1. borborygmus — stomach noise made by internal gas movement; wamble
I desperately hoped the girl was asleep on her side of my California king size bed, though the rude borborygmi I was plagued with seemed loud enough to wake the dead.
2. conservatory — preserving from loss or damage
These methods are not the only ones conservatory of that mental vigor which alone can prepare the soul for union with the higher spirit, but they are those with which I am most fully acquainted.
3. gasometer — device to measure volume or flow of gas
Rarely, printhead problems may be caused by insufficient airflow through the fluids mixer; a gasometer must be used to determine deficiencies in the ergodic flow.
4. chela — pincer claw of crustacean or scorpion
The monstrous beast was furnished with fearsome chelae that seemed large enough and strong enough to cut a man’s body entirely in half.
5. swing shift — work shift between day shift and night shift; system wherein workers alternate between day and night tours of duty
Since I’ve always been a late riser, the swing shift turned out to be perfect for my natural schedule.
6. pinion — small gear or toothed bar engaging with larger gear or rack
Power to the wheel is delivered through a pinion on the shaft.
7. pinion — [biology] wing; outermost wing joint; feather of outermost wing
With the merest twitch of its pinions, the hawk fell into a murderous dive.
8. pinion — to restrain from flying by severing or binding the outermost portion of a bird’s wing; to bind a person’s arms
With an axe handle and rope we pinoined the spy to prevent him from sending any further signals to the ship moored of the craggy coast.
9. asininity (also assininity) — stupid obstinacy, extreme foolishness; stupid remark
I won’t even deign to comment on such an asininity; one response would only garner more stupidity from that quarter.
10. thrips — teeny tiny insect which flies using the ‘clap and fling’ method
Not only do onion thrips damage the crops which they infest, they are a major vector for other devastating agricultural threats such as the tomato spotted wilt virus.
Bonus Vocabulary
(Latin)
a tergo — from behind
Depictions of the cranes attacking the Pygmies a tergo with their beaks in later Roman depictions of Homer’s allusion make clear both the anxiety as well as the superiority these citizens of the republic felt when confronting other people and races.