infatuated, infatuation, unwieldy, foolhardy, doyen, U.S. Outbreaks Enter Unwieldy Phase

Books of The Times; One Man's Infatuation With Things Japanese

Bars and Churches: U.S. Outbreaks Enter Unwieldy Phase
For months, clusters centered in nursing homes, prisons and food processing plants. With more people out in public, new types of outbreaks are emerging.
The new clusters reflect the unpredictable course of the virus — and underscore risks that experts say are likely to persist until there is a vaccine.

"Young men of this class never do anything for themselves that they can get other people to do for them, and it is the infatuation, the devotion, the superstition of others that keeps them going. These others in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred are women."
--from "Washington Square" (1881) by Henry James

Citigroup appears ready to turn the page on the most troubled chapter of its life as a financial giant.

The firm is in talks to sell a share of its prized retail brokerage business, Smith Barney, to Morgan Stanley, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing several people with knowledge of the discussions. The move, made under pressure by regulators, may presage the eventual break-up of Citigroup as an unwieldly 錯 financial supermarket.

British theatre

A soap opera from earlier times

Aug 28th 2008
From The Economist print edition

SIR MICHAEL HOLROYD, the doyen of British biographers, is like a great landscape painter who works on a large, unwieldy canvas. This book began as a modest biography of Dame Ellen Terry, an enchanting Victorian actress whom the Times called “the uncrowned Queen of England”. Then the author’s plot got out of hand and embraced the most eminent of all actor-managers, Sir Henry Irving, together with four children, two from Irving’s failed marriage and two from Terry’s infatuation with Edward Godwin, an architect who dabbled in the theatre. The author confesses that his choice of such a broad canvas was “foolhardy” but his rambling tale of theatre people is captivating.



infatuated 
adjective
having a very strong but not usually lasting feeling of love or attraction for someone or something:
She was infatuated with her boss.

infatuation 
noun [C or U]
It's just an infatuation. She'll get over it.
No one expected their infatuation with each other to last.

WordNet: doyen

The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1: a man who is the senior member of a group
Synonym: dean



foolhardy 
adjective
foolishly brave, taking unnecessary risks:
a foolhardy decision
Sailing the Atlantic in such a tiny boat wasn't so much brave as foolhardy.
It would be foolhardy to try and predict the outcome of the talks at this stage.
adj., -di·er, -di·est.
Unwisely bold or venturesome; rash. See synonyms at reckless.

[Middle English folhardi, from Old French fol hardi : fol, fool; see fool + hardi, bold; see hardy¹.]

foolhardily fool'har'di·ly adv.
foolhardiness fool'har'di·ness n.

unwieldy (NOT EFFECTIVE)
adjective
An unwieldy system is slow and not effective, usually because it is too big, badly organized or involves too many different organizations or people:
One disadvantage for the bank is that its huge size - over 15 000 staff - makes it unwieldy and slow-moving.
unwieldy (DIFFICULT TO MOVE)
adjective
An unwieldy object is difficult to move or handle because it is heavy, large or a strange shape:
A piano is a very unwieldy item to get down a flight of stairs.