February 2018 – WOTDs
28 February 2018
Foozle
noun
You’d probably hear this one coming out of the home of an old married couple. “Ye olde foozle, ye forgot to lock the door again!” The word foozle means “a conservative, out-of-date person, especially an old man; dodo, fogy.” Fair enough. You can also use this word to imply a bungled effort on someone’s part. Say your first shot off the 18th tee landed in the lake. Well, ya foozled that one.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
elf zoo
26 February 2018
Smell-Feast
noun
Say you’ve laid out a big dinner for some invited guests. Knock knock, someone at the door. Oh, look. It’s an uninvited guest, and they’re expecting to have a slice or two of that fine roast beast on the table. This freeloader is known as a smell-feast. They probably didn’t bring a bottle of wine, either.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
melts fleas
males lefts
25 February 2018
Raggabrash
noun
Do you know someone who is absolutely, completely disorganized or really, disgustingly grubby? That’s raggabrash. Example: “That boy is a total raggabrash!” Think of it as a nicer way of saying “nope, not for me,” since most folks will be left scratching their heads on this one. But you won’t, since you just read this.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
grab rags has
24 February 2018
Cumberworld
noun
While this sounds somewhat like the name of a theme park, or perhaps actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s home, cumberworld was a term used to denote a person that was totally useless (just like fopdoodle). They’re taking up your space and they’re breathing your air. Be off with you.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
crowd rumble
red owl crumb
23 February 2018
Klazomaniac
noun
This would be a person WHO CAN ONLY SPEAK BY SHOUTING. That’s all we’re going to say ABOUT THAT!
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
I lack Amazon
am zinc koala
22 February 2018
roseate
[roh-zee-it, -eyt]
adjective
1. tinged with rose; rosy:
a roseate dawn.
2. bright or promising:
a roseate future.
3. incautiously optimistic:
a roseate forecast for holiday sales.
Anagram
to erase
or tease
rose tea
21 February 2018
Bedswerver
noun
Shakespeare coined this one to describe an adulterer. BBC America thinks this would make a great band name, and they are totally on the mark. You’re at the show, the lights go down, and suddenly through the swirling fog and darkness you hear “Good evening Cincinnati, how ya doing? We are . . . Bedswerver!”
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
served brew
rewed verbs
20 February 2018
Zounderkite
noun
This is a Victorian word meaning “idiot.” An appropriate example with a contemporary angle (spoken with some irritation while driving on the highway): “That zounderkite just cut me off!”
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
our zit kneed
irked zen out
it nuked zero
doze rune kit
19 February 2018
Zooterkins
noun
The website Matador Network says this is “a 17th-century variant of zounds, which was an expression of surprise or indignation.” It’s less of an insult and more of something to yell after someone has insulted you. And, of course, to really pour salt on the wound, you can follow up with some other great words from this list.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
snooker zit
ozone skirt
rent ski zoo
18 February 2018
zounds
[zoundz]
interjection, Archaic.
1. (used as a mild oath.)
Origin of zounds
1590-1600 First recorded in 1590-1600; variant of ‘swounds
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for zounds
Historical Examples
zounds, Hogan, do you mean that Joseph Ashburn was betraying me into this man’s hands?
The Tavern Knight
Rafael Sabatini
Why, zounds, his wife and children were not with him on the pavement.
The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer, Complete
Charles James Lever (1806-1872)
zounds, says the Surgeon in a surprize, what, my Wife dine at your House!
The Tricks of the Town: or, Ways and Means of getting Money
John Thomson
17 February 2018
Whiffle-Whaffle
noun
This is someone who wastes a lot of time. You could easily make the case that a scobberlotcher is also a whiffle-whaffle, correct? And, you most definitely don’t want to work with either of them.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
we whiff half elf
16 February 2018
Scobberlotcher
noun
Mental Floss notes this word is “probably derived from scopperloit, an old English dialect word for ‘a vacation or a break from work’.” A scobberlotcher is someone who avoids hard work . . . like it’s their job. The next time you catch someone dozing off at their desk, hit ’em with this one, even if it is just under your breath.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
cobbler torches
hobbles correct
crocheters blob
rebel scotch bro
15 February 2018
Stampcrab
noun
Someone who’s clumsy and heavy of foot would be considered a stampcrab. Make way for the office stampcrab, especially if you just poured yourself some coffee.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
brats camp
14 February 2018
Snoutband
noun
A snoutband is someone who always interrupts a conversation to correct or contradict the person speaking. Every social group has a snoutband, who thinks they know everything. They probably don’t know the meaning of this word, though. At least, not yet.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
nab donuts
ban donuts
suntan bod
to bad nuns
13 February 2018
Gnashnab
noun
Gnashnab is an 18th century northern English word, meaning “someone who [just] complains all the time.” Contemporary synonyms include nitpicker, moaner, and grumbler. It’s just as true now as it was back then—no one likes a gnashnab.
Anagram
ban gnash
12 February 2018
Gobermouch
noun
An old Irish term for someone who likes to meddle in other people’s business. Everyone knows a busybody, right? Don’t let your gobermouch-in-law or next-door gobermouch have any more control over you than they already do. Shut the blinds and privatize the social media.
www.dictionary.com
Anagram
bug moocher
crumb hoe go
11 February 2018
cullion
[kuhl-yuh n]
noun, Archaic.
1. a base or vile fellow.
Example: He was a cullion whom no-one trusted.
Origin of cullion
Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English culyon, coil(i)on < Anglo-French, Middle French coillon worthless fellow, literally, testicle < Vulgar Latin *cōleōnem, accusative of *cōleō, for Latin cōleī (plural) testicles, scrotum
Dictionary.com
Anagram
I cull no
10 February 2018
hellkite
[hel-kahyt]
noun, Archaic.
1. a fiendishly cruel and wicked person.
Origin of hellkite
1595-1605 First recorded in 1595-1605; hell + kite1
Dictionary.com
Anagram
kilt heel
hike tell
8 February 2018
losel
[loh-zuh l, loo-, loz-uh l] Archaic.
noun
1. a worthless person; scoundrel.
adjective
2. worthless or useless.
Origin of losel
1325-1375; Middle English: literally, one who is lost, equivalent to los- (past participle stem of lose ) + -el -le
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for losel
Contemporary Examples
Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen Wengdu and their daughter, losel.
Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, the Beastie Boy Who Transcended Rap, Dead at 47
Chris Lee
May 4, 2012
Historical Examples
What more could you do, had he bestowed her upon a churl, a losel or a slave?
The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
The ‘ losel,’ the moral outcast, keeps his own conceit of truth though through a maze of lies.
A Handbook to the Works of Browning (6th ed.)
Mrs. Sutherland Orr
8 February 2018
lickspittle
[lik-spit-l]
noun
1. a contemptible, fawning person; a servile flatterer or toady.
Also, Archaic, lickspit [lik-spit]
Origin of lickspittle
1620-1630 First recorded in 1620-30; lick + spittle
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for lickspittle
Historical Examples
You get up right after midnight to practice being a lickspittle and a trimmer!
Such is Life
Frank Wedekind
Anagram
tilt pickles
ticket spill
let lipstick
6 February 2018
prolix
[proh-liks, proh-liks]
adjective
1. extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
2. (of a person) given to speaking or writing at great or tedious length
Origin of prolix
late Middle English Latin
1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin prōlixus extended, long, equivalent to prō- pro-1+ -lixus, akin to līquī to flow; see liquor
Related forms
prolixity [proh-lik-si-tee], prolixness, noun
prolixly, adverb
nonprolix, adjective
nonprolixly, adverb
nonprolixness, noun
Synonyms
1. prolonged, protracted. See wordy. 1, 2. verbose.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for prolix
Contemporary Examples
Wordplay Bradlee could be prolix or pithy, as suited his ends.
Dear Asshole: The Letters of Ben Bradlee From New Biography
Matthew DeLuca
May 12, 2012
Historical Examples
Forgive, most kind reader, the prolix fondness with which I linger on this theme.
Confessions Of Con Cregan
Charles James Lever
To those who do not, I have been prolix without being profitable.
Confessions Of Con Cregan
Charles James Lever
5 February 2018
adipose
[ad-uh-pohs]
adjective
1. fatty; consisting of, resembling, or relating to fat.
noun
2. animal fat stored in the fatty tissue of the body.
Origin of adipose
Latin
1735-1745; < Latin adip-, s of adeps fat, lard + -ose1
Related forms
adiposeness, adiposity [ad-uh-pos-i-tee], adiposis, noun
hyperadipose, adjective
hyperadiposity, noun
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for adipose
Historical Examples
This was an office lined with adipose, with no work to speak of.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 7
Elbert Hubbard
Fit as a fiddle only he has a lot of adipose tissue concealed about his person.
Ulysses
James Joyce
There are also three beautiful red spots on the adipose fin.
Fly Fishing in Wonderland
Klahowya
He sat, an adipose mass, breathing heavily, and sucking at his cigar.
The Man in the Twilight
Ridgwell Cullum
He works his oxen hard, gives them enough to eat to keep them in full health and vigor, but nothing for adipose.
The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright’s Disease, Neuralgia, Rheumatism,
Charles Edward Page
His bulging eyes grew more and more prominent, and his adipose jaw dropped.
The Sins of Sverac Bablon
Sax Rohmer
She is adipose to a degree that makes her circumference problematical, and her weight a mere matter of conjecture.
The Witches of New York
Q. K. Philander Doesticks
But once they had begun with the meagre child, the adipose old man, the lean or flabby youth, they went on through thick and thin.
Thoughts on Art and Autobiographical Memoirs of Giovanni Dupr
Giovanni Dupr
The acini are imbedded in a mass of adipose tissue which contains the vessels and nerves.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various
He perched hesitatingly on the arm of an adipose easy chair, not having been specifically invited to sit.
Winnie Childs
C. N. Williamson
Anagram
sop idea
aide ops
peso aid
soda pie
4 February 2018
aggrieve
[uh-greev]
verb (used with object), aggrieved, aggrieving.
1. to oppress or wrong grievously; injure by injustice.
2. to afflict with pain, anxiety, etc.
Origin of aggrieve
Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1250-1300; Middle English agreven < Middle French agrever < Latin aggravāre to make heavy, worsen, equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- (see grave2) + -āre infinitive suffix; cf. aggravate
Related forms
aggrievement, noun
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for aggrieve
Historical Examples
No natives know so well how to aggrieve and be unpleasant to travellers.
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The quest, rescue and retreat of Emin, governor of Equatoria
Henry Morton Stanley
The mighty mother cannot find it in her heart to pronounce a decision which must aggrieve one of such a devoted pair.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845
Various
Everything that can most aggrieve the heart of man has befallen me here under his eyes.
A Thorny Path [Per Aspera], Complete
Georg Ebers
Anagram
age giver
give gear
I rave egg
3 February 2018
noddle
[nod-l]
noun, Older Slang.
1. the head or brain.
Origin of noddle
late Middle English
1375-1425; late Middle English nodel
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for noddle
Historical Examples
I remember him because it took some explainin’ to get the bet through his noddle.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Don’t you see that I may have become a rather desirable match for a noddle ?
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
And now the sun declines between the noddle Fell and Bleaberry.
The Shadow of a Crime
Hall Caine
Anagram
old den
do lend
2 February 2018
shindig
[shin-dig]
noun, Informal.
1. an elaborate or large dance, party, or other celebration.
Origin of shindig
1855-1860, Americanism; shin1+ dig1; compare slang shinscraper dance
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for shindig
Contemporary Examples
Also at the shindig were Jemma and Jodie Kidd, Pixie Lott, Anna, Hamish and the rest.
Beckham at Belstaff Party on Bond Street: “I’ll Have a Becks, Please.”
Tom Sykes
September 15, 2013
Historical Examples
“It’s no Pike County shindig,” had responded the floor-manager, cheerfully.
Mrs. Skaggs’s Husbands and Other Stories
Bret Harte
Why, we got this shindig up, he noted irreverently, just so Miss Lane could sing at it.
The Girl From His Town
Marie Van Vorst
Anagram
dishing
hidings
hid sign
1 February 2018
organdy or organdie
[awr-guh n-dee]
noun, plural organdies.
1. a fine, thin cotton fabric usually having a durable crisp finish, white, dyed, or printed: used for blouses, dresses, curtains, trimmings, etc.
Origin of organdy
French
1825-1835 First recorded in 1825-35, organdy is from the French word organdi, of obscure origin
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for organdy
Historical Examples
The costumes of organdy and sateen were quite as pretty as the model of silk and satin.
Two Little Women
Carolyn Wells
Molly flushed as she glanced hastily down at her two-year-old organdy.
Molly Brown’s Sophomore Days
Nell Speed
I ought to be sending her in a picture hat with an organdy dress and blue sash to meet Minga.
Under the Law
Edwina Stanton Babcock
organdy ‘s the most unserviceable stuff in the world anyhow, and I told Matthew so when he got it.
Anne Of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Min was wearing an organdy plainly showing signs of service, while Landis was arrayed in a handsome gown of soft blue silk.
Elizabeth Hobart at Exeter Hall
Jean K. Baird
The organdy sash and flounced peplum are designed particularly for her.
Appropriate Clothes for the High School Girl
Virginia M. Alexander
I feel that organdy leads all other materials as desirable for the graduation dress.
Appropriate Clothes for the High School Girl
Virginia M. Alexander
She was as proud in cambric and calico and nankeen as Harriet is to-day in white tulle and organdy.
Around The Tea-Table
T. De Witt Talmage
Judy, ever visualizing, pictured herself in black with organdy collar and cuffs and a mournful, patient look.
Molly Brown of Kentucky
Nell Speed
Word Origin and History for organdy
n.
“fine transparent muslin,” 1829, from French organdi “sorte de Mousseline ou toile de coton” (1725), of unknown origin. Barnhart suggests it is an alteration of Organzi, from medieval form of Urgench, city in Uzbekistan that was a cotton textile center.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Anagram
angry do
God yarn
