Plateau

plateau







Y

D



–noun 

1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.

2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one's career. 

3. Psychology. a period of little or no apparent progress in an individual's learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.

4. a flat stand, as for a centerpiece, sometimes extending the full length of a table. 



–verb (used without object) 

5. to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, esp. to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off: After a period of uninterrupted growth, sales began to plateau.  



–verb (used with object) 

6. to cause to remain at a stable level, esp. to prevent from rising or progressing: Rising inflation plateaued sales income. 





　

Vaughan, who drives around in a black 1963 Lincoln convertible in homage to JFK, is the prime mover of the group, the pathfinder who believes in pushing the envelope of danger and sex to arrive at a new physical, psychological and sexual plateau. 



A veritable sexaholic, James keeps things going with Catherine, Helen and Gabrielle, and his new link with Vaughan leads to their having their wounds tattooed, followed by a bout of nasty sex.





pinnacle

that was the pinnacle of their [career]

meridian

the meridian [hour]

He was at the meridian of his [power] then.

apex

cusp 

on the cusp of a [new] era.



ferrule 

metal casting placed over the wooden tip of an umbrella

ferule 

wooden ruler to punish schoolchildren, figuratively discipline

foil 

Loyal troops foiled his [attempt] to overthrow the government.  

The [straight] man was an able foil to the [comic].  

and proved an [apt] foil for the leering one-liners of Bob "Cherchez la Femme" Hope in Paris Holiday (1957) and Call Me Bwana (1963).

corona

wide-eyed and pouty, with a great corona of frizzy [hair]

Debilitate