Sunday, 16 December 2012

These are from here.

12 Enjoyable Names for Relatively Common Things 


  1. box tent : the plastic table-like item found in pizza boxes
  2. jamais vu : that feeling of seeing something for the first time, even though there’s nothing new about it
  3. paresthesia : that tingling sensation when your foot falls asleep
  4. grawlix : the string of typographical symbols comic strips use to indicate profanity (“$%@!”)
  5. caruncula : the small, triangular pink bump on the inside corner of each eye
  6. badinage : another word for playful banter
  7. rhumba : a group of rattlesnakes
  8. dringle : to waste time by being lazy
  9. agraffe : the wire cage that keeps the cork in a bottle of champagne
  10. wings : those back flaps on a bra
  11. rasher : a single slice of bacon
  12. purlicue : the web between your thumb and forefinger

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

From Briar!

Barbe a papa means candy floss in French but literally translates as dad's beard.

Oh and I learnt the greatest word the other day in one of the classes, no idea how we got on to it but the word for bow tie is noeud papillon which literally translates as knotted butterfly.

Monday, 26 November 2012


alacrity

noun
[mass noun]

brisk and cheerful readiness.

Origin: late Middle English: from Latin alacritas, from alacer 'brick'




Sunday, 25 November 2012

Another Dictionary For You

Here


word
a compact weapon of many varieties, each comprising sharp edges and barbs, with an entirely inadequate grip.

Sunday, 18 November 2012

paean

noun

1. a song of praise or triumph

2. a creative work expressing enthusiastic praise

Origin: late 16th century: via Latin from Greek paian 'hymn of thanksgiving to Apollo' (invoked by the name Paian, originally the Homeric name for the physician of the gods).



canoodle

verb
informal

kiss and cuddle amorously

Origin: mid 19th century (originally US): of unknown origin

Sunday, 4 November 2012

bellicose

adj.

demonstrating aggression and a willingness to fight

Origin: Late Middle English: from Latin  bellicosus 'warlike', from bellum 'war'

parse

verb
[with object]

1. resolve (a sentence) into its component parts and describe their syntactic roles

2. computing analyse (a string or text) into logical syntactic components

noun
computing

an act of parsing a string or a text

Origin: Mid 16th century: perhaps from Middle English pars 'parts of speech', from Old French pars 'parts' (influenced by Latin pars 'part')

Saturday, 29 September 2012



I just happened across a fantastic site called the Grandiloquent Dictionary which has some real humdingers! 

carker - 
 A mischievieous child or brat

mimp - 
  To speak in a prissy manner, usually with pursed lips

kalling -
  Fortunetelling based on what variety of cabbage a blindfolded person picks


I really like the last one :)
Check it out-
Click me!

Thursday, 27 September 2012


schlep 

(also schlepp)

informal

verb

[with object]
haul or carry (something heavy or awkward)

noun

 a tedious or difficult journey

Origin: early 20th century (as verb): from Yiddish schlepn 'drag', from Middle High German sleppen

assuage


verb

[with object]

1. make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense:

2. satisfy (an appetite or desire)

Origin: Middle English: from Old French assouagier, asouagier, based on Latin ad- 'to' (expressing change) + suavis 'sweet'

Monday, 24 September 2012

de·scry/diˈskrī/

Verb:
Catch sight of.

doffedpast participle, past tense of doff (Verb)

 Verb:
  1. Remove (an item of clothing): "he doffed his tie and jacket".
  2. Tip (one's hat) as a greeting or token of respect. 


Sunday, 16 September 2012


hoosegow

noun

A prison.

Origin: early 20th century: via Latin American Spanish from Spanish juzgado 'tribunal', from Latin judicaturn 'something judged, neuter part participle of judicare


jettison

verb

[with object]
1. throw or drop (something) from an aircraft or ship

2. abandon or discard (someone or something no longer wanted)

Origin: late Middle English (as a noun denoting the throwing of goods overboard to lighten a ship in distress): from Old French getaison, from Latin jactatio(n-), from jactare 'to throw'. The verb dates from the mid 19th century

Sunday, 2 September 2012

Found my way back.


Took me so long to remember my passwords and get back here,
But i'm back!
and I have some guest contributions from my parents who i'm staying with.
Here goes

Rod (Dad) gives us

tintinnabulation- tinkling of bells
(extremely fun to say)

and Margy (mum) provides

chatoyancy - Having a changeable luster.

and mine from the old dictionary at home is

cottonocracy- the magnates of the cotton trade
as in "this aint no democracy it's a cottonocracy."

This will be good when i'm in France as I don't want to forget English while i'm speaking French all the time.
Also I might be your foreign correspondent and contribute some French words if I find some winners!
bye for now. will keep up better from now.

verisimilitude

noun.

The appearance of being true or real

Origin: early 17th century: from Latin verisimilitudo, from verisimilis 'probable', from veri (genitive of verus 'true') +similis 'like'

pundit

noun.

1. an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to give their opinions to the public.

2. variant spelling of PANDIT

Origin: from Sanskrit pandita 'learned'.


Sunday, 26 August 2012

Hi all!
I'm sorry for my tardiness and general laziness! I shall endeavour to do a couple of words a couple of times this week to make up for it!

I have been reading 'Wicked' by Gregory Macguire and he uses some fantastic words but I seem to lose them as soon as I find them. Hiding within the pages, I keep going back to find some of the juicy words but keep being unsuccessful. I think I will have to read with a notebook next to me so as to remedy this problem! Here are a couple I managed to find though are not the best....

AMANUENSIS

noun

one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript


VERDIGRIS

noun

a green or greenish blue poisonous pigment resulting from the action of acetic acid on copper, consisting of one or more basic copper acetates, and formerly used in medicine 

Thursday, 16 August 2012

The Rest of You are Slackers

obfuscate

verb.

1. Render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. 
2. Bewilder (someone)

Origin: Late Middle English; from late Latin obfuscat-'darkened', from the verb obfuscare, based on Latin fuscus 'dark'

(I know nothing of Latin pronunciation, but I'm picturing obscured, or confusing cats and caring in the dark)


epistle

noun
formal or humorous 

1. A letter.
2. A poem or other literary work in the form of a letter or a series of letters.


Origin:

Old English, via Latin from Greek epistolē, from epistellein 'send news', from epi 'upon, in addition' + stellein 'send'. The word was reintroduced in Middle English from Old French


Monday, 6 August 2012

Dr Samuel Johnson

Hey kids,

I am researching the dictionary for my archive paper.
According to The Dictionary Makers by Anthony Burgess the first dictionary was written by Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1755. You can read some of his sweet words and definitions here.

solecism

noun

1. A grammatical mistake in speech or writing

2. A breach of good manners; a piece of incorrect behaviour.


kismet

noun

Fate; fortune; destiny


impecunious

adjective

having little or no money; penniless; poor


chyack

(or chiack)

Australian informal

1. verb to tease of banter

2. noun good humored banter

[C19: from chi-hike,  a shout or greeting]





Wednesday, 1 August 2012


caterwaul
Verb:
(of a cat) Make a shrill howling or wailing noise: "the caterwauling of a pair of bobcats"; "a caterwauling guitar".
Noun:
A shrill howling or wailing noise.

poppysmic 

noise produced when smacking lips


forsooth

adv.



  1. Indeed (often used ironically or to express surprise or indignation): "forsooth, there is no one I trust more".
  2. Used to give an ironic politeness to questions.


bildungsroman

n.

A novel dealing with a person's development or spiritual education.


Origin:
German, from Bildung 'education' + Roman 'a novel'


Sunday, 29 July 2012

Playing Catch Up


To bring us up to speed here are all our prior shared words... Enjoy it's a pretty impressive list :)

LARIAT
n.
1. See lasso.
2. A rope for picketing grazing horses or mules.

LEPIDOPTERY
n.
The branch of entomology that deals with lepidopterans.
(a person who studies or collects moths and butterflies)

ALEXITHYMIA
n.
Inability to describe emotions in a verbal manner.

CATAWAMPUS
adj.
1. askew; awry.
2. positioned diagonally; cater-cornered.

SWISH
1. Move with a hissing or rushing sound: a car swished by. 

2. Aim a swinging blow at something: he swished at a bramble with a piece of stick. 

3. Effeminate.

FACETIOUS
Adj.
1. Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant.

CURLICUES 
n.
A fancy twist or curl, such as a flourish made with a pen.

NACSENT
Adj.
1. Starting to grow or develop; being born
2. (Chemistry) Chem (of an element or simple compound, esp hydrogen) created within the reaction medium in the atomic form and having a high activity

CHRONIC
Adj.
(Of an illness) persisting for a long time or constantly recurring : chronic bronchitis. Often contrasted with acute.
• (of a person) having such an illness : a chronic asthmatic.
• (of a problem) long-lasting and difficult to eradicate : the school suffers from chronic  overcrowding.
• (of a person) having a particular bad habit : a chronic liar. 

PARANOID
Adj.
Of, characterized by, or suffering from the mental condition of paranoia :paranoid schizophrenia.
• unreasonably or obsessively anxious, suspicious, or mistrustful : you think I'm paranoid but I tell you there is something going on.

DELUSION
n.
An idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument,typically a symptom of mental disorder : the delusion of being watched.
• The action of deluding someone or the state of being deluded : what a capacity television has for delusion.

ATRABILIOUS
Adj.
Melancholy or ill-tempered

EPEOLATRY
n.
Similar to idolatry and iconodulism, epeolatry literally means the worship of words.

MALADROIT
Adj.
Ineffective or bungling; clumsy.

GAD
v.
·      Go around from one place to another, in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment.
·      An exclamation of surprise or emphatic assertion.

ELEEMOSYNARY
Adj.
Of, relating to, or dependent on charity;

SPURIOUS
Adj.
1.     Not being what it purports to be; false or fake: “spurious claims”.
2.     (Of a line of reasoning) Apparently but not actually valid: “this spurious reasoning results in nonsense”.

BETWIXT
Adv. & Prep.
-Between

JEJUNE
Adj.
1.     Naïve, simplistic, and superficial.
2.     (of ideas or writings) Dry and uninteresting.








RAMBUNCTIOUS
Adj.
Uncontrollable exuberant; boisterous.

BROBDINGNAGIAN
Adj.
Gigantic

TARANTISM
n.
An urge to overcome melancholy by dancing

DACTYLION
n.
The tip of the middle finger

SPECIOUS
Adj.
1. Superficially plausible, but actually wrong: "a specious argument".
2. Misleading in appearance, esp. misleadingly attractive: "a specious appearance of novelty".

ANATHEMA
n.
1. Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.
2. A formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine.

INCREDULOUS
Adj.
(of a person or their manner) unwilling or unable to believe something : an incredulous gasp.
TUMULTUOUS
Adj.
making a loud, confused noise; uproarious : tumultuous applause.
• excited, confused, or disorderly : a tumultuous crowd figurative a tumultuous personal life.

TEMERITY
n.
Excessive confidence or boldness; audacity: "no one had the temerity to question his conclusions"

BRICOLAGE
n.
1. (In art or literature) Construction or creation from a diverse range of available things.
2. Something constructed or created in this way.

ADOXOGRAPHY
n.
Literature, fine writing on trivial or base subject.

GAUCHE
Adj.
Awkward or lacking on social graces; bumbling.

NIRVANA
n.
The absence of all longing

MALEDICTION
n.
A magical word or phrase uttered with the intention of bringing about evil or destruction; a curse.

CALAMITY
n.
1. An event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster.
2. Disaster and distress

REPROBATE
n.
An unprincipled person (often used humourously or affectionately).

CLANDESTINE
Adj.
Kept secret or done secretively, esp. because illicit.

JAUNDICE
n.
1. A medical condition with yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, arising from excess of the pigment bilirubin and typically caused...
2. Bitterness, resentment, or envy.

CORPULENT
Adj.
(of a person) Fat.

BIBELOT
n.
A small, decorative ornament or trinket.

SIMULACRUM
n.
1. An image or representation of someone or something.
2. An unsatisfactory imitation or substitute.

PINGLE
n.
To move food about on the plate for want of an appetite.

HEXUALSEALINGS
Appetite. (Word courtesy of Jacob)

TWIZZLING
Spinning a pointer on a pub ceiling to decide who should buy the next round.

GUMPTION
n.
1.     Boldness of enterprise; initiative or aggressiveness.
2.     Guts; spunk.
3.     Common sense.

SINEWY
n. & adj.
·      stringy and tough
·       lean and muscular
·       strong and vigorous

NETTIQUETTE
The correct or acceptable way of communicating on the Internet.