Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Chow’ter, v. to grumble like a child or frog. Word in the Wild: Amitav chowtered at his roommate after she accidentally put his 2014 tax slips through the shredder. This fun word is obsolete, but let’s not let that stop us from using it anyway. Its etymology is unknown, though chowter is similar […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Ba’bery, n. playthings for a child. Word in the Wild: Receiving nothing but blank looks from her nephews after she asked them to clear the living room of their babery and detritus, Celine tried again: “For pity’s sake, clean up your toys and junk!” You can find a complete listing of the Word […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Apocrust’ic, a. having a repelling power; astringent. Word in the Wild: If you’re planning to make your own dandelion wine, do be sure the blossoms you pick haven’t been sprayed with pesticides, which will result in an unfortunately apocrustic vintage. Oh, and a poisonous one, too. You can find a complete listing of […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Zetic’ula, n. a small private room. Word in the Wild: After sharing a room with her sister for the past 8 years, Annicka needed a place of her own to gather her thoughts and hide her diary. She claimed the front-hall closet for her zeticula and begged her dad to find somewhere else […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Writ’ative, a. inclined to write as an author. Word in the Wild: Vicki used pencils to put up her hair so that she could write at any time whatsoever. She wrote while riding the bus, wrote in her dreams, wrote her own vows, and wrote with the alphabet noodles in her soup. She […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Via’tic, a. relating to travelling. Word in the Wild: She’d always been powerless to resist the lure of the faraway. First it was leaving the neighbourhood on her own, then it was biking to the next town over, and now it was the viatic call of a investigative journalism. She just couldn’t hold […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Ubica’tion, n. relation as to place; whereness Word in the Wild: Ilya often had trouble determining his own ubication, which is why three of his birthday gifts turned out to be compasses. The fourth was a GPS. This word has wandered over to English from the modern Latin ubicātio, meaning in “a determinate […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Salsu’ginous, a. a little saltish. Word in the Wild: I’d really like to recommend that new restaurant on the corner since the owners are so friendly, but everything I’ve eaten there is so salsuginous I just can’t. The above meaning of salsuginous is obsolete (and even at its height it was generally used […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Quod’libet, n. a nice point for discussion. Word in the Wild: Their discussion came to a standstill after Monique’s shocking confession, and the party goers looked desperately about for someone to save them from the conversational vacuum that followed. Lucky for them, Punam was in attendance and saved them all by tossing out […]
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary Oxyph’ony, n. shrillness of voice. Word in the Wild: Alex wanted to enter the political life but was held back by a devastating case of oxyphony. This word hails from at least 1769, according to the OED, and is a compound of oxy-, meaning keen, sharp or acid, and -phony, meaning sound or […]