Friday Vocabulary

1. obduracy — stubborn inflexibility, state of being unmoved or unashamed

Though Laithley continued in his obduracy, ever and anon did my lord offer the hand of friendship and pledged the return of his lands if only that stubborn knight would take the oath.

 

2. outrance — [obsolete] furthest extremity, at the very limits (of propriety)

And so the battle was joined à outrance, and no quarter would be pled nor given on either side.

 

3. lairy — [UK idiom] aggro; vulgar

Then this lairy lad in a Man U jersey comes up and smashes our lights and was just threatening to slash the tyres when the busies arrived.

 

4. ouzel (also water ouzel) — aquatic bird found in the Rocky Mountains

I knew the ouzel right away from the way he swam beneath the surface of the pool.

 

5. raffle — trash, rubbish

“Just toss it with the other raffle out back behind the cook’s cabinet.”

 

6. encomiastic — of or related to one giving a eulogy; laudatory

He had mistaken his encomiastic duties for yet another opportunity to perform his sky pilot holy roller tent meeting “Come to Jesus” routine.

 

7. kindle — litter of kittens, rabbits, etc.

Jesse wondered if this third report meant that three students had found the same litter, or if there were three separate kindles of kittens on the school grounds.

 

8. havey-cavey — suspect, dubious

The more we learned of this havey-cavey plan the less we liked it.

 

9. macerate — to soften or separate by steeping in liquid; to make thinner

It was found, however, that those plants whose inoculating agents had been macerated in acetone still had high likelihood of carrying the mosaic virus.

 

10. matelot — sailor; buddy

We exited the restaurant to discover the same gang of matelots lying in wait to reclaim their offended honor.

 

Bonus Vocabulary

(archaic)

bear-garden (also bear garden) — place where bear baiting was offered as entertainment; any locale where hurly-burly is condoned or accepted

The strand alongside this part of the Thames was known to be a sort of bear-garden, and I saw exactly the sort of strutting popinjays I expected to find there.

 

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