The convivial secretary of the dining club invited every neighbor to a banquet, believing that any awkward silence could be repaired by bringing another chair to the table. (convivial: sociable, friendly, festive) Her jocund assistant greeted the arriving guests as though each one had personally solved the long-standing problem of how to make an ordinary Thursday worth remembering. (jocund: cheerful, merry, lighthearted) From the courtyard came the dulcet sound of a flute, almost lost beneath the noise of people discovering that the invitation had promised three desserts rather than one. (dulcet: sweet-sounding, mellow, melodious) A retired actor used his sonorous voice to announce the first course, giving a bowl of soup the kind of introduction usually reserved for a visiting royal family. (sonorous: resonant, full-toned, deeply sounding) The soup was genuinely sapid, and even the guest who had arrived determined to complain admitted that it was more interesting than the elaborate speeches delivered before it. (sapid: flavorful, tasty, savory)
A platter of succulent pears followed, their freshness making the cook wonder whether the complicated pastries waiting in the kitchen were really necessary to the evening's success. (succulent: juicy, moist, tender and juicy) The first pastry was saccharine, its overwhelming sweetness silencing the guests more effectively than any request from the secretary for a little attention to her opening remarks. (saccharine: excessively sweet, cloyingly sweet, sugary) After a second helping, the icing began to cloy, and several guests discreetly moved their plates toward the center as though the dishes belonged to someone else. (cloy: surfeit, overwhelm with sweetness, sicken through excess) Only the esurient actor continued to ask for more, explaining that he had skipped lunch because he trusted the club's impressive reputation for taking hospitality seriously. (esurient: hungry, ravenous, eager for food) An abstemious neighbor took a small portion and enjoyed it slowly, demonstrating that enthusiasm for a meal need not be measured by the height of food on a plate. (abstemious: moderate in consumption, restrained, temperate)
The club's resident sybarite requested a softer cushion, a warmer spoon, and a quieter chair, leaving the assistant uncertain whether he was hosting a guest or furnishing an entire palace. (sybarite: lover of luxury, pleasure-seeker, devotee of comfort) The actor proposed a bacchanalian finale, but the secretary declined the prospect of wild revelry because the borrowed hall had to be returned intact before the morning exercise class. (bacchanalian: riotously festive, revelrous, given to wild celebration) Several guests were ready to carouse until midnight, yet the cook persuaded them that lively conversation could survive without turning the orderly supper into an exhausting competition for attention. (carouse: revel, celebrate noisily, engage in a drinking party) A final serving was enough to satiate even the actor, who pushed back his chair and promised never again to mistake anticipation for an unlimited capacity to eat. (satiate: satisfy fully, fill, appease an appetite) The surfeit of elaborate dishes had left little room for appreciating any single flavor, so the secretary quietly shortened the menu she was planning for their next gathering. (surfeit: excess, overabundance, too much)
A frolicsome child then invented a game in which guests described the soup without using the words warm or good, producing more laughter than all the formal entertainment combined. (frolicsome: playful, merry, lighthearted) The porter's jape about a spoon seeking early retirement drew a surprising round of applause, partly because everyone understood exactly how overworked the imaginary utensil must have felt. (jape: joke, jest, playful trick) The cook replied with a quip about chairs deserving recognition too, and the secretary wisely abandoned her remaining speech rather than compete with a conversation that had finally found its rhythm. (quip: witty remark, brief joke, clever retort) A little levity restored the evening's balance, allowing guests to enjoy the imperfections instead of judging the meal against the enormous promises printed on its invitation. (levity: lightness, playfulness, humor) They ended with a walk through the salubrious evening air, agreeing that the best part of the banquet had been the company rather than the heroic number of dishes. (salubrious: healthful, wholesome, conducive to well-being)