sense, comparative, compelling

(equally, most), competitive (cold), complete, complex (certainly more),

complicated, complicating (emotionally, politically), computerized,

concealed, conclusive (all-too-), concocted, concrete, confirmable

(independently), confirmed, conflicting (seemingly, sometimes), confounding

(potentially), confusing, conscience-regarding, consequent, consequential (enormously),

considered, consoling, constant, constitutional (extraordinary),

constraining, contemporary, contested, contextual, contingent (though

universal), contradicting, contradictory (a clever case of1, mutually), contrary,

contributory, controlling, convenient, cool, correct, correlated,

corresponding, corroborated, corroborative (not necessarily), cosmic,

countervailing, criminal, critical, crucial (one, politically), cruel,

cruelest, crummy, crushing, cryptic, crypto-, culminating, cultural

(empirical, important), cumulative, curious (otherwise), current (then-),

cut-and-dried

D FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

daily, damaging (most), damnable, damning, dark, dazzling, deadening,

decisive, deep, defamatory, deleted, defining, definitive (seemingly),

degrading (most), de jure, delicious, delightful (most), demeaning,

demographic (current, essential), demonstrable (clearly, no longer),

demonstrated (exhaustively), demoralizing, deniable, denied (most),

dependable, deplorable, deplored (widely), depressing, described, despicable,

desultory, detailed, determined (easily), devastating, devilish, diagnostic

(sociologically), different (completely), difficult (most), dim, dirty,

disagreeable (very), disagreed-upon, disappointing, discomforting,

disconcerting, disconnected, discouraging, discoverable, discreditable,

discrete, discussed (little-), disembodied, disillusioning, dismal, disparate

(seemingly, superficially), disputable, disputed, disqualifying, disquieting

(most), disreputable (then-), distorted, distressing, disturbing (most),

diverse, diverting (great), doctored, documentable, documented (historically,

well), doleful, dominant (most), dominating, down-to-earth, dramatic,

drastic, dreary, drollest, dry, dull-as-lead, dubious (highly), dusty

E FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

early, earned (hard-), earth-bound, earth-shaking, easy, easily-obtainable, easy-to-digest,

economic (brutal, central, great, important, inescapable, proven, serious,

simple, stark), elegant, elemental, elementary, elusive, embargoed,

embarrassing (somewhat, rather, very), emotional7, empirical (traditional),

empty, encouraging (less than), endearing, endless, enduring, enigmatic,

engineering, enormous, entertaining, erroneous, esoteric, essential

(missing), established (already, few, legally, long, more-or-less,

rigorously, scientifically, well), every-day, evident (most, very),

evidentiary, evolutionary, evolving, exact, examined (rarely), exculpating,

exculpatory, existential (barren), existing, experienced (universally),

experimental (crucial, ugly), explanatory (central), explosive, extensive,

external, extracted (every), extraneous, extraordinary (very), extrinsic,

eyebrow-raising, eye-dazzling, eye-opening

F FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

factual, false (demonstrably), familiar (now-), famous (most), fantastic,

faraway, fast-flying(18), fast-moving, fascinating, fateful, fatiguing (surprisingly),

felonious, few, ficionalized, fiendish, final, financial (specific),

fin-de-siecle, firm, first-hand, fiscal, flagrant, flaky, flat, flat-footed,

flattering, fleshed-out (boldly), flimsy, following, forensic, forgettable,

foregoing, forgotten (all-too-frequently, all-too-often, long, often), former

(disproven), formidable, foundational, fractured, fragmentary (still-),

fragmentary, fragmented, frail, free, fresh, frightening, frigid, fugitive,

full, functional, fundamental, future

G FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

galling, galvanizing, gathered (meticulously), gee-whiz, general, genetic,

genuine, geographic (simple), geopolitical (central, greatest single

overwhelming and contradictory), ghastly, given, glaring, good, golden,

gotten-over (never-to-be)16, graphic, grateful, gratifying, great, greatest, grim

(another), grisly, gross, grubby, guilty

H FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

hair-raising, half-, happy (otherwise), hard (bitterly, detailed),

hard-and-fast, hard-earned, hard-learned, hard-to-find, harrowing, harsh,

hateful, heavy, helpful, heralded (less), hidden (hitherto), hilarious,

historic, historical (assumed, brute, central, complex, documented,

equivocal, every available, extraordinary, known, indisputable, monumental,

new, objective, odd, otherwise-unexplained, relevant, startling new, strange,

unassailable, unpleasant, well-defined, wonderful), homely (simple), honest, honest-to-goodness-100%-genuine,

horrendous, horrible, horrific, horrifying, hostile, huge, human, humbling,

humiliating, hypothetical

I FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

ideological, idiotic, idle, ignored, illuminating, imaginary, immediate

(more), immemorial, immoral (basic), immutable, impartial, impending,

implacable, important (crucially, especially, even more, medically, most,

much more, really), impressive, improbable (altogether), inaccurate,

inarguable, incidental, incomplete, inconsiderable (not), incontestable,

incontrovertible (most), inconvenient (often), incorrect, incredible (almost,

most, other), incriminating (self), indicative (highly), indigestible (most),

indiscriminate, indispensable, indisputable, individual, indubitable,

ineluctable, ineradicable, inescapable (simple), inessential, inevitable,

inexcusable, inexorable, inexplicable, inferential, infuriating, innocent

(essentially), inside (small), insidious, insignificant (apparently),

inspiring, insurmountable (but not), instinctual, intentioned (well-),

interesting (merely, mildly, moderately, most, oddly, very), internal,

interrelated, intimate, intolerable, intractable, intransigent, intriguing

(highly), intrinsic, invented, investigative, inviolable, irksome (mildly),

iron, ironic, irreducible, irrefutable, irrelevant (otherwise), irremediable,

irrepressible, irreversible, isolated (apparently, stubbornly)

J FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

jarring, joint, juicier, juicy, jumbled, jurisdictional (elementary)

K FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

key, knowable, known (commonly, least-, lesser, less-well, little,

perceptively, still-too-little-, [equally] well-, widely)

L FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y 

labeled (neatly), lamentable (mildly), large, leaden, leading,

least-researched, legal (cold), legitimate, lesser, lesser-known,

less-than-fun17, lifeless, life-saving (potentially), likely, lingering,

linguistic, literal, little (bizarre), live (real), longed-for, long-known,

loose, loosely-connected-but-relevant, luminous

M FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

maddening, made-up, major, malleable, manipulated, marginal (relatively),

material, mathematical, measurable, medical (astonished, cold, established,

hard, proven, sound, straightforward, very complex), melancholy,

melodramatic, memorized, mentioned (least often), merciless, mere,

metaphorical, metaphysical, meteorological (interesting), mild (deceptively),

military (stark), mind-boggling, mind-numbing, minor (not-so-), miraculous,

missed, missing, misstated, mistaken, modern-day, momentous, money-making,

monotone, monumental, moral, mouse-sized12, muddled, multifarious, mundane,

musical (solid), musicological, mute, mysterious, mythical,

N FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

nagging, narrow, nasty, national (alarming), National-Geographic-type,

necessary, negative (material, non-public2), neglected (oft-, strikingly),

negligible (not altogether) nettlesome, neutral, never-before-told, new (most

telling, overwhelming, reassuring, scary, significant, surprising),

newsworthy, nice, nitty-gritty, nonexistent, non-human, non-linguistic

(strictly), noted (little-, seldom-), noteworthy, noticeable, noticed

(little-), notorious, not-so-funny, novel, numerological (trivial),

nutritional, nuts-and-bolts (basic), nutshell

O FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

obdurate, objective, obscure (most), obscured (often), observable (easily,

simple, isolated), observational (hard), observed (carefully, closely,

experimentally), obsessive, obstinate (hard, irreducible), obtainable

(easily-), obvious (all-too-, but incredible, less, patently), odd, oddball,

offbeat, offending, old, ominous, omitted, omnipresent, ontogenetic,

operative, oppressive, optical, ordinary, organized (loosely, well),

original, out-of-the-way, outlandish, outmoded, outside, outward, overall,

overarching, overlooked (often, widely), overriding, overwhelming

P FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

packaged (neatly), painful (unbearably), paleontological (plain)11, palpable,

paradoxical, paramount, partial, particular, peculiar, perceived

(universally)15, peripheral, pernicious (larger), perplexing, personal

(experienced, unerasable), persuasive, pertinent (much more), perturbable,

pervasive, pesky, petrogeological (basic), pharmacological, phenomenological,

physical (sheer), physiologic (unimpeachable), physiological (unavoidable),

picturesque, piquant, plain (goddam5), political (curious, dominant,

fundamental, hard, important, key, modern-day, most-crucial, overriding,

portentous, simple, stark), political-economic, positive, post-Watergate4,

powerful, practical, precise, precious, predominating, present (ever-),

presumed, pretended, primary, primordial, principal, private (embarrassing)8,

probable (reasonably), problematic (very), profound, prominent, prophetic,

prosaic (unfortunately), provable, proved, proven (scientifically),

provocative, pseudo-, psychological (basic, key), public, publicized (little,

widely), published, pure, purported, puzzling (otherwise, rather)

Q FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

quaint, queasy, questionable, quick, quirky

R FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

random, rapid-fire, rational, rare, raw, readable, real, realistic,

real-life, reasonable (perfectly), reassuring, recognizable, recognized

(little-, previously, reasonably-well-, widely), recondite, recorded (cold),

recurring (constantly), redoubtable, regrettable, related, relevant (every,

highly, legally, presidentially, very), reliable (old), remarkable,

remarked-on (absolutely never14), remarked-upon (almost never), remembered,

repeatable, repeated (-oft), reported (previously though subsequently

forgotten, routinely though not conspicuously), reportable, reputed,

researched (meticulously, well), retold (often), revealed (newly), revealing

(most), reversible, revolting, rich (secretly), riveting, rock-bottom, root,

routine, rude, rudimentary (most), ruling, run-of-the-mill

S FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

sad (-but-telling, inexpressively, truly), saddest, salient (certain, most),

satisfying, scandalous, scant, scary, scattered, scientific (ascertainable,

curious, ever-evolving, fully-documented, hard, otherwise-unexplained,

poorly-explained, proven, settled, true), scrambled, searing, secret (most),

select (very), selected (carefully, very), selective, self-evident,

self-serving, semi-, sensational, sensitive, sequential, serious (extremely,

potentially very), service, sexual, shaming, shattering, sheer, shimmering,

shocking (most, unadorned), short, sickening, signal, significant (highly,

more, ostensibly), silly, simple (apparently, -but-all-important,

-but-decisive, but-seemingly forgotten, deceptively), single (most

important), singular (very), sketchy, skewed, small (very), sober, sobering,

so-called, social (hard, passively-accepted, path-breaking, proven, unhappy),

sociological, soft, solid, somber, sordid, sorry, sovereign, sparce, spare, specific,

specified, spin-busting, spiritual, squalid, squiggling, stable, staggering,

standard, stark, starkest, startling, stated (below-), statistical (amazing,

incomplete, melancholy, minimal, not-so-trivial, substantial), steadfast,

stern (unprecendetly), stray, substantive, steely, stern, stone-hard,

straight, straightforward, strange (very), stray, strict, striking (most,

very), stubborn, stunning, subsequent (myriad), subtle (rather), suggestive

(curiously), super, superfluous, supportable, supporting (best), supportive,

supposed, suppressed (formerly), surprising (not-altogether, not-so-,

somewhat)

T FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

tacit, tangential, tangible, tangled, tantalizing, taped, technical, teeming,

telling, tendentious, terrible, terrifying, textbook (essential), theatrical,

thin, threatening (but non-specific), timely, tiny, titillating, today's,

tragic, transient (non-), tricky (somewhat), troublesome, troubling (more and more), trivial

(seemingly), true (absolutely), truthful, twisted

U FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

ugly, ultimate, unaccountable, unaccounted-for (previously), unacknowledged,

unalterable, unanswerable, unappetizing, unarguable, unassailable, unattractive,

unauthorized, unavoidable (single), unbearable, unbelievable, unbiased,

unborn, unbudgable (certain), unbudging (single), uncensored, unchallenged,

unchangeable, unchanging, unclear, uncomfortable, uncontested,

uncontradicted, uncontroverted, uncorrectable, uncorroborated, uncovered

(newly), uncurrent (decidedly), undemonstrable, undeniable, underappreciated

(widely)13, underlying, underrated (frequently), understood (little, seldom),

undesirable, undifferentiated, undigestible, undisclosed (previously),

undisputed (mostly, only), undocumented, undoubted, undramatic, unearthed

(suddenly), unethical, unexceptionable, unexpected, unexplained, unfamiliar,

unfashionable, unfeeling, unflattering, unforgettable, unfortunate,

unhackneyed, unhappy, unhelpful, unimpeachable, unimportant (completely),

uninteresting, unique (historically), un-Japanese, unknown (heretofore,

previously), universal, unmistakable, unnatural, unnecessary, unnoted

(previously), unnoticed (previously, widely), unobserved, unpalatable

(highly), unpleasant, unpleasant-but-crucial, unpredictable, unprovable,

unpublicized, unquantifiable, unquestionable, unquestioned (long),

unrecognizable, unrecognized, unrefutable, unregenerate, unrelated

(previously), unremarkable (completely), unremarked, unremitting, unrevealed

(previously), unsavory, unsettling, unshakable, unspeakable, unspecified,

unstated, unsubstantiated (by-examination)9, unsurprising (not-),

untreatable, unusual, unvarnished, unwelcome, upcoming, upsetting, usable,

useful (less), useless (utterly)

V FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

valuable, verifiable (easily, empirically, readily), verified, vexing,

vicious, visible (much more), visual, vital, vocal (fundamental)

W FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

weird, well-defended, wholesome, withheld, wonderful (truly), worrisome, wrong (blatantly),

wrongheaded

Y FACTS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

yawn-enforcing, yesterday's

References to "hard-to-believe" facts

1. A CLEVER CASE OF CONTRADICTORY: Judge in White Plains court, 5/16/75

2. NON-PUBLIC NEGATIVE: Dan Dorfman, New York Magazine, 9/1/75

3. EXCEPTIONALLY AMERICAN: Gilliatt, New Yorker 9/8/75

4. POST-WATERGATE: Ter Horst, L.A. Times 10/23/75

5. GODDAM PLAIN: New York Magazine, Pg 90 12/1/75

7. EMOTIONAL: Mailer, New York Magazine 8/16/76

8. EMBARRASSING PRIVATE : LA Times, 1/10/84, PG 1 Pt 2, Ginny Foat

9. UNSUBSTANTIATED-BY-EXAMINATION: WSJ, 1/20/84, pg 24, Soviet Camp

10. ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION: Brochure from Trinity Valley School, Fort

Worth, Texas

11. PLAIN PALEONTOLOGICAL: Lewis Thomas, The Youngest Science, Pg 245

12. MOUSE-SIZED: Book Review, LA Times, Dec. 9 '84, Pg 1, THE PERIODIC TABLE

13. WIDELY UNDER-APPRECIATED: Alistair Cook - Introduction to part 3 of

"JEWEL OF THE CROWN"

14. ABSOLUTELY NEVER REMARKED-ON: Jane O'Reilly - "The Girl I Left Behind",

pg 90

15. UNIVERSALLY PERCEIVED: Albert Einstein - re the 2nd Law of

Thermodynamics

16. NEVER-TO-BE-GOTTEN-OVER: Alfred Kazin - New York Jew, Pg 16

17. LESS-THAN-FUN: PG 49, Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 1990

18. FAST-FLYING: N.Y. Times Dec 24, '02, Section C, Pg 4, New Economy, line #4