SCAPEGRACE (scape·grace \ˈskāp-ˌgrās\), noun.
DEFINITION: a reckless, unprincipled rascal.
EXAMPLE: That scapegrace stole from his mother, maxed out his father’s credit cards and refused to get a job to pay them back.
Moil
MOIL (moil \ˈmȯi(-ə)l\), verb.
DEFINITION: to work hard, toil.
EXAMPLE: The miners moiled in harsh, dangerous conditions nearly a mile underground.
Dragoman
DRAGOMAN (drag·o·man \ˈdra-gə-mən\), noun.
DEFINITION: an interpreter.
EXAMPLE: When meeting with foreign leaders, the president always insisted on having an experienced dragoman present to interpret the subtleties of the conversation.
Chivy
CHIVY (chivy \ˈchi-vē\), verb.
DEFINITION: to annoy with persistent petty attacks.
EXAMPLE: The boss had a reputation for chivying his employees about every little minor mistake.
Chouse
CHOUSE (chouse \ˈchau̇s\), verb.
DEFINITION: to cheat or trick.
EXAMPLE: The con man choused little old ladies out of their life savings and never felt a shred of remorse.
Fusty
FUSTY (fus·ty \ˈfəs-tē\), adjective.
DEFINITION: musty, moldy.
EXAMPLE: The chest in grandpa’s attic wasn’t filled with gold or treasures as we had hoped – just fusty old clothes.
Pell-mell
PELL-MELL (pell–mell \ˌpel-ˈmel\), adverb.
DEFINITION: in a confused and hurried way.
EXAMPLE: The cook was so flustered by his VIP guest that he began prepping, seasoning, cooking and plating pell-mell.
Phobophobia
PHOBOPHOBIA (pho·bo·pho·bia \ˌfō-bə-ˈfō-bē-ə\), noun.
DEFINITION: fear of acquiring a phobia.
EXAMPLE: Sally was so afraid of acquiring a phobia she ended up with an acute case of phobophobia.
Brummagem
BRUMMAGEM (brum·ma·gem \ˈbrə-mi-jəm\), adjective.
DEFINITION: cheap, showy.
EXAMPLE: The old couple’s trailer was surrounded by broken lawn furniture and filled with brummagem trinkets.
Maunder
MAUNDER (maun·der \ˈmȯn-dər\), verb.
DEFINITION: to speak indistinctly, verbally wander.
EXAMPLE: She left a long voicemail message, maundering for several minutes without getting to the point.
Girn
GIRN (girn \ˈgirn\), verb.
DEFINITION: to snarl.
EXAMPLE: The grizzled hound girned as I approached, warning me to stay away until he had finished his meal.
Esculent
ESCULENT (es·cu·lent \ˈes-kyə-lənt\), adjective.
DEFINITION: edible.
EXAMPLE: Even experienced foragers have trouble distinguishing esculent mushrooms from poisonous ones.
Turophile
TUROPHILE (tu·ro·phile \ˈtu̇r-ə-ˌfī(-ə)l\), noun.
DEFINITION: a connoisseur of cheese.
EXAMPLE: John was a dedicated turophile who could identify over 200 varieties of cheese from around the world.
Neophilia
NEOPHILIA (neo·phil·ia \ˌnē-ə-ˈfi-lē-ə\), noun.
DEFINITION: love of new or novel things.
EXAMPLE: The inventor’s neophilia drove him to create new solutions to old problems.
Virulent
VIRULENT (vir·u·lent \ˈvir-ə-lənt\), adjective.
DEFINITION: dangerous, excessively harsh.
EXAMPLE: The most virulent strains of the virus can kill the host within 3 days of infection.
Posthaste
POSTHASTE (post·haste \ˈpōst-ˈhāst\), adverb.
DEFINITION: with great speed.
EXAMPLE: "Deliver these blood samples to the lab posthaste – it’s a matter of life and death!"
Orgulous
ORGULOUS (or·gu·lous \ˈȯr-gyə-ləs, -gə-\), adjective.
DEFINITION: proud, haughty.
EXAMPLE: Although his business had been losing money for months, he was too orgulous to ask for help.
Macher
MACHER (mach·er \’mahk-ər\), noun.
DEFINITION: a person of influence, one who gets things done.
EXAMPLE: The young politician took office full of confidence that he was the macher to introduce real change in the system.
Pisher
PISHER (pish·er \ˈpi-shər\), noun.
DEFINITION: a young, inexperienced person.
EXAMPLE: Bill scoffed, “That young pisher couldn’t manage his way out of a paper bag, let alone run the whole company.”
Fulgent
FULGENT (ful·gent \ˈfu̇l-jənt\), adjective.
DEFINITION: dazzlingly bright, radiant.
EXAMPLE: The actor’s fulgent smile made young girls swoon and dazzled everyone in the room.