Frumicate
(FROOM-ih-kayt)
Verb:
-To put on airs.
-To act like you're better than others.
-To lord over; act like the master of.
Used in a sentence:
“I’ve never known anyone to frumicate so
much; his nose is stuck so far in the air, if it
rains, he’ll drown!”
Shivviness
(SHIV-ee-ness)
Noun:
-The feeling of roughness caused by a new
undergarment.
-The uncomfortable feeling of wearing new
underwear.
From Shive - a particle of fluff on the surface of
cloth or other material. Shiv is an old word for
thick, coarse wool or linen. (Yorkshire)
Used in a sentence:
"The underlying causal factor behind the
Ministry of Silly Walks is shivviness.”
Defenestrate
(dee-FEN-eh-strayt)
Verb:
-A throwing of a person or thing out of a
window.
-A usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as
from a political party or office).
Noun form: Defenestration
From Latin fenestra “window”. First known use
1620.
Used in a sentence:
“After weeks of practice, it was their time to
shine on the dance-floor; but who could have
predicted that Hugo would defenestrate Gina
during the climax of their cha-cha…"
History’s most famous defenestration is known
as the Defenestration of Prague in 1618.
Schadenfreude
(SHA-den-froy-de)
Noun:
-A feeling of enjoyment that comes from
seeing or hearing about the troubles of
other people.
-Pleasure derived from another's
misfortunes.
From German Schaden ‘harm’ + Freude ‘joy.’
Used in a sentence:
"Sometimes it's just so difficult to suppress an
overwhelming sense of schadenfreude."
Persiflage
(PUR-suh-flahzh)
Noun:
-Light, bantering talk or writing.
-A frivolous or flippant style of treating a
subject.
From French word persifler meaning "to
banter.” Entered English in the 1750s.
Used in a Sentence:
“Now go away then, and leave me alone. I
don't want any more of your meretricious
persiflage.”
~D.H. Lawrence, Women in Love, 1920
Meldrop (also meldrap, myldrop, maldrope)
[MELL-drop]
Noun
-A drop of mucus at the end of the nose,
whether produced by cold weather,
sickness, or otherwise.
-A pendent drop, as of mucus or dew at the
nose.
From older Scots meldrop, c.1470, id., O.N.
mél, a snaffle bit, mél-dropi, the foam from a
horse's mouth from mouthing the bit.
Used in a sentence:
“Lacking a handkerchief, the sleeve of young
Peter’s jacket has become stiffly encrusted
while serving as the default meldrop remover.”
Bloviate
(BLOH-vee-ayt)
Intransitive Verb:
-To speak in a pompous or overbearing way.
-To write or speak windily.
-To talk at length, especially in an inflated or
empty way.
Pseudo-Latin alteration of “blow” popularized
by W. German. Harding
Used in a sentence:
“Were it not for bloviation, the entire political
party would be completely mute.”
Noun Forms - Bloviation & Bloviator
Maladroit (adj.)
(mal-uh-DROYT)
- Lacking skill, cleverness, or
resourcefulness in handling situations;
inept.
- Unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless;
lacking in adroitness.
- Cack-handed; ham-fisted.
Borrowed directly from French. Mal- a word-
forming element of Latin origin meaning "bad,
ill, poorly, wrong + adroit “upright (physically
and morally); able, clever, skillful; well-formed,
handsome.” 1670s
Used in a sentence
“He is undeniably the most maladroit factotum
I’ve ever had the infelicity to employ here.”
Epistemophiliac
(eh-PIS-tow-mo-FEEL-ee-yak)
Noun
-One who excessively strives for
knowledge, or has a preoccupation with it.
Epistemophilia (noun) is the love of knowledge;
specifically, excessive striving for or
preoccupation with knowledge. The scientific
(as opposed to philosophical) study of the roots
and paths of knowledge is called “epistemics”.
From Greek “episteme" - knowledge,
acquaintance with (something), skill,
experience, from Ionic Greek “epistasthai“ -
know how to do, understand + Greek “philia" -
affection, from “philos" loving, which is of
uncertain origin.
Used in a sentence:
“Do not sit me next to Charles again, he thinks
being an epistemophiliac makes him a
deipnosophist, but in reality, he’s just a
pretentious sciolist.”
Feckful *the opposite of feckless*
(FEK-ful)
Adjective
-Full of feck.
-Powerful, effective, efficient, vigorous.
Chiefly Scottish and Northern England. From
“feck” from “effeck" variant of effect.
Used in a sentence:
“Gerald is such a feckful employee, that his
coworkers are out to sabotage his work
because he’s making them look bad.”
Leggiadrous
(LE-gee-AD-rus)
Adjective:
-Elegant and graceful.
Origin uncertain, most likely from Italian
leggiero - "light, nimble, agile".
Used in a sentence:
“The sylphs and undines danced and glided
about before my very eyes, the most
leggiadrous things I’d ever been witness to.”
Aflunters
(uh-FLUNT-ers)
Adjective:
-In a messy or disordered state.
Joseph J. Wright’s “The English Dialect
Dictionary - 1891" says that this word
originates in West Yorkshire. Beyond that, the
author is unable to find any further
information.
Used in a sentence:
"As coquettish as Glendynia tries to be, the
ramageous malapert is really rather
ostrobogulous with her coiffure all aflunters!”
Bavian
(BAY-vee-en)
Noun
-An insignificant or unskilled poet.
From (obsolete) German “bavian" (now
pavian), meaning “baboon” - from Dutch
“baviaan", alteration of “babiaen”.
Used in a sentence:
“If I have to sit through another stanza of that
bloviating bavian’s so-called poetry, I swear I’m
going to turn in my Hipster Membership Card,
shave off my handlebar mustache and sternum
length beard, burn my plaid flannels,
suspenders and bowtie collection and go get a
corporate job! I’m keeping my chukka boots
though.”
Oeillade
(oo-YAHD)
Noun:
-An oogling stare, an amorous gaze.
-An amorous or suggestive glance.
From French oeillide (1590s), from oeil "eye"
(from Latin oculus) + -ade - a suffix found in
nouns denoting action or process or a person
or persons acting, appearing in loanwords from
French and sometimes from Spanish.
Used in a sentence:
“Ms. Belklund is always trying to gain the
attentions of Mr. Dwightley with blatantly
unfettered oeillade, but her amblyopia is
perpetually confounding her efforts and
confusing random passersby.”
Fantasticate
(fan-TAS-ti-kayt)
Verb:
-To make (something) seem fanciful or
fantastic.
From fantastic “existing only in imagination”
from Middle French fantastique (14c.), from
Medieval Latin fantasticus, from Late Latin
phantasticus "imaginary," from Greek
phantastikos "able to imagine," from
phantazein "make visible" (middle voice
phantazesthai "picture to oneself”). First used:
1936
Used in a sentence:
“Your obvious attempts to fantasticate the
events will not get you out of this
investigation.”
Leptosomatic
(LEP-tow-so-MAT-ik)
Adjective:
-Pertaining to one who has a slender, thin,
or frail body.
-Tall & thin.
From Greek “leptos" thin, literally peeled or
stripped, from “lepein" to peel + Greek “sôma"
- body.
Used in a sentence:
“Lilith’s leptosomatic physique has served her
well as she has risen to become the Senior
Principal of her ballet troupe.”
Pudibund
(PYOO-di-bund)
Adjective:
-Modest; bashful.
-Prudish or shameful.
From classical Latin pudibundus easily
ashamed, bashful, modest, shameful from
pudēre to make or be ashamed + -bundus,
suffix forming verbal adjectives. Mid 16th
century.
Used in a sentence:
“Being the new kid at any school is always
challenging, but those with a pudibund
disposition find it to be especially so.”
Ludic
(LOO-dik)
Adjective:
-Showing spontaneous and undirected
playfulness.
-Playful in an aimless way.
-Of, relating to, or characterized by play.
From French ludique, from Latin ludere 'to
play', from ludus ‘sport'. 1940s
Used in a sentence:
“Wonka’s ludic personality was amusing at
first, but his behavior gradually became
increasingly worrisome, until it was that of a
bedlamite.”
Zetetic
(zi-TET-tik)
Adjective:
-Proceeding by inquiry or investigation.
From mid 17th century: from Greek zētētikos,
from zētein ‘seek'.
Used in a sentence:
"His zetetic habitudes have proved to have
rather practical applications."
Curiosity killed the cat! But that’s just because
the cat wasn’t at all zetetic. If the fumbling
feline had adopted a more precise
methodology, his inquiries may have had a
more fruitful outcome.
Apricity
(uh-PRISS-ih-tee)
Noun:
-The sun’s warmth on a cold winter’s day.
From Latin "apricus" representing a sunny day.
Used in a sentence:
"Her cold stare held within it all the pain and
joy of apricity."
Drawcansir
(DRAW-kan-sir)
Noun:
-A blustering, bullying fellow; a pot-valiant
braggart; a bully.
After Drawcansir, a character in George Villiers'
play The Rehearsal.
Used in a sentence:
“It really came as no surprise that when
confronted by protesters at his rally, instead of
trying to win them over by warm sincerity and
the quality of his character, the mal-coiffed
Drawcansir chose instead to abuse and insult
anyone who posed any kind of threat to his
bigoted ideology.”
Obnoxity
(ob-NOX-it-ee)
Noun:
-An obnoxious, objectionable, or offensive
person or thing; an object of aversion.
From “obnoxious” - 1580s, "subject to the
authority of another," from Latin
obnoxiosus "hurtful, injurious," from
obnoxius "subject, exposed to harm," from
ob "to, toward" + noxa "injury, hurt,
damage entailing liability". Meaning
"subject to something harmful" is 1590s;
meaning "offensive, hateful" is first
recorded 1670s, influenced by "noxious".
Used in a sentence:
“The mendacious maundering and bombastic
blustering about barbarians at the barbican
make that obnoxity the wizard of
windbaggery!”
Katzenjammer
(KATS-en-jam-mer)
Noun:
-Confusion; uproar.
-A hangover; a severe headache resulting
from a hangover.
From German Katzen (combining form of Katze
'cat') + Jammer 'distress'; popularized by the
cartoon Katzenjammer Kids, drawn by Rudolf
Dirks (1877–1968) in 1897 for the New York
Journal, featuring two incorrigible children. First
Known Use: 1849
Used in a sentence:
“Might I politely suggest you find an alternate
location to sleep off your katzenjammer...”
Embusqué
(ahm-BOOS-kay)
Noun:
-Someone who avoids military conscription
by obtaining a government job.
-A person seeking to avoid military service
(as by working in a government office)
From French (s’)embusquer to lie in ambush,
shirk. First used (in English) 1914.
Used in a sentence:
“I was coining money in New York, and would
be now—if they hadn't dug me out as a slacker,
an embusqué, whatever you like to call it.”
~C.N. & A.M. Williamson “Everyman’s Land”
-1918
Ennui
(ahn-WEE)
Noun:
-A feeling of utter weariness and discontent
resulting from satiety or lack of interest.
-A feeling of being bored and mentally tired
caused by having nothing interesting or
exciting to do.
-A feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction
arising from a lack of occupation or
excitement.
-Boredom.
From French, from Old French enui annoyance,
from enuier to vex, from Late Latin inodiare to
make loathsome. First Known Use: 1732
Used in a sentence:
“After a month in the bridewell, the ennui was
sufficient to transform the usually sanguine Mr.
Stockton into an Ophelian fainéant.”
Lexiphanicism
(LEX-ih-FAN-ih-siz-im)
A description I rather proudly
embrace...insert sly winky face...
Noun
-The use of excessively learned and bombastic
vocabulary or phraseology in a pretentious and
showy fashion.
-An instance or example of such vocabulary or
phraseology.
-The habit of using a pompous or turgid style in
speaking or writing.
-The use of pretentious words, language, or
style.
Adjective form: Lexiphanic.
From “Lexiphanes”, (a character in Lexiphanes
by Lucian)
From Greek lexikos "pertaining to words”
+
“-phane” word-forming element meaning
"having the appearance of," from Greek
-phanes, from phainein "to show," phainesthai
"to appear”
Used in a sentence:
“Thanks to the tutelage of Grandiloquent Word
of the Day, my lexiphanicism has far exceeded
even my greatest aspirations.”
Minnock
(MIN-ok)
Noun
-A favorite darling, or person who is the
object of one’s affection.
Taylor, Francis. The Folk-Speech of South
Lancashire. Manchester, 1901.
Used in a sentence:
“Gabe was overwhelmed with retrouvaille
when he was finally able to return home to his
sweet minnock.”
Fluckadrift
(FLUH-kuh-drift)
noun:
-Excessive speed or urgency of movement
or action.
-Hurry or haste.
Origin: An old word from the far north of
Scotland for a sudden haste or hurry.
Used in a sentence:
"As her pretentiously ultracrepidarian neighbor
approached, Mathilda scurryfunged with
feverish fluckadrift.”
Garbist
(GARB-ist)
Noun:
-One who is adept at engaging in polite
behavior; an expert in etiquette.
From French “garbe” (grace & elegance) from
Old High German “garbe” (preparation &
adornment). 1640
Used in a sentence:
“The golden rule of good manners for the
garbist is to think of others before himself or
herself. In other words, garbism is self-effacing
unselfishness.”
Pertinacious
(PERT-in-NAY-shus)
Adjective 
-Persistent, chronic, continuing without
letup.
-Persistently, unrelentingly stubborn,
clinging fanatically to a cause or belief,
adamantly refusing to surrender.
-Holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of
action, or opinion; resolute.
-Stubborn or obstinate.
-Extremely or objectionably persistent:
From Latin pertinac-, pertinax, from per-
thoroughly + tenac-, tenax tenacious, from
tenēre. First Known Use: 1583
Used in a sentence:
“It finally got to the point that I had to
terminate his employment; he was just so
pertinacious about the old rules that he
wouldn’t follow the revised protocols!”
Manqué
(mong-KAY)
Adjective:
-Short of or frustrated in the fulfillment of
one's aspirations or talents —used
postpositively.
-Having failed to become what one might
have been; unfulfilled.
Noun:
-Someone who has not had the opportunity to
do a particular job, despite having the ability to
do it.
From French, from past participle of manquer
to lack, fail, from Italian mancare, from manco
lacking, left-handed, from Latin, having a
crippled hand, probably from manus. First
Known Use: 1773
Used in a sentence:
“Despite all of his training, the chef manqué
just couldn’t get a job at his favorite
restaurant, not even as prep cook.”
or
“Don’t be such a cheeky manqué.”
Hiraeth
(HEER-eyeth)
Noun
-Homesickness tinged with grief or sadness
over the lost or departed.
-An intense longing for a home you can’t
return to, or that never was.
-The grief for the lost places of your past.
Origin: Cymraeg (Welsh). No direct English
translation.
Used in a sentence:
“Since our ancestral manse was destroyed in
the same fire that took grandmama from us,
and uncle Cuthbert sold the acreage to
developers, hiraeth relentlessly tugs at my
soul.”
Brontide
(BRON-tahyd)
Noun:
-A low muffled sound like distant thunder
heard in certain seismic regions, especially
along seacoasts and over lakes; thought to
be caused by feeble earth tremors.
From the Greek bronte meaning “thunder” and
from the suffix id, also Greek, meaning
“offspring of.”
Used in a sentence:
“Sometimes, if I eat too much spicy food, I get
the collywobbles and the brontide of the
resultant borborygmus frightens my miniature
dachshund.“
Throttlebottom
(THROT-uhl-bot-tum)
-An innocuously inept and futile person in
public office
After Alexander Throttlebottom, character
in the musical comedy Of Thee I Sing
(1931) by George S. Kaufman born 1899 &
Morris Ryskind born 1895 American
playwrights
Used in a sentence:
“Every politician in history has had their share
of retractors casting aspersions or defaming
them as beef-witted throttlebottoms.”
Soigné or Soignée
(SWUN-yay) or (swun-YAY)
Adjective:
-Polished and well-groomed; showing
sophisticated elegance & class.
- Dressed very elegantly; well groomed.
From French soigner ‘take care of,’ from soin
‘care.
Used in a sentence:
"The parvenu flamfoos were completely out of
place at the soignée boîte de nuit and were
asked to take their leave."
Yule Hole
(YOOL hole)
Noun:
-The last hole to which one is able to
stretch their belt at a Christmas dinner.
(Shouldn't there be a thanksgiving hole?)
From Yule - from Old English gēol(a)
‘Christmas Day’; compare with Old Norse
jól, originally applied to a heathen festival
lasting twelve days, later to Christmas.
Used in a sentence:
"This year I need to add a whole new Yule
hole to my belt… or just wear my Yule
sweatpants!"
Or
“Blow it out your Yule Hole Uncle Wilfred!”
Waits [wayts]
Plural noun
-A band of musicians who go around the
streets at Christmas, singing and playing
carols.
- Official bands of musicians maintained by
a city or town.
Orgulous
(ORG-yuh-luhs) 
Adjective
-Haughty.
-Arrogantly superior and disdainful.
-Stuck-up or snooty.
Middle English: from Old French orguillus,
from orguill ‘pride.’ The word was rare from
the 16th century until used by Robert
Southey and Sir Walter Scott as a historical
archaism and affected by 19th-century
journalists. Earliest documented use: 1275.
Nicknackatory or Knicknackatory European root *glei- "clay," (also forming
(NIK-NAK-uh-TOR-ee) words with a sense of "to stick together;”)
Noun: 1398 -1790
-A toy store.
-A repository or collection of knickknacks.
Pleonexia
From knick-knack or knickknack or (PLEE-oh-NEX-ee-ya)
nicknack, "a pleasing trifle, toy," 1570s. A Noun:
reduplication of “knack” - an ingenious -Extreme greed for wealth or material
device, toy or trinket (1530s), a specialized possessions.
sense of “knack” - a stratagem or trick. -Avarice; covetousness.

From Greek pleonektein to be greedy, to

Flamfoo have or want more, from pleon, neuter of
(FLAHM-fooh) pleiōn, pleōn more + echein to have.
Noun:
-A gaudily dressed woman who thinks she
represents the height of fashion. Aglifft
-A woman who wears gaudy clothes & (uh-GLIFT)
thinks she is fashionable. Adjective:
-Frightened or alarmed.
From Scottish variant of FLAMFEW (a
gewgaw, trifle, fantastic thing) From Gliff - Noun (UK, Scotland, dialect) An
unexpected view of something that startles
one. A sudden fear.
Bibliognost:
(BIB-lee-uh-nost)
Noun:
Minnick
-A well-read individual; a person with wide
(MIN-ik)
knowledge of books.
Verb:
-One that has comprehensive knowledge of
-To be or to act overly dainty whilst eating.
books and bibliography.
-To behave in a fussy way, especially with
-A person who possesses an encyclopedic
regards to the foods one chooses to eat.
knowledge of books and bibliography. 
-One versed in bibliography or the history of
Likely originated from the Irish surname
books.
Minnick -probably an Anglicized form of
Gaelic Ó Muineóg, perhaps derived from a
From French bibliognoste, from biblio- +
diminutive manach ‘monk’.
-gnoste (from Greek gnōstēs one who
knows, from gignōskein to know).

Tolutiloquent
(TOE-loo-TILL-uh-kwent)
Gleimous
Adjective:
(GLEE-uh-mus)
-Pertaining to a smooth talker.
Adjective:
-Characterized by fluency or glibness of
-Slimy; full of phlegm.
utterance; rapid and ready of speech.
From Greek glia "glue" (from Proto-Indo-
From Latin tolutim, "trotting along” +
-loquus "speaking," from loqui "to speak"
Hurple or Hurkle
(HER-pul)
Verb: To shrug the shoulders up around the
neck and creep about shivering in the
cold. 
Noun: An impediment similar to a limp.
To hurple is to draw one's limbs in and
scrunch up the shoulders in reaction to the
cold or a storm. This is usually
accompanied by shoving your hands in your
jacket pocket, or alternatively, slipping
them up into the sleeves of your sweater if
no jacket is available.
And a great thing about this word is that it
gives poets and musicians a great rhyme
with purple!
Hogs-Norton
(HAWGS-NOR-ton)
Noun:
- Any clownish fellow, unacquainted with
the rules of good society.
From a variant of the name of Hook Norton,
a town in Oxfordshire.
Turophile [TYOOR-oh-fahyl]
Noun:
-A cheese connoisseur; a cheese fancier.
-Someone who loves cheese.
From Greek urós, “cheese” + -phile.
Minikin
(MIN-ih-kin)
Noun:
-A small or delicate creature.
Adjective:
-Small; insignificant.
From obsolete Dutch "minneken" - darling,
ultimately from Middle Dutch "minne" -
love, beloved; akin to Old English "gemynd"
- mind, memory. First Known Use: 1761
Goster
(GOS-tur)
Verb:
-To behave boldly or boisterously.
-To waste time conspicuously especially by
talking and gossiping.
-To laugh uncontrollably.
-To gossip.
Dialectal, British - From earlier gauster,
from Middle English galstern - galstre, of
obscure origin. 18th century.
Rodomontade
(roh-duh-mon-TEYD)
Noun:
-Vainglorious boasting or bragging;
pretentious, blustering talk.
-Arrogant boasting; pretentious blustering,
ranting, or bragging
Adjective
-Bragging.
Rodomontade stems from the name of a
boastful king, Rodomonte, in the Italian
epic poems Orlando innamorato (1483) and
Orlando furioso (1516). It entered English in
the early 1600s.
Mataeology
(MAT-tay-AHL-uh-gee)
Noun:
-A useless or pointless discourse;
worthless conversation.
-A discourse that is fruitless or in vain.
So, most meetings in the corporate world...
From Greek “mataios” - pointless, + “logia”
- words.
Maquillage
(ma-key-AZH) 
Noun:
-Makeup or cosmetics. 

From French maquillage (makeup), from

maquiller (to apply makeup).

Gelogenic
(JEL-low-GEN-ik)
Adjective:
-Productive or provocative of laughter.
-Tending to produce laughter

From Greek gelos “laughter" + word-

forming element -genic meaning
"producing, pertaining to generation."

Hermeneutic [hur-muh-NYOO-tik]
(adj.)
1. Interpretative or explanatory in nature.
(n.)
1. The study of the methodological
principles of interpretation.
2. A method or principle of interpretation

From Greek hermēneutikos, from

hermēneuein ‘interpret’ from hermeneus
‘interpreter’. Eponymous - after Hermes in
Greek mythology, who served as a
messenger and herald for other gods. First
known use: 1737.