MIDDLING (mid-dling \ˈmid-liŋ\), adjective.
DEFINITION: Mediocre.
EXAMPLE: Although the critics loved it, that film was middling at best.
Grubstake
GRUBSTAKE (grub·stake \ˈgrəb-stāk\), noun.
DEFINITION: Capital for a new enterprise.
EXAMPLE: Building a successful startup requires three things: innovation, perseverance and a lot of grubstake!
Erinaceous
ERINACEOUS (eri·na·cious \air-i-‘nā-shus\), adjective.
DEFINITION: Resembling a hedgehog.
EXAMPLE: With his beady little eyes, spiky haircut and erinaceous manner, he reminded Margaret of a hedgehog.
Redolence
REDOLENCE (red·o·lence \ˈre-də-lən(t)s\), noun.
DEFINITION: An agreeable smell.
EXAMPLE: The redolence of freshly cut hay always reminded Sam of his childhood on the farm.
Cerulean
CERULEAN (ce·ru·le·an \sə-ˈrü-lē-ən\), adjective.
DEFINITION: Sky blue.
EXAMPLE: The cerulean water of the lagoon reflected the vivid blue colour of the sky.
Ingurgitate
INGURGITATE (in·gur·gi·tate \in-ˈgər-jə-ˌtāt\), verb.
DEFINITION: to swallow greedily.
EXAMPLE: After coming home from school, the boys rushed to the kitchen and ingurgitated anything edible.
Bibliopole
BIBLIOPOLE (bib·li·o·pole \ˈbi-blē-ə-ˌpōl\), noun.
DEFINITION: a dealer in rare books.
EXAMPLE: The bibliopole’s shop housed a treasure trove of rare and hard-to-find books.
Apricity
APRICITY (apri·city\ˌä-ˌprē-ˈsi-tē\), noun.
DEFINITION: the sun’s warmth in winter
EXAMPLE: The apricity of a sunny day helped to lift the gloom of a harsh winter.
Insouciance
INSOUCIANCE (in·sou·ci·ance \in-ˈsü-sən(t)s\), noun.
DEFINITION: nonchalance, unconcern.
EXAMPLE: The millionaire’s son wandered through the university job fair with insouciance, knowing daddy had a cushy job lined up for him.
Propinquity
PROPINQUITY (pro·pin·qui·ty \prə-ˈpiŋ-kwə-tē\), noun.
DEFINITION: proximity; nearness.
EXAMPLE: The candy store attracted plenty of students due to its propinquity to the school.
Pyrrhic
PYRRHIC (pyr·rhic \ˈpir-ik\), adjective.
DEFINITION: Achieved at excessive cost.
EXAMPLE: Winning a battle at the cost of thousands of soldiers’ lives was seen as a sadly pyrrhic victory.
Furuncle
FURUNCLE (fu·run·cle \ˈfyu̇r-ˌəŋ-kəl\), noun.
DEFINITION: a boil
EXAMPLE: On the morning of his wedding, a festering furuncle sprouted on the groom’s nose.
Winebibber
WINEBIBBER (wine·bib·ber\ˈwīn-ˈbib-bər\), noun.
DEFINITION: A heavy drinker.
EXAMPLE: Mike was a self-confessed winebibber who was seldom seen without a drink in his hand.
Bombilate
BOMBILATE (bom·bi·late \ ˈbom-bi-lāt\), verb.
DEFINITION: To buzz or hum.
EXAMPLE: The fly bombilated around the frustrated man’s ears as he tried to read his newspaper.
Cozen
COZEN (coz·en \ˈkə-zən\), verb.
DEFINITION: to deceive through flattery or trickery
EXAMPLE: The con men cozened the emperor into believing they had crafted royal garments of the finest cloth in the land.
Paunch
PAUNCH (paunch \ˈpȯnch\), noun.
DEFINITION: a potbelly
EXAMPLE: Decades of beer swilling gave him a paunch so impressive he could rest his pint on it when he sat down.
Demean
DEMEAN (de·mean \di-ˈmēn\) verb.
DEFINITION: to lower oneself
EXAMPLE: Do not demean yourself by arguing with idiots - they’ll drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Primordial
PRIMORDIAL (pri·mor·di·al \prī-ˈmȯr-dē-əl\) adjective.
DEFINITION: existing since the beginning of time
EXAMPLE: Looking up at the sky, we can see primordial stars that have twinkled since the beginning of the universe.
Usury
USURY (usu·ry \ˈyü-zhə-rē\) noun.
DEFINITION: charging interest on loans
EXAMPLE: Islamic banks do not charge interest, as usury is forbidden under Sharia law.
Bowdlerize
BOWDLERIZE (bowd·ler·ize \ˈbōd-lə-ˌrīz\) verb.
DEFINITION: to remove objectionable content
EXAMPLE: Many Japanese video games are bowdlerized before export to make them more palatable to international audiences.