1. pants — [UK slang] terrible, of bad quality
“I don’t care if the whole village go there, it’s always been a pants pub with watery beer.”
2. dietrologia — [Italian] conspiracy theory, science of discerning hidden motives behind events
Everyone knew he’d been fired for stealing from the till, but Ben’s commitment to dietrologia was such that he remained convinced that he’d been set up, that his boss Remy had set him up in some convoluted plot to get back at her ex-husband, with whom Ben remained friendly, though in his cups Ben even alleged that his troubles stemmed from a conspiracy between both Remy and her ex.
3. bolshie — [UK slang] Bolshevik, communist; leftist
Even though the FBI had plenty of evidence he’d been passing secrets to the Soviets, the young physicist managed to emigrate to Britain where his bolshie bent didn’t prevent him from getting a position at Leeds University.
4. autofiction — blend of autobiography and fiction
And to think James Frey could have avoided all that trouble with Oprah if he’d just labeled his books as autofiction, though likely they wouldn’t have made as much money … which is, after all, the entire point of writing.
5. blazon — [heraldry] formal description of a coat of arms; coat of arms
By the time these quarterings had gotten to the point where a blazon might consist of sixty-four separate quartered shields, the whole point of coat of arms had gotten lost, as no one could determine what family was represented without consulting learned treatises.
6. anastasic — of or relating to resurrection
Perhaps her very name was responsible for the legend, though the many and separate anastasic reappearances of the last surviving Romanova made pecuniary motives more likely.
7. oast — drying kiln, esp. for hops
They uncovered articles of clothing—her shoes and a scarf—in one of the abandoned oasts at the north end of the island, but no other trace of Carly was ever found.
8. clothespress — cabinet or wardrobe for storing clothes
The fine wooden clothespress stood seven feet tall, which is the only reason his cousin hadn’t taken it with the rest of the furniture when Aunt Agatha passed away.
9. theretofore — previously
Such were the strictures under which the society had theretofore imposed a benign regulation of advertising and self-promotion.
10. gantlope — running the gauntlet as a form of military punishment
A 18th-Century manual for Prussian cavalry specifies that any soldier drunk on duty shall run the gantlope between 200 men ten times in a row.
Bonus Vocabulary
(idiom)
short arms and deep pockets (also short arms and long pockets) — miserly
“Don’t bother asking him for naught, as Mr. High-and-Mighty has got short arms and deep pockets, and will tell you he didn’t get where he is today by giving all and sundry a handout.”