1. crupper — strap looped around horse’s tail attached to saddle to prevent the saddle or harness from moving forward Sir Lee was unsaddled by the black knight’s lance, sent right over the crupper by the mighty blow. 2. Very light — flares used for signaling or illumination, fired from a special pistol Now …
Tag Archives: vocabulary
Friday Vocabulary
1. columbary — dovecote Indeed, even such a medical luminary as Sir Thomas Browne sees fit to mention the important role played by the guano (so to speak) found at the floor of columbaries for its use in the production of saltpeter. 2. columbarium — vault or structure built with many niches for placement …
Friday Vocabulary
1. hythe (also hithe) — [British] river landing spot, small port or harbor Originally, Jackson’s Inn had been a rude hythe on the river, and there are some who still say it was smuggling which gave him the ready cash to build his first hostelry. 2. opopanax — gum resin made from various plants, …
Friday Vocabulary
1. vestryman — council member of the local parish Caught in flagrante delicto, as it were, Humber cooly placed the rubber balls in his trouser pockets and wished the vestrymen a good day. 2. ghyll — [UK] ravine, gully Few go to Piers Ghyll now for the hiking, though once this was an important …
Friday Vocabulary
1. doab — [South Asia] tongue of low-lying land between two rivers which join, esp. that between the Ganges and the Yamuna The Gurjars began to extend their control across the Doab until Sher Shah felt constrained to utterly destroy them. 2. epopt — initiate of the Eleusinian Mysteries; any initiate of a secret …
Friday Vocabulary
1. hustle-cap — old penny pitching game where coins are shaken in a cap In the colonial days of Pennsylvania there is even one report of a deadlocked jury determining their verdict by playing a quick game of hustle-cap. 2. tomelet — small tome The new (1929) tomelet from the World’s Classics Library containing …
Friday Vocabulary
1. bonhomous — cheerful, full of bonhomie But don’t let his bonhomous front fool you, for inside that genial clumban lurks a cunning and devious mind, always set upon gaining profit and power by any means fair or foul. 2. slewfoot (also sluefoot) — [slang] detective, policeman; clumsy person “Ain’t gonna let no tinhorn …
Friday Vocabulary
1. beg the question — to assume the conclusion in a premise of a logical argument* But to claim that the Holy Bible—and specifically the King James translation in English of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek originals—is the direct word of God, is merely to beg the question when this assertion is used to …
Friday Vocabulary
1. campanology — study of bells and their making, ringing, etc. After enlisting the minister’s support in refocusing your church on the wonders of campanology, you shouldn’t immediately seek to introduce grandsire doubles to your bellringers. 2. veneer — thin layer of decorative wood, usu. placed over other cheaper wood; layer of wood used …
Friday Vocabulary
1. marcescent — [botany] withered yet still attached He still felt the pain when he thought of the door slamming his fingers during that drunken escapade, but also felt pride that his marcescent fingernails were still clinging stupidly to his fingertips, just as stubborn as he always was in the face of brute necessity. …