Educated Guesswork

1. stanch — to cut off the flow of; to quench; to repress

O let me stanch my primal force
Sooner than blanch the wild water’s course.

 

2. soffit — under surface of architectural feature, such as a lintel, architrave, vault, or arch

An accent color of pale orange had been used on the soffit of the hallway ceiling running beneath the staircase, lending a festive and autumnal touch to the passageway.

 

3. backhand — handwriting that slopes to the left

His bold backhand was ruined by the smudging caused as his left hand dragged into the still wet ink while he wrote his plaint.

 

4. fascicule — a part of a printed work published separately

The Green Mile by Stephen King was originally printed in fascicule, as a series of short paperback books of less than 100 pages each, save for the final volume.

 

5. crenellate — to furnish with battlements, embrasures, or loopholes

The stout logs making up the western fort had been crenellated as well, giving excellent protection to even a single marksman standing atop the wooden fortification.

 

6. crenulate — minutely notched or scalloped (Zoo. & Biol.)

The circumference of the sand dollar was delicately crenulate, and a magnifying glass would be required to see all the detail in the fine notching along its edge.

 

7. network — light fabric made of netted threads

Originally a lady’s reticule was made from network but eventually other materials such as silk or rayon was used.

 

8. muriatic acid — hydrochloric acid

A solution of muriatic acid may be used to remove excess material from the stray tile, but the powerful solution should not be used to excess.

 

9. anxiolytic — relieving anxiety

The foot massage began to have its anxiolytic effect, and Jeremy began to think clearly for what seemed to be the first time in quite a while.

 

10. sanguine — courageous or hopeful

She remained quite sanguine about their situation, realizing that they still had the worn leather satchel to use as leverage.

1. clarigation — solemn demand for redress made through heralds prior to declaration of war

Despite their important mission, the members of the clarigation delegation were not immune to the siren song of the boogie woogie.

 

2. swadkin — diminutive of “swad” meaning country bumpkin, lout

“Stop pressing that button, you pestiferous swadkin! Cannot you see that the elevator doors close no faster for all your pressing and puffing about?”

 

3. caterwaul — to yowl like rutting cats

Leslie fell to her knees and began to caterwaul upon being informed of yet another choiced pronoun change by her quondam uncle.

 

4. jarvey — hackney coachman

The jarvey remained seated upon his bench and touched his whip hand to his top hat rather than doffing his headgear.

 

5. clapboard — board with one edge thicker than the other, used to weatherboard walls of buildings

The small clapboard building Franklin Delano Roosevelt used as his so-called Little White House would seem too small for many middle class families today.

 

6. cicatrize — to heal by forming new skin tissue over a wound

The bandages had been removed several weeks ago and the slashing wound had now fully cicatrized, leaving only a pale pink line across his left cheek where no facial hair grew.

 

7. insecution — (obs.) close pursuit

Hard upon her heels she felt the pressure of the midget’s insecution and not for the first time wished she were not wearing heels.

 

8. bemused — confused, utterly muddled

I could not tell whether the vaguely bemused look upon his face was the result of my shocking news or the muddled remains of what looked to be at least his third mojito.

 

9. obstreperous — unruly; characterized by great noise or outcry

The council meeting was gaveled to a close despite the obstreperous crowd who lustily booed the politicians’ plan.

 

10. quinsy — peritonsillar abscess, suppuration of the tonsils

He would no longer be an opera singer even after his recovery from quinsy, he realized, for the incision and drainage had permanently altered his singing voice.

1. sennight — seven days, a week

It is difficult to believe that Christmas is only Tuesday sennight from today.

 

2. forearm — to arm beforehand

I forearmed myself with the relevant facts in support of my plan to clean the filthy stables by tricking some godlike idiot into undertaking the job.

 

3. burgeon — to begin to grow

Listening to the fifteenth objection from a resident whose hair was falling out in clumps due to the plant’s effluvium, Harry realized that his plans were foiled and the Greater Community Industrial Park would never burgeon into the fabulous success he had been convinced was its destiny.

 

4. anent — in respect to, concerning

I have endeavored to gather multiple bids for the remaining work, anent which I have written you under separate cover.

 

5. apposite — well put, suitable

Despite his advancing years, great uncle Henry may always be counted upon for an entirely apposite summing up of the whys and wherefores of our annual Thanksgiving dinner debates.

 

6. yoicks — fox hunting cry used to urge on the hounds; exclamation of exultation or excitement

“Yoicks!” and “Tally-ho!” he would cry as he spied a sought after volume at the library, which might have led to opprobrious looks had not his delightful habit of dressing as Dumbledore allayed any disturbance the patrons might have felt.

 

7. accoucheur — a male midwife or obstetrician

Under the orders of her accoucheur, May restricted her physical activity to a brief walk in the garden for a few minutes before eating a light supper.

 

8. opsimath — one who begins to learn late in life

In spite of the imprecations urging skills retraining, no Computer Science opsimath is likely to be hired by any major tech company.

 

9. dirndl — outfit patterned after that of Alps peasants, consisting of a bodice over a low-cut blouse with a full skirt and (possibly) an apron

She looked quite fetching in her Tyrolean dirndl in dark green, though a bit too “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” for my taste.

 

10. plashy — full of puddles; boggy

The front yard had become a plashy morass, the steady rain having left a sodden mess which the thin grass and fallen pine needles did nothing to abate.

1. trow — to believe, to trust

“The parson would never indulge in such reprehensible behavior, as I trow.”

 

2. theodolite — portable surveying instrument with telescopic sight for measuring horizontal, and sometimes vertical, angles

The aging theodolite rarely was put into service, having been replaced in most mensural functions by wireless computer assisted lasers, and even its lenses had begun to fog, rendering the telescopic views hazy at best.

 

3. tintinnabulation — ringing or sound of bells

The audience in their pews basked in the luxurious tintinnabulation echoing through the church as the bell-ringers continued their Christmas concert with a stirring rendition of “I Saw Three Ships”.

 

4. nonesuch — unequaled thing or person

Though Chaucer’s poetry is often portrayed as a nonesuch of English literature, it is by no means inaccessible.

 

5. crapulous — given to intemperate eating or drinking

The dozens of fast food wrappers strewn about the back seat of the late model coupe gave proof to the driver’s crapulous nature.

 

6. crapulent — sick from gross excess in eating or drinking

The vile sights and smells of the confined space behind the kitchen presented evidence of the crapulent results of the previous evening’s debauchery.

 

7. solecism — grammatical error; breach of good manners; any inconsistency or error

At times a solecism may merely be the proverbial ‘distinction without difference’, especially when they are noted merely to prove one’s own superiority.

 

8. liripipe — hood with a long tail, worn in medieval Europe, especially in academe

George was certain he had discovered the hidden location of Waldo, having failed to note that his suspect was wearing a striped liripipe instead of a bobble hat.

 

9. supererogate — to do more than required; to make up for lack in one by excess merit in another

Johnny attended church three, sometimes five, times a week in an uncomfortable and ultimately futile effort to supererogate for the failings of his drunk ass brother.

 

10. oblate — flattened at the poles

The earth’s shape is not perfectly spherical, but instead is oblate, as the rotation about the axis causes its surface to be further from the world’s center than the poles.

1. drolatic — humorous, comically strange

The drolatic characters and incidents in John Kennedy Toole’s prize-winning novel sometimes conceal and sometimes reveal the deep philosophic roots of this posthumously published fiction.

 

2. jodhpurs — riding pants cut very loosely over the hips and thighs with a tight fit from the calf to the ankle

Though some associate jodhpurs with military uniforms, especially those of World War I, they have their roots in peacetime riding, as they were specifically designed to be practical for wear while playing polo.

 

3. serry — to press close together (usu. in ranks)

The terra-cotta warriors stood serried in the large flat tomb.

 

4. quillon — one of two pieces making up the cross guard of a sword

He caught the fearsome blow of the black knight’s claymore on the quillon of his own broadsword, though he was disarmed by the attack.

 

5. surcease — cessation or stop, esp. when temporary

He desperately desired surcease from the mental anguish that had become his constant companion since the last full moon.

 

6. croodle — to crouch down; to draw oneself together, as for warmth; to cling closely to a person

The baby boy had fallen asleep as he croodled his father with tiny fingers enmeshed in the man’s long beard and with his face tucked deeply into the crook formed between his parent’s neck and shoulder.

 

7. oleograph — picture printed in oil colors on cloth or canvas in imitation of an oil painting

Above the monstrous fireplace stood an oleograph of Joe Isuzu dressed in 16th-Century Flemish garb, a human skull held in his left hand while his right stroked his chin in contemplation.

 

8. hunker — to squat on the heels with acutely bent haunches, knees, and ankles

The aging catcher grimaced with pain as he hunkered behind the plate to await the payoff pitch.

 

9. plenilunar — of or relating to the full moon

Moonbathing in the plenilunar rays the naked witch swayed from side to side, seeming quite comfortable and relaxed despite the chilly temperature.

 

10. feculent — full of dregs or feces

“Hie yourself back to the feculent swamp from which you arose, you pestilent product of crossbreeding a dungheap with a floating pile of offal.”

1. specie — coined money

Though cash has become rare, specie is rarer still, for no one wants pennies scuffing a fancy phone case or screen.

 

2. gurning — making a silly or grotesque face [Brit.]

Watching the facial tics and spasms of the psychics as they communicated telepathically made me think I had stumbled into a gurning competition for deafmutes.

 

3. prate — to speak overlong to little purpose

Though he did prate unconsciously and incessantly, gradually a listener realized that he did have a cogent point he was desperate to relate, but which he was unfortunately too inarticulate to communicate.

 

4. dyslogistic — having a bad connotation

It was only after the profiteering of suppliers to the Union Army during the Civil War that the term “shoddy” became dyslogistic, before that time being merely a word denoting a felted cloth.

 

5. charnel — vault for bones of the dead

The shelves in the basement and the notebooks thereupon formed his personal charnel, where his aborted ideas and poetry provided food for silverfish, not for thought.

 

6. umbrageous — shady, providing shade

The umbrageous eucalyptus branches swaying high above in the wafting air lulled him into a hypnotized state of happy contemplation.

 

7. remittance man — emigrant supported by money sent from home

In the novels of Henry James, the remittance man is a 19th-century precursor of today’s trust fund kids.

 

8. marc — refuse remaining in wine press after the juice is expressed from grapes

Though one might very well drink life to the lees, one hopes that the marc will remain untouched, save perhaps by the feet which stomped the grapes to a pulp.

 

9. spume — froth, foam; esp. of the sea

The toddler was excited by the foaming bubbles that resulted from using laundry soap in the tub, but her mother was dismayed by the overflowing soap, which sent its spume far down the carpeted hall.

 

10. truculent — fierce, cruel, barbarous

The rule of the mob now held complete and demonic sway over the men, their truculent faces showing only bestial hate as they focused an evil gaze upon the target of their savage anger.

1. gormless — stupid, lacking in intelligence or vitality

“If you are going to prefer the word of this gormless gamer to mine, so be it!”

 

2. gaum — to smear with a sticky substance

Though the handle of his baseball bat had been thoroughly gaumed with pine tar, it still slipped effortlessly out of his tight grip when he swung fiercely at a curve ball.

 

3. dubiety — doubt, the state of being dubious

He listened to his teenaged son’s explanation for the missing car fender with increasing dubiety.

 

4. thyratron — gas-filled cathode tube acting as electrical switch and rectifier

Though of course most old thyratrons have been replaced by the similarly named solid-state thyristors, the glass tubes are still used in high-power applications such as particle accelerators.

 

5. firkin — small cask for liquids, etc., holding a quarter of a barrel

The pony keg found at a frat boy’s football party is almost a direct descendant of the aledraper’s firkin, though the barrel of ale was of a greater volume than that used for kegs today.

 

6. underwood — small trees or shrubs grown beneath timber

In some cases clearing out the underwood allows the timber to grow larger and more quickly, though this will depend upon the specific situation.

 

7. vaticide — murderer of a prophet; act of killing a prophet

Though five men were charged with the murder of Joseph Smith, all were acquitted in the biased court and the vaticides were never punished for their crimes, at least not in this worldly life.

 

8. bumbaste — to beat on the buttocks; thus, to beat soundly

The snake oil salesman was bumbasted by his indignant audience before being driven out of town.

 

9. chicane — subterfuge, trick; to quibble, cavil

“What chicane is this?” he cried as he plucked the fake pornstache from the hapless salesman’s face.

 

10. wainscoting — paneling of walls or halls, often only on the lower section

If you insist on putting plywood panels on the walls of your basement, be sure to call it wainscoting when you try to sell your home.

1. marmoreal — resembling marble or a marble statue

His newly clean-shaven face accentuated his marmoreal visage as he gazed into the crepuscular distance.

 

2. runnel — small stream of water; small channel

The gutters mirrored the desuetude of the former summer home, and the leaky aluminum had allowed corroding runnels of rainwater to form all around the foundation of the house.

 

3. destine — set apart for particular purpose [usually in passive]

He was destined for greatness, or at least a legacy admission into Yale.

 

4. corrigible — capable of being corrected

We never thought of Bruce as being particularly corrigible, in spite of his frequent (and well-known) visits to a underground BDSM club.

 

5. electuary — medicament with the active ingredient mixed with honey, syrup, or jam

This mountebank claimed an infallible cure for the Grand Pox with his electuary, crafted, so he said, from beetle wings and sowbugs mixed with syrup.

 

diffident — lacking self-confidence; timid

Once upon a time a diffident attitude in a young person might have been merely annoying, if not perhaps appropriate for a newly minted adult; nowadays it is never seen, as even the agoraphobics maintain breathless Instagram activity.

 

6. wicket — small door or opening, often placed in or beside a larger door, for use when the larger entrance is closed

I stumbled while stepping through the wicket in the barn door, catching my boot on its wooden lip.

 

7. strigil — implement with curved blade used for scraping sweat and oil off the body after hot bath

I puzzled over the strange-looking shoehorn displayed beside the fireplace for quite a while before realizing that it was actually a bronze strigil, or more likely a replica of a Greek or Roman original, as the metal seemed entirely unaffected by age (which was more than I could say for myself).

 

8. lollop — to move with bounds and leaps

Towards the enormous ballpit lolloped the children, sugar-crazed six-year-olds bent upon extreme fun.

 

9. cocotte — prostitute

The bold stare of the cocotte held him frozen, and he forgot his purpose in entering the small chamber while she sat unashamed in her warm bath.

 

10. mizzle — fine, drizzling rain

An amber aurora seemed to surround the lonely lamppost which feebly illuminated the mizzle that struggled even to form droplets on the automobiles parked below.

1. pelican crossing — pedestrian crosswalk in which pedestrians press buttons illuminating lights to stop vehicular traffic [has nothing to do with aquatic birds]

On the weekends it was obvious that normal stop lights should have been installed instead of the pelican crossing, as the continual stream of pedestrians flowing across the avenue from one bar to another made it almost impossible for vehicles to make their way up the main drag.

 

2. mortify — to become gangrenous

The air in the lean-to was oppressive and close, becoming offensively so as Stanhope’s shattered leg began to mortify.

 

3. pile — nap of raised fibers in carpet

The thick pile of the dark brown wall-to-wall carpet was a magnet for every bit of dust, hair, derma, and detritus that had ever occupied the small apartment, making the crime scene technician’s job trebly difficult.

 

4. sclerotica — the hard posterior surface of the eyeball, the white of the eye

The foreign object had made scratches in the sclerotica just behind the corner of the eyelid, but these were only annoying with no permanently deleterious effect.

 

5. pleach — (of boughs) intertwined, tangled

They were married beneath a pleached arbor of bougainvillea.

 

6. epenthesis — insertion of a sound or sounds in the middle of a word

He replied to each question with a drawn out two-syllable version of the word ‘well’, making it sound like “well-uhhh”, using the epenthesis to gather his thoughts, I presume.

 

7. cheval glass — full-length swinging mirror hung in a frame

I regarded myself in the cheval glass before departing, deciding that the orange and yellow ostrich feathers in my regimental shako were perhaps a bit too much.

 

8. lawny — covered in grass

The supposedly lawny hills of the Teletubbies were in fact covered with a particularly excrescent variant of astroturf, its unnatural hide camouflaging the domes of the reptilian overlords producing the show.

 

9. endue — (of a hawk) to digest

The raptor could hardly endue the mutant bunny flesh, so dense were the genetically modified leporid thighs.

 

10. knife-boy — boy employed to clean knives

Freeling looked with disgust at the tainted spork, and said, “This is what comes from using a knife-boy to clean the rest of the cutlery; always use the right jobber for the right tool, I always say.”