NOTE: Due to recently (24 August 2019) discovered repetition of a previously used vocabulary word, the offending entry has been replaced with a new word, definition, and example sentence. The original entry is preserved with strikethrough formatting.
1. mulligrubs — grumpiness; depressed state; bad mood or temper
I would not pester him with your request just now, not when he lies abed in his mulligrubs, complaining ever of the poor state of the world and expressing foul opinions about the people within it.
2. pluperfect — more than perfect
She expects us to give 110% effort 8 days a week, with a pluperfect attention to detail and six star customer satisfaction ratings.
3. fomes (pl. fomites) — objects which may carry infectious organisms after contact with contagious individual
Of course the bedding and towels in the patient’s sick chamber are the most obvious fomites and will usually be handled carefully, but one must not forget such surfaces as curtains and even air filters when dealing with a virulent contagion.
4. parboil — to boil partially, half boil
If you parboil your chicken before tossing it on the grill you’ll find it saves time and gives you a tastier dish in the bargain.
5. fulminant — developing suddenly
He remains in the hospital following the onset of fulminant hepatitis due to an accidental overdose of acetaminophen, and his prognosis does not look good.
6. anthophobia — fear of flowers
Though he failed to make a profit during the Tulip Craze due to his well-known anthophobia, he also didn’t suffer during the subsequent collapse.
7. gonfalon — banner or pennon, often with tails or streamers, suspended from a crossbar rather than flown from a pole
The grandstands for the tourney were decorated in quite festive bunting and flowers, and across the faux crenellations that ran along the top of the temporary stadium were hung dozens and dozens of wooden shields and gonfalons representing the many knights who had come to try their skill at the joust and other marital contests.
epizootic — outbreak of a disease in an animal population (an “animal epidemic”)
Outbreaks of hoof-and-mouth disease remain a fear for every country with large animal husbandry industries, each epizootic causing devastating financial damages and the loss of many animals.
8. aleconner — inspector of ale
Though the medieval position of aleconner might seem quite desirable to some, the bad blood from fines imposed as well as the bad taste from bad ale made the job unwanted by most.
9. snollygoster — shrewd unscrupulous person
The base quartermaster was a vicious snollygoster who’d give ten for a dozen unless you came through with a little something for his trouble.
10. cachectic — of or pertaining to general malaise with malnutrition; related to a depraved habit or mind or feeling
The croupier in Wilkie Collin’s “A Terribly Strange Bed” is an unemotional, cachectic fellow, whose voice never changes or rises or falls as the gamblers around him win and lose in the dissolute gaming house.