Amomous
adj. Blameless [the Church] shold be holi and without blemish, or rather Amomous..that is irreprehensible, safeguarded from the bitings of Momus, one of the feined Gods among the Gentils. Theologica … Continue Reading ⇒
Useful
Jocoseriosity
noun. Being half in jest, half serious. Our own poet has lately characterized himself as a jocoserious genius; and in fact this jocoseriosity seems of much the same quality with the … Continue Reading ⇒
Exforcipate
verb. To extract with a forceps. Wrapped up in the womb of this or that text of Scripture to be exforcipated by the logico-obstetric skill of High Church doctors. Literary … Continue Reading ⇒
Storyful
adj. Rich in story. This is..Some lone land of genii days, Storyful and golden! Poems, The Lovely Land, James Clarence Mangan (1846) I’m flabbergasted that this word hasn’t had more of … Continue Reading ⇒
Nebulochaotic
adj. Hazily confused. The altogether nebulochaotic condition of her mind. Mary Marston, George Macdonald (1881) I don’t think the OED definition above does justice to the potential of this word. … Continue Reading ⇒
Callipygian
adj. Of, pertaining to, or having shapely buttocks. /ˌkæləˈpɪdʒiən/ Callipygæ and women largely composed behinde. Pseudodoxia epidemica, Sir Thomas Brown (1646) Because a shapely posterior deserves a word just as … Continue Reading ⇒
Caligulism
noun. A mad extravagance such as Caligula comitted. Alas! it would be endless to tell you all his Caligulisms. Letters to Sir Horace Mann, Horace Walpole (1745) Caligula was a … Continue Reading ⇒
Niggle
Verb. To annoy, irrititate. There’s nothing niggles me more than cutting myself shaving. – A Kind of Loving, Stan Barstow (1960) The word has had many different meanings over the … Continue Reading ⇒
Bablatrice
noun. Female babbler. O you cockatrices and you bablatrices, that in the woods dwell: You briers and brambles, you cook’s shops and shambles, come howl and yell. – Locrine (1595) The … Continue Reading ⇒
Sked
Verb. Schedule. Also common is past tense: skedded. MPTF protest rally skedded for monday. – Deadline Hollywood Daily This word caught me off-guard when I first read it. I had never … Continue Reading ⇒