{"id":2381,"date":"2019-12-27T12:55:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T20:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2019-12-27T12:55:55","modified_gmt":"2019-12-27T20:55:55","slug":"friday-vocabulary-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/?p=2381","title":{"rendered":"Friday Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. diligence<\/strong> \u2014 public stagecoach of early 18th Century, esp. in France<\/p>\n

I told the innkeeper to run out and hold the <\/em>diligence while I gathered the <\/em>soi-disant baroness up from the floor, along with her physical baggage.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. bedizen<\/strong> \u2014 to dress up, esp. in a vulgar manner<\/p>\n

His green plaid waistcoat was <\/em>bedizened with silken tassels and small metal figurines suggesting the tools of his trade, among them a tiny pewter trowel and hod.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. elapid<\/strong> \u2014 of or related to the Elapidae<\/em>, a family of venomous snakes which include coral snakes and cobras, all having hollow venom-injecting fangs fixed to the upper jaw<\/p>\n

We were warned to wear full eye protection as we sought the lair of the spitting cobra, as the venom projected from his <\/em>elapid fangs could permanently blind the unwary hunter.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. foetor<\/strong> (also fetor<\/strong>) \u2014 stench, offensive smell<\/p>\n

The crime scene team seemed unfazed by the <\/em>foetor which enshrouded the bottom of the dumpster where the body had been found, but I had to retreat up the fire escape and clear my lungs of the lingering stink.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. opisthognathous<\/strong> \u2014 having retreating jaws or jawline<\/p>\n

For all his talent on the ball field, he was cursed by his <\/em>opisthognathous profile and his inability to grow a beard to hide that accursedly noteworthy weak chin.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. spandrel<\/strong> \u2014 (architecture<\/em>) space between arch and a rectangle enclosing that arch; space between extradoses of adjacent arches<\/p>\n

Nestled within the two <\/em>spandrels framing what had once been the postern of the church, I noted that what I had taken to be a pair of cherubs were actually winged demons, their bird-like claws tucked menacingly beneath their open jaws.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7. bibulous<\/strong> \u2014 addicted to drink; of or related to drink; absorbent of moisture<\/p>\n

We all agreed how sad it was that Charlie’s fall from favor had not been checked though his own efforts, and that our formerly friendly louche loser had become merely another <\/em>bibulous bottom-feeder and hanger-on at all the least exclusive parties.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8. butt splice<\/strong> \u2014 cylindrical crimp connector for electrical wiring, with a crimp at each end<\/p>\n

After much searching we finally found the culprit: a faulty <\/em>butt splice in which the connector had broken, hidden by the heat shrink plastic that exactly matched the color of the joined wires.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9. linctus<\/strong> \u2014 syrupy medicine<\/p>\n

In France at that time you could purchase codeine over the counter, either in a <\/em>linctus or pastilles, and so we did.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10. superincumbent<\/strong> \u2014 lying or resting upon; overhanging; from above (as of pressure)<\/p>\n

We might never have found the corpse save for the rank smell, which the <\/em>superincumbent boxes of potpourri could not conceal.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bonus Vocabulary<\/h4>\n

(fashion, late 20th c.)<\/p>\n

brothel creeper<\/strong> \u2014 shoe with thick crepe sole, often with suede uppers<\/p>\n

Before it became the favored shoe of Teddy Boys and Russian stilyagi youth of the 1950s, the <\/em>brothel creeper was worn by World War II soldiers stationed in the North African theatre.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. diligence \u2014 public stagecoach of early 18th Century, esp. in France I told the innkeeper to run out and hold the diligence while I gathered the soi-disant baroness up from the floor, along with her physical baggage.   2. bedizen \u2014 to dress up, esp. in a vulgar manner His green plaid waistcoat was … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Friday Vocabulary”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[112,69],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-bonus-word","tag-vocabulary","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}