pillory - pill-oh-ree - to ridicule or castigate (reprimand severely) someone publicly

Example: "Despite a distinguished record as a US district judge in Indiana, David Hamilton has been pilloried as a judge for his supposed determination to chase Christians out of the public square in order to make space for Muslims."

concurrent - kon-CURR-ent - simultaneous, at the same time

Example: "Concurrent with promises from auto manufacturers to increase gas mileage came this from a study by the UofM Transportation Research Institute: the average fuel efficiency of US cars has improved by only 3mpg since the days of the Model T."

vicissitudes - vis-SIS-ih-TOODS - unexpected changes, particularly in one's fortunes

Example: "AAA predicts less people flying & more people driving longer distances for Thanksgiving, likely the result of current economic vicisssitudes."

egregious - ih-GREE-zhus - in bad taste, blatant, extraordinarily ridiculous

Example: "According to the Sierra Magazine, a Berlin brothel in an egregious display of being patriotically "green" offers discounts for customers arriving by bicycle or public transportation."

parochial - par-OAK-ee-AL - having a limited or narrow outlook, limited in scope, regional, myopic
esoteric - ESS-oh-TAIR-ik - understood by, or appreciated by, only a few

Example: "The movie 'The Blind Side' is universally accepted with a positive approval of 71% critical response, while the vampire film 'New Moon,' perhaps more esoteric than parochial in its intent, is aimed at a target audience of young women and is the largest box office success despite it's mere 29% critical approval."

indigenous - in-DIDJ-en-US - native, home grown, originating in a specific region

Example: "The Afghan interior minister said, 'What we are talking about is a local, spontaneous and indigenous response to the Taliban; just give us the resources & we will defend our own country.' "

erudite - AIR-you-DITE - having or showing great knowledge or learning

Example: "The most invigorating day - starting at 6am with Bob Edwards' spellbinding interviews and continuing with news intelligently covered by Scott Simon and other equally erudite NPR hosts - occurs each Saturday, not to be missed by people who hunger for fascinating programs no longer found on the biased or dumbed-down commercial stations."