1. pharyngitis — inflammation of the back of the throat
We were worried that her pharyngitis was a symptom of strep, but she only had a common cold.
2. gallinaceous — of the order of common poultry and game birds
For sheer tenacity you would be hard pressed to find a challenger to the cock quail, boldest of the gallinaceous birds.
3. impostume — purulent swelling, abscess; moral festering sore
Will we ever lance this impostume of homelessness that begins to crowd every city street and which seems a symptom of some dark and deep political malaise lurking beneath the veneer of our modern culture?
4. frounce — pleat or fold (of cloth)
She gathered the shelled nutmeats in a frounce of her skirt and poured them into the pot.
5. bilious — of or relating to bile or to excessive discharge of bile; cranky, choleric
Far from the bronzed youth I knew in my youth, I found Fellowes had become a dried up bilious old man, displeased with everything and everybody around him.
6. blithe — heedless; jocund, merry
He smiled and said, “Then we’ll just steal a taxicab” with that blithe assurance that made him such a hit at parties and in the boardroom, and which made him such a danger to society as a whole.
7. ouch — brooch, clasp, buckle; setting for precious stone
His rich green cloak was held by a large ouch of gold around his wide shoulders.
8. exoculation — putting out of an eye or eyes, blinding
The duke decreed that Lord Lindell should be condemned to exoculation, that the miscreant would never again set his sights so high, and as a warning to others to keep their gaze fixed upon their proper duties.
9. lammergeier (also (lammergeyer) — bearded vulture
I made out what our guide was pointing to in the sky: a lonely lammergeier sailing high above the stark cliffs searching for prey or—perhaps—keeping an eye upon our seemingly doomed caravan.
10. tweeny — auxiliary maidservant, assisting both the cook and housemaid
Well, we kept her for a while as a tweeny but you know the Sussex house really does not need so many servants, and besides, though it is awfully tragic, isn’t it, about her mother and all, well, one does have to step up and get on with life after all, don’t you think?