1. saveloy — highly seasoned dried sausage, usually bright red
Though the white tablecloth and perfectly unctuous staff were more suited to coq au vin, my dining companion demanded two orders of saveloys and chips which were brought almost immediately to our table, perhaps procured from the fish and chips shop in the row behind the fancy restaurant.
2. tirewoman — lady’s maid, woman who assists with another’s toilet
I regarded in my mirror the effect of the rich brocade draped over my sole remaining farthingale while my tirewoman finished goffering my ruff.
3. lugsail — asymmetrical four-cornered sail obliquely hung upon a yard
We rigged a rudimentary lugsail for our patchwork raft, which allowed us to use most of what remained of the torn mainsail from the wreck.
4. synectic — (of a cause) immediately producing an effect, direct
Uncle Ralph was a firm believer in corporal punishment, though the first time he applied the belt to me I conceived a synectic hatred of both him and his oppressive household.
5. wantwit — someone lacking wit or sense
No matter how I tried, I could not make that wantwit of a blacksmith’s apprentice understand that we wished him to remove the three remaining horseshoes from my mount.
6. teredo — wood boring “shipworm” (actually a mollusk)
Though rare, the attack of the teredo could quickly doom a seagoing vessel, and even the dikes of Holland were once threatened by this quick-boring termite of the sea.
7. rostral — adorned with the beaks of galleys; of the prows of ships; of a rostrum or speaker’s platform
The Bahamian diver will find little remaining from this wreck, with only the flared bow still discernible as part of a manmade construction, the sea-grasses clinging to their rostral habitat upon the ocean’s floor.
obstreperous — clamorous; unruly
The somberly clad minister raised his hands and pled the crowd to disperse, but the obstreperous mob redoubled its shouting, angrily calling for me and my companions to be given to them for rude justice.
8. gonif — (Yiddish slang) dishonest or disreputable person, crook, rascal
“He’s got a trade, so why doesn’t he settle down, get married, I mean, he’s a fine electrician, not like his gonif brother who only learned how to break windows in parked cars.”
9. fulsome — offensive to good taste; loathsome; excessive; (obsolete) abundant, full
Pete could not decide which was more disturbing: the fulsome language of the biography which seemed more appropriate to a modern Hollywood PR flack, or the two dozen typos and grammatical errors which plagued the short obituary.
10. appositive — (grammar) word or phrase used in apposition
After many rounds of appeals the courts held that the appositive “Courtney’s father” following directly after the plaintiff’s name was not restrictive enough to prevent enforcement of the contract simply because the plaintiff discovered through DNA testing that he had no genetic paternity of the aforementioned Courtney.
Bonus Vocabulary
(obsolete slang)
flash house — brothel
They finally done for Tom Richards in a Salty Lane flash house while he was regaling the local talent with lies about his noble parentage.