1. naff — [British colloquial] vulgar, tasteless
She wore some naff green and yellow stretch pants which rather emphasised just those portions of her anatomy which she should have downplayed.
2. draw — [slang] marijuana; bag of cannabis
We all figured Tammy turned a blind eye to the draw, just as she had to the incident with the plowblade and the ball bearings, but eventually we decided she was just ignorant.
3. congress gaiters — ankle boots with elastic on sides
Those boots I bought at that Alabama store took me all over the foothills and moors of England, but my absolute favorite pair of shoes were those very chic congress gaiters I picked up for a song while out for a stroll on a Saturday morning after I’d first moved to Spotsylvania.
4. cut the cackle — [British idiom] stop messing about (and move on to serious matters)
“Well, I’m sure we’re all very interested in Miss Peavsney’s latest woes with her snake farm, but it’s time to cut the cackle and figure out what we’re going to do about the damage to the roof of the vicarage.”
5. eftsoons — [archaic] soon after
The peal of the bell began to fade, eftsoons he turned the earth with his spade.
6. apical — of or related to an apex
Unbeknownst to we three smiling lads, this was the apical moment of the company’s history, and soon the indictments and injunctions, the backbiting and accusations, the lawyers and the prosecutors, every force in the universe it would seem would seek to tear us down and apart, as indeed those forces and our own unconquerable greed did in fact do.
7. eximinous — [obsolete] noteworthy, excellent
While we awaited the judgment of that eximinous personage we distracted ourseves with several hands of euchre.
8. perscrutation — penetrating and minute inquiry
The subject of his perscrutation had been the original architecture of the old manor house and its environs, and this explained (as best anyone could explain such a useless and academic madness) Beverill’s sojourn among the outbuildings, armed only with his transit, plumb, and compass.
9. discobolus — discus thrower; statue of same
Even the most untrained eye can perceive that the head of the discobolus is not the work of the same artist who carved the remainder of the statue.
10. cozenage — scam, fraud; practice of cheating
So beware the practitioners of cozenage, certainly, but not so rigidly that you flee all society and adventure.
Bonus Vocabulary
(British idiom)
more power to your elbow — expressing approval of someone’s actions and hopes for their continued success
“But he’s not drunk a pint since his Mam was taken to hospital—more power to his elbow—though it’s anyone’s guess as to how long he’ll be able to keep on the water wagon.”