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Top officials in the government have confirmed that a WHITtLING down of the Planning Commission, if not a complete dismantling, is definitely on the cards. It is in keeping with the measures taken by the government to speed up decision making, including scrapping of the Empowered Group of Ministers and GoMs. ( Economic Times )

WHITTLING : To whittle is to pare or carve away. Wood carvers whittle pieces of wood, removing bit by bit until what's left is a sailor with a yellow raincoat or a lone wolf howling at the moon.

Whittle can also mean to reduce an amount or number of items. In this sense, it is commonly paired with the words away or down. A courtroom attorney might "whittle away" at a defendant's alibi until the truth emerges. You might "whittle down" a to-do list or "whittle away" at your student loan debt every month. But only a highly skilled wood carver can whittle a chunk of pine into that old salty dog with a yellow raincoat.

On a day when Spain's King Juan Carlos officially ABDICaTED his throne, the country's all-conquering football team also surrendered its crown by going down 0-2 to Chile. (TOI)

ABDICATE : Sometimes someone in power might decide to give up that power and step down from his or her position. When they do that, they abdicate their authority, giving up all duties and perks of the job.

The original meaning of the verb abdicate came from the combination of the Latin ab- "away" and dicare "proclaim." (Note that in the charming relationships between languages with common roots, the Spanish word for "he says" is dice, which comes directly from dicare.) The word came to refer to disowning one's children, and it wasn't until the 17th century that the first use of the word relating to giving up power or public office was recorded.

The growing risk that Iraq may descend into civil war has ROILED the global oil markets. ( Mint )

ROILED : adj (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence

Synonyms: churning, roiling, roily, turbulent, agitated.

physically disturbed or set in motion.

How Modi can make India's recalcitrant bureaucracy march to match his ambition. ( Times of India )

Recalcitrant : If someone is so pig-headed that he won't budge on an issue, call him recalcitrant. Not that it will make a difference...

Recalcitrant is from Latin calcitrare, meaning "to kick," so someone who is recalcitrant is kicking back against what's wanted of them. Synonyms are unruly, intractable, and refractory, all referring to what is difficult to manage or control. Writers are frequently referring to recalcitrant Democrats and Republicans, since many people are stubbornly loyal to their political parties and unwilling to change.

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