1. spancel — noosed rope used to hobble an animal
Only a short spancel bound his ankles, but his arms were held tightly behind his back in a pair of police handcuffs.
2. traducianism — doctrine that the soul is generated from the parents at the moment of conception
Tertullian’s view of the soul as quasi-corporeal dovetailed with his espousal of traducianism.
3. aperient — laxative
Licorice helps calm the stomach, and may have a gentle aperient effect.
4. surplice — loose white linen overgarment worn by clergy and choristers
A murmur arose from the congregation, and I looked up from prayerful contemplation (oh, all right, I was nodding off) to see a bright red stain upon the preacher’s surplice, a spreading stain of blood.
5. estaminet — small café
Luther sat at the tiny table in the back of the estaminet, slowly lowering the level of wine in his bottle, while trying to read his guide book by the poor light.
6. immure — to imprison, to confine within walls
Yet we’ve had no word from Rochester since that evening last spring, and I suspect he may be immured in the basement of her house, trapped by the the pandemic and the fascination of the old model train set.
7. doddered — infirm; having lost most branches due to decay or age
All that now remained of the glorious tree of halcyon memory was a doddered stump jutting up ten feet or so at an odd angle from the blasted red clay surrounding the equally decayed manse.
8. knop — ornamental knob
Set into the center of the false door was an enamel knop displaying the family initial, a rude ‘E’ in the rough handwriting of the first baron.
9. piffle — silly nonsense
The family thought Charles spoke mere piffle, but Leslie and I were well aware of the menacing meaning behind his seemingly vacuous words.
10. cyclostyle — early duplicating device in which a toothed rowel is used to create holes in a stencil through which ink is forced
My friend Andy thought she had a valuable signed letter from the famous playwright, but it turned out to be only a cyclostyle signature on a mass appeal that was sent to hundreds during the early days of the British suffrage movement.
Bonus Vocabulary
(French)
en travesti — dressed as the opposite sex for theatrical role, lit. “in disguise”
The police raid made headlines throughout London and even on the Continent, particularly when it was learned that most of the guests were found en travesti.