*Deconstruction* doesn't actually mean “demolition” ; instead it means “breaking down” or analyzing something (especially the words in a work of fiction or nonfiction) to discover its true significance, which is supposedly almost never exactly what the author intended. A feminist may *deconstruct* an old novel to show how even an innocent-seeming story somehow depends on the oppression of women. A new western may deconstruct the myths of the old West and show lawmen as vicious and criminals as flawed but decent. Table manners, *The Sound of Music,* and cosmetics ads have all been the subjects of *deconstructionist* analysis. Of course, not everyone agrees with deconstructionist interpretations, and some people reject the whole idea of deconstruction, but most of us have run into it by now even if we didn't realize it.

(1) The underlying foundation or basic framework. (2) A system of public works.

*Infra-* means “below” ; so the infrastructure is the “underlying structure” of a country and its economy, the fixed installations that it needs in order to function. These include roads, bridges, dams, the water and sewer systems, railways and subways, airports, and harbors. These are generally government-built and publicly owned. Some people also speak about such things as the intellectual infrastructure or the infrastructure of science research, but the meaning of such notions can be extremely vague.

(1) To explain the arrangement and meaning of words in a sentence. (2) To understand or explain; interpret.

*Construe* can usually be translated as “interpret.” It's often used in law; thus, an Attorney General might construe the term “serious injury” in a child-abuse law to include bruises, or a judge might construe language about gifts to “heirs” to include spouses. The IRS's *construal* of some of your activities might be different from your own—and much more expensive at tax time. Construing is also close to translating; so when the British say “public school,” for instance, it should be construed or translated as “prep school” in American terms.

(1) Acting as a means, agent, or tool. (2) Relating to an instrument, especially a musical instrument.

An *instrument* is a tool, something used to *construct.* It's often a tool for making music. A musical saw happens to be a carpenter's tool that can be played with a violin bow (though you probably wouldn't want to play a wrench or a pair of pliers). The musical meanings of *instrumental*, as in “It starts with an instrumental piece” or “a jazz *instrumental*,” are common. But the meanings “helpful,” “useful,” and “essential,” as in “He was instrumental in getting my book published,” are just as common.

(1) Relating to an owner or proprietor; made or sold by one who has the sole right to do so. (2) Privately owned and run as a profit-making organization.

A proprietary process is a manufacturing process that others are forbidden to use, and a proprietary trademark is a name that only the owner can use. Legal rights of this kind are ensured by copyrights and patents. After a certain period of time, inventions and processes lose their legal protection, cease to be proprietary, and enter the “public domain,” meaning that everyone can use them freely. Baseball fans often take a proprietary attitude toward their favorite team—that is, they behave more or less as if they own it, even though the only thing they may own is the right to yell from a bleacher seat till the end of a game.

(1) The state of being proper; appropriateness. (2) Acting according to what is socially acceptable, especially in conduct between the sexes.

In an earlier era, when social manners were far more elaborate than they are today, *propriety* and *impropriety* were words in constant use. Today we're more likely to use them in other contexts. We may talk about the propriety of government officials' dealings with private citizens, the propriety of the relationship between a lawyer and a judge, or the impropriety of speaking out of turn in a meeting that follows Robert's rules of order. Relations between men and women still present questions of propriety, but today it's often in the workplace rather than in social settings. Wherever rules, principles, and standard procedures have been clearly stated, propriety can become an issue. Something *improper* usually isn't actually illegal, but it makes people uncomfortable by giving the impression that something isn't quite right.

(1) To take exclusive possession of, often without right. (2) To set apart for a particular purpose or use.

From its roots, the verb *appropriate* would mean basically “make one's own”—that is, “take,” or sometimes “grab.” Each year the President and Congress create a budget and appropriate funds for each item in it, funds which mostly come in the form of taxes from the public. In the House of Representatives, the powerful *Appropriations* Committee often gets the last word on how much money goes to each program. “*Misappropriation* of funds,” on the other hand, is a nice way of saying “theft.” If someone appropriated pieces of your novel, you might take him or her to court; and if you appropriated trade secrets from your former employers, you might be the one sued.

(1) To take away the right of possession or ownership. (2) To transfer to oneself.

In ancient Rome, an emperor could condemn a wealthy senator, have him killed, and expropriate his property. In 1536 Henry VIII declared himself head of the new Church of England and expropriated the lands and wealth of the Roman Catholic monasteries. And nearly all of North America was expropriated from the American Indians, usually without any payment at all. Today, democratic governments only carry out legal *expropriations,* in which the owners are *properly* paid for their land—for example, when a highway or other public project needs to be built.