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Monday, March 9, 2015

MEDIA MONDAY / WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE



SCRABBLE AMMUNITION--David Grambs and Ellen S. Levine are co-authors, “The Describer’s Dictionary: A Treasury of Terms & Literary Quotations.”  In the book they publish a section what they describe big 

words can come in small packages.  The following are terms collected by the co-authors that “are rarely seen or heard today -- have meanings that are contemporarily relevant. Why not spread the word -- adopt a few and help get them back into circulation.”

And, think of these words as ammunition next time you play Scrabble.



vitative: loving life

secundate: to make prosperous

mimp: to purse one's lips

gravedo: head cold

thob: to rationalize one's opinions or beliefs

sphalm: an erroneous or mistaken belief or doctrine

gyre: giant circular rotating system of ocean currents

preterist: one who lives in the past

staffage: details added to a painting

feak: dangling curl of hair

quoz: strange or absurd thing or person

faex: sediment or dregs

terete: torpedo-shaped

cortinate: cobweb-like

sinistral: on or to the left

squage: to dirty with handling

plat: building plot or lot

treen: made of wood; wooden

oculus: opening at the top of a dome

tucket: trumpet flourish or signal

riprap: broken stone

tootlish: muttering in a childish way

pingo: mound in permafrost terrain

natiform: buttocks-like

ledgit: note or other slip of paper projecting from a book's pages

symphoric: accident-prone

maremma: swampy coastline

gleet: sticky, greasy, or slimy filth

quisquose: hard to deal with; ticklish

eoan: pertaining to dawn or the east

pandurate: fiddle- or violin-shaped

arles: money to bind a bargain; money up front

lentic: being in still or slow-moving waters

xeres: sherry

storge: instinctive parental affection

vadelect: servant

indult: special privilege or license

forfex: scissors

palafitte: stilt house

col: saddle or pass between mountains

empasm: fragrant powder

clou: center of attention; cynosure

trantles: things of little value

ogygian: very old

benthic: pertaining to the ocean depths or bottom

bight: bay at a coastal bend

ashlar: hewn or squared masonry stone

roupy: low and throaty (voice)

darg: a day's work






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