1. mob-handed — [British] as a mob or in a group, esp. with violent designs So there we were, breathing heavy after the chase and all of us ready to start swinging mob-handed at the boys, when this tiny dark-haired woman—Joanne it turned out to be—steps out from the alley next to the store, and …
Category Archives: Vocabulary
Friday Vocabulary
1. stifle — joint between tibia and femur in rear legs of some four-legged animals, corresponding to human knee Pugs are, of course, subject to patellar luxation (also known as slipped stifles) so you want to be sure your dog shows strength and free action through the hocks and stifles. 2. heterochromia — having …
Friday Vocabulary
1. pen — female swan We tried a stealthy approach to the swans, but the pen spotted us and let out a warning cry, whereupon the cob rushed at us, forcing our ignominious retreat. 2. iceblink — brightness in sky caused by light reflection off of sea ice or glaciers But the yellowish glow …
Friday Vocabulary
1. gnomic — aphoristic Here we see the poetic power of The Beatitudes, their gnomic wisdom shining forth in a manner not seen, for example, in the Decalogue. 2. frontlet — decorative ornament worn on forehead; phylactery Depending from her frontlet, the wooden body of which depicted one of the many gods and powers …
Friday Vocabulary
1. howe (also how) — barrow, tumulus The aged king was laid in a great howe near the source of the river for which he was named. 2. riband — [archaic] ribbon, esp. a decorative one But Jane’s new bright red riband couldn’t entirely hide the thin patches on her most festive headwear, and …
Friday Vocabulary
1. doula — trained woman assisting mother during and after childbirth Though the doula may provide emotional support and practical advice, she differs from a midwife in that she cannot perform medical activities. 2. congener — something of the same type as another; living organism belonging to same genus as another; fusel alcohols and …
Friday Vocabulary
1. qaid (also caid) — local leader or judge in North Africa; Berber chief But the qaid interrupted Deschamps at this point, and brought out the leather-bound edition of Cooper’s works we had presented to the chieftain, and Teddy and I knew then that our gift had been a prescient one indeed. 2. shrike …
Friday Vocabulary
1. panentheism — tenet that God is the entirety of the universe and yet somehow transcends the universe as well The author claims Rumi as a believer in panentheism because the Sufi poet finds God to be both transcendent and immanent, but then again, this is also the view held in most Catholic orthodoxy. …
Friday Vocabulary
1. mononymously — using a single-word name And so he joined other mononymously known natural scientists such as Darwin and Mendel, though in Lysenko’s case it was because he was infamous as a fraud. 2. landrace — plant or animal exemplar purposely bred to thrive in local conditions The bitter potato landraces exhibit greater …
Friday Vocabulary
1. fescue — pointer of straw, wire, etc. Chillingsworth now placed the tip of his birch fescue on the map projected upon the wall by the clever device he’d carried in his vest pocket. 2. oho — exclamation of surprise, elation, recognition “Oho!” exclaimed Percy brightly. “Looks like the hand is afoot now!” as …