1. scarehead — newspaper headline printed in huge type
As the scareheads of every European daily proclaimed the approach to the very brink of war, events in this tiny Balkan town conspired to slow the fevered sale of the screaming newspapers.
2. saltatory — characterized by or adapted for leaping or dancing movement
Suddenly the entire kindergarten class seemed to collapse as one, exhausted by strenuous saltatory exertions and feeling the need for naptime.
3. dispositive — relating to settlement or disposition
But it was the secretary’s deposition which proved dispositive in the lawsuit, undermining the assertions of both partners and providing a different explanation for the missing pants.
4. immiserate — to make impoverished; to make miserable
Once again the voters have spoken, voting to immiserate themselves, to deny themselves access to healthcare and assistance, and to make more rich the richest.
5. pounce — [archaic] claw or talon of a bird
If your hawk should break or lose her pounce, apply hen’s gall to the portion remaining, to stop up the blood, and bind closely, taking care to hood your bird so that her claw may heal or grow again.
6. pounce — to smooth with fine powder or pumice; to sprinkle with fine dust or powder
I could hardly restrain a shudder as I beheld my cousin, her once beautiful face so pounced and dappled with white powder as to appear rather leprous than fashionable.
7. pounce — to beat, to grind, to bruise, to stab
After the leaves have thoroughly dried, remove as much of the stem and ribs as possible and pounce the remainder into a fine powder.
8. bartizan (also bartisan) — small overhanging turret
From the bartizan Sir Rollin enjoyed the view of the St. Swithin’s Day fair, happy for the tidings of fair weather to come.
9. flocculus — dark or light patch on the surface of the sun
The bright flocculi are calcium clouds whereas the darker patches are clouds of hydrogen vapor.
10. prang — [British slang] to bomb; to crash
Just as I was leaving the lot some idiot pranged my new car, stove in the left side door and nearly did for me.
11. athodyd — ramjet
Although original ramjet implementations slowed incoming air to subsonic speeds before combustion, newer athodyd designs allow for air flow at supersonic speed, permitting operation above Mach 6.
12. glossopetra — tongue-shaped precious stone
In olden times glossopetrae were supposed to have many and varied magical powers; today, however, we know these ‘rocks’ to be merely fossilized shark teeth.
13. swarf — filings or fine grit from operation of grinder, axle, or other abrasive machining
After the hole is drilled it must be carefully cleared of swarf or chips (usually with compressed air) before tapping, after which any newly created debris should also be removed.
14. swarf — [Scots] fainting spell, swoon
Whether from fatigue due to self-abnegation, or mere lethargy, I fell into a swarf and only came to as the sun was just rising, finding myself lying upon the cold stone floor.
15. cack-handed — [British informal] clumsy, ham-fisted; left-handed
I’m not saying your cack-handed efforts have made the situation any worse; I don’t think even Kissinger could have made peace between those two.
16. jeepney — two-bench jitney bus, usually with bright-colored and garish designs, commonly used throughout the Philippines
Once a common sight throughout Manilla, the utilitarian and sometimes barely roadworthy jeepney may go the way of the horse-drawn carriage, another victim of modern regulation and its evil twin, ride-sharing services.
17. piggin — small wooden pail with one stave left longer than the others to form a handle; milk pail
Dorrie ran down the stream with a piggin to fetch water for the injured stranger.
18. hypethral (also hypaethral) — open to the sky, without a roof
The damage to the roof was never repaired, owing to lack of funds and expertise, and so the ruin became once again the hypethral temple it had originally been.
19. loggerhead — blockhead, dunderhead; long-handled iron implement with bulb or ball on the end used for heating liquids or melting tar; post at stern of whaleboat for wrapping a line to
He was blessed with two beautiful daughters and a brilliant son, as well as one boy who was a complete loggerhead, fit only for politics or the law.
20. burgage — tenure of land in town belonging to the king or other lord, the tenants paying annual rent or service
Sir Lowther famously made Cockermouth a pocket borough by the simple expedient of gaining control of the majority of burgages through outright purchase, at the immense expenditure of over £58,000.
Bonus Vocabulary
(Latin)
nunc dimittis — permission to leave (from the opening words of the Canticle of Simeon)
Mr. Hereward simply shook his head and returned his attention to the papers upon his desk, which I took as his nunc dimittis and signal that my interrogation was at an end.