Oh, the places you’ll go or at least get to know with this batch of terms.
firth: a long, narrow indentation of the seacoast.
wynd: a narrow street or alley.
peregrinate: to walk or travel by foot; journey.
saltigrade: move by leaping.
natant: swimming.
wampish: to wave about or flop to and fro.
estivate: to spend the summer, as at a specific place or in a certain activity.
It’s December, the last month of the year. Getting through another tough year might involve celebrating and celebrating might also involve some appropriate words.
nimiety: excess, overabundance
galimatias: confused or unintelligible talk
pharaonic: impressively or overwhelmingly large, luxurious, etc.
foozle: to bungle; play clumsily
effulgent: shining forth brilliantly; radiant
specious: apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible
brummagem: showy but inferior and worthless
encomium: a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly
terpsichorean: pertaining to dancing
shivoo: a boisterous party or celebration
So, celebrate this last month of a challenging year, and let’s hope the new year brings new hope and healing.
‘Tis December and 2019 is rapidly diminishing. Time to air out the Word Bin and see what needs clearing out to make room for next year’s batch of dictionary delights.
1. nugacity: triviality; insignificance
2. librate: to remain poised or balanced
3. neoteric: new or recent
4. facetiae: witty or amusing remarks or writing
5. obscurantism: the opposition of the spread of knowledge
6. anthophobia: an unnatural fear of flowers
7. frisson: a sudden thrill of emotion
8. guddle: to catch a fish with one’s hands in a river or stream
9. bombinate: to make a humming or buzzing noise
10. perspicacity: a keenness of mental perception
11. alameda: a public walk shaded with trees
12. otiose: indolent; idle; being at ease
13. Delphic: obscure; ambiguous
14. nebulated: having distinct markings as in a bird or animal
15. orgulous: haughty or proud
Now that the Word Bin is a bit tidier I look forward to filling it full once again. Honestly, I’m not sure how some of these words snuck into the company of the others. Guddle? Librate? Frisson? Not sure when those will come up in conversation. Then one never knows. Excuse me while I go chase down these liberated diction.
Come back…I didn’t mean it…
A writer's journey as a reader
Pam Webb 