Talks with the militants	words	meanings	usage
If the political leadership is reluctant to speak plainly to the TTP, it is also indulging in sophistry when speaking about them. The interior minister has trotted out an old canard with his suggestion that the fight against militancy was a result of Musharraf-era policies. That is nonsense. Musharraf-era policies certainly compounded the problem of militancy, but they did not give birth to it. There existed a significant militancy threat before Musharraf or drones, and there will continue to exist an even bigger one until the state is truthful, to itself and to the country. (Dawn on 13 September 2013)	plainly	bluntly; frankly; using simple words to say sth in a direct and honest way	He told her plainly that he thought she was making a big mistake. To put it plainly, he’s a crook.
	sophistry	the use of clever but false arguments; dishonesty	trying to argue that I had benefited in any way from the disaster was pure sophistry
	trot out	come up with something repeatedly	He trots out the same old excuses every time he’s late.
	canard	a false report or piece of news	the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland
	compound	intensify; make something more extreme or intense by adding something to it	The problems were compounded by severe food shortages.