Ackamaracus, Cacoethes, Desideratum, Makebate, Gasconade, Ataraxia

Milicent thought it was ackamaracus that Louis, who drew nothing but anthropomorphized cats, had such a cacoethes for portraying his feline desideratums, but she didn't want to be a makebate about it, or gasconade about her own ataraxia when it came to artistic endeavors.

Read all about them!

ackamarackus = pretentious nonsense (TWITO, page 11)
cacoethes = a mania (page 26)
desideratum = something necessary or highly desirable (page 41)
makebate = a person who creates discord or conflict (page 86)
gasconade = to boast (page 60)
ataraxia = peace of mind (page 17)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain

Ubiety, Dendrophile, Rhathymia, Afflatus, Oscitancy

Ah nature! The ubiety of the park was ideal for dendrophiles, and gave Cedric, in the mood for rhathymia, a sudden afflatus. He closed his eyes and leaned toward Millicent, expecting a kiss, but all she offered was oscitancy.

Read all about them!

ubiety = the state of being in a particular place (TWITO, page 152)
dendrophile = a lover of trees (page 144)
rhathymia = carefree behavior (page 125)
afflatus = an inspiration or creative impulse (page 12)
oscitancy = the act of yawning, the state of being drowsy (page 104)

Anodyne, Rannygazoo, Fantods, Perspicacious, Embuggerance, Tohubohu

"Hector's fantods erupted when his rannygazoo, which he thought would be perceived by his perpicacious friends as annondyne, or at worst as an embuggerance, created a complete tohubohu."

Read all about them:

Fantods = a state of extreme nervoud anxiety (TWITO, page 52)
Rannygazoo = a joke or prank (page 122)
Perspicacious = having keen understanding, mental perception, or discernment (page 110)
Anodyne = something that lessens pain; isn't likely to disturb or annoy (page 14)
Embuggerance = a small, annoying problem (page 46)
Tohubohu = a state of chaos or confusion (page 147)

Cosmotelluran, Carriwitchet, Rusticate, Minatory, Nullibicity

"Christmas up here is a cosmotellurian carriwitchet," sighed the astronaut, "when you'd rather rusticate than celebrate in the minatory nullibicity of space."

Read all about them!

Cosmotellurian = pertaining to both heaven and earth (TWITO, page 35)
Carriwitchet = a conundrum (page 29)
Rusticate = to go to the country (page 128)
Minatory = threatening (page 89)
Nullibicity = the state of being nowhere (page 98)

Ninnyhammer, Oikofugic, Illapse, Tittynope, Godwottery, Ataraxia

Henry the Ninnyhammer's unfortunate oikofugic tendency led to an illapse when he tripped over a tittynope of godwottery, destroying his ataraxia.

Read all about them!

Ninnyhammer = a fool, simpleton or silly person (TWITO, page 96)
Oikofugic = marked by the urge to wander (page 101)
Illapse = the act of falling or gliding (page 71)
Tittynope = a small quantity (page 147)
Godwottery = elaborate gardening (page 62)
Ataraxia = peace of mind (page 17)

Enantiodromia, Ensorcell, Vecordious, Vicambulation, Contorplicate

The enantiodromia of today's weather could ensorcell me into vecordious vicambulation on our contortuplicate thoroughfares.

Read all about them!

Enantiodromia = the tendency of things to turn into their opposites (TWITO, page 46)

Ensorcell = to bewitch (page 47)

Vecordious = mad, crazy, senseless (page 154)

Vicambulation = to walk about in the streets (page 156)

Contortuplicate = braided or twisted (page 34)

Learn 5 new vocabulary words in a single sentence

While walking through the bosk on a fulgent day, we came upon a tiny curwhibble on the path, which Elias, still in his widdendream, launched into a foofaraw about.

Read all about them!

Bosk = a small wooded area or thicket (TWITO, page 23)

Fulgent = shining brightly, radiant (page 58)

Curwhibble = a thingamajig or a whatchmacallit (page 37)

Widdendream = a state of confusion or mental distrubance (page 162)

Foofaraw = a great deal of attention paid to a trivial matter; much ado about nothing (page 56)

Words I'm Thinking Of: toubbillon, doolally, killcow

Tourbillon = a whirlwind or vortex, like a hurricane

"...do you think that a seat upon the bench would have removed me from the tourbillon of politics?" -- John Quincy Adams (1811), TWITO, page 148

Doolally = insane, mad, eccentric

"I like talking to people who are a little doolally," said Lisa. "Not a lot crazy, just a little bit." TWITO, page 42.

Killcow = an arrogant or bullying person

"Don't be such a killcow," Helen said when Karl kept interrupting her. "What do you mean?" he replied. "I'm a vegetarian!" TWITO, page 80

Word of the Day: mooreeffoc

What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...

mooreeffoc [MOOR-ee-fok] (noun or adjective) TWITO, page 91

Something that appears strange when seen from an unusual angle

"That wild word, 'Moor Eeffoc,' is the motto of all effective realism; it is the masterpiece of the good realistic principle--the principle that the most fantastic thing of all is often the precise fact."
--G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens: A Critical Study (1906)

This word comes from Charles Dickens, who used it in his abandoned autobiography. He was sitting in a London cafe one day and noticed that "moor-eeffoc" is "coffee room" spelled backwards; Dickens was looking at the establishment's name from the "wrong" side of the window. G. K. Chesterton and J. R. R. Tolkien later used "mooreeffoc" in print to mean something suddenly seen in a strangely new way. (You might say that David Lynch films are full of mooreeffoc places, objects, and people.)

It’s one of those words that is more commented on than used, but I feel up to the challenge: "Her face transformed into a frightening mooreeffoc as he looked up from the floor, with her spiked heel pressed firmly against his chest." Sadly, I'm no Dickens.

Shmagma, Goog, Whizz, Thizz, and Z-bars: Know Your Drug Slang!

"Hey buddy -- wanna buy some shmagma?"

Know your drug slang! The DEA's new report includes these amusingly psychedelic street terms:

Goog: Ecstasy/MDMD/Molly
Pink panther: Marijuana
Whizz: Methamphetamine
Shmagma: Marijuana
Thizz: Ecstasy/MDMD/Molly
Abajo: Heroin
Z-Bars: Alprazolam (Xanax)

DEA Drug Slang Report is (Probably) Unintentionally Hilarious

Word of the Day: lachrymose

What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....

lachrymose [LAK-rih-mos] (adjective), TWITO, page 82

Mournful or tearful

"Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins, who became lachrymose and began pulling out handkerchiefs."
--L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Word of the Day: curwhibble

What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...

curwhibble [KUR-wib-ul] (noun), TWITO, page 37

A thingamajig or whatchmacallit

"Many thanks to your honor. What pretty curwhibbles and etceteras! I’ll hang ’em to my watch to give it a travelled air.”
--Anonymous, "A Captivity among the Rockites," in The Metropolitan (1831)

More junk. There are many objects around my home that one might call thingamajigs, whatchmacallits, or even curwhibbles. For example, something I found in a Chinese junk shop that hangs from a floor-lamp's switch. This whatsit has a little metal fan on top, from which is suspended an oddly shaped brass bell with some inscrutable writing engraved on it. And from that hangs a coin of some sort, with a square hole in the middle. There are bas-relief dragons curled around the hole, as if guarding it. And there are also red tassels hanging from various parts of this thing. I guess you could call it a bell, but it's much more than that. Altogether, when suspended, it's about 10 inches (25 cm) long. It is completely useless. And that’s what I like about it.