All eyes on Washington

Glossary of difficult words

to scare the living daylights out of - to make someone feel very frightened;

pedigree - the background of a person or thing, esp. as conferring distinction or quality;

to pull out all the stops - to make a great effort to achieve something;

cascade - a succession of stages in a process, each of which triggers or initiates the next;

scam - a dishonest scheme; a fraud;

doomsday - the last day of the world’s existence.