1. bolus — overlarge pill; round soft mass, esp. of chewed food
What it cost him to swallow this enormous bolus of shame and degradation I hope never to learn.
2. chyme — quasi-fluid mass of food acted upon by gastric processes and passed into the small intestine
The presence of chyme in the intestine is of limited use in determining time of death, as antemortem factors may hasten or retard the digestive process.
3. chyle — milky fats-containing fluid formed in the small intestine from chyme
Since it is produced in the small intestine from the digestion of fatty foods, there is no such thing as “honey chyle“.
4. leat — open watercourse dug to provide water for mill or mine, etc.
The Roman invaders made many hydraulic mines, and the leats they constructed to wash away the surface soil can still be seen in Wales and western England.
5. rigadoon — lively two person dance with jumping steps popular in 17th and 18th c. France and England; music for such dance
They cavorted around the kitchen in an impromptu rigadoon of such charm and energy that Mama smiled and forgot to be indignant.
6. minatory — threatening, menacing
The oleaginous lawyer only sneered at my protestations and repeated in his minatory monotone the details of my cousin Ernie’s cease and desist order.
7. Gamsbart — traditional hat decoration of German and Austrian alps made from chamois hair
Though the Garmsbart is now only another fashion choice for consumers, it once was a hunting trophy adorning the Alpine hats of those canny enough to fell the elusive chamois among the steep crags those speedy goats call home.
8. exuviate — to shed or cast off, to molt
I have exuviated that repulsive little man as if I were Peter Gabriel.
9. snuggery — (British) cozy or comfortable room, esp. of small size
My gift of Laphroaig garnered me an invitation into his warm snuggery at the rear of the house, where Jason bid me sit down while he poured us both a tumbler.
10. diapason — full harmonious sound; one of several organ stops
In spite of everything that happened after, I will always treasure the memory of those days in church, my own reedy voice joining with my grandfather’s deep baritone, as the mighty diapason of the revivalists’ uplifted voices lifted my spirit as well, swept away in the massed choral moment.
Bonus Vocabulary
(medieval military accoutrement)
goat’s-foot lever — characteristically shaped lever used to quickly hook the string and span a crossbow
Medieval crossbowmen using a goat’s-foot lever could maintain a withering rate of fire.