Friday Vocabulary

1. vicissitudes — ups and downs, recurring changes And as he stood there in the sunshine contemplating the various and impenetrable vicissitudes of life, he was stung behind the ear by a gnat.   2. scabrous — having a rough surface, scaly; difficult, harsh; obscene, indecent He blamed his rubicund and scabrous complexion upon the …

Friday Vocabulary

1. poll — human head; the part of the head where grows the hair His encounter with the irate barber left him with a poll looking like a golf fairway covered with diseased fescue and dangerous divots.   2. puckfist — [archaic] braggart I’d not give a farthing for the whole puckfist band of pusillanimous …

Friday Vocabulary

1. plinth — square slab supporting a column; pedestal for statue The fancifully decorated sarcophagus lay upon a rough-hewn stone plinth, upon which was a tiny inscription bearing the name of some long dead mason.   2. kedgeree — Indian dish of rice, onion, lentils, and spices; European dish of rice, fish, eggs My mother’s …

Friday Vocabulary

1. tempestivity — timeliness, quality of occurring at the proper season or time You return from the wars with rare tempestivity, for your younger brother even this week has filed a writ with the sheriff laying claim to your mother’s property.   2. purler — spectacular fall; [obsolete] resounding blow sending one to the ground …