Phrases and Quotes

A pain in the arts - A A Gill
Armanied Nostradamus
... draining ... like sawdust from a scarecrow
epistolary gavotte - "dance of letters"
The only reason God tolerates historians, Samuel Butler, the great 19th-century English satirist, maintained, is because they can do one thing He cannot: alter the past.
terracotta army - faceless, disposable, deployable at will by the high command
... even if the crowing of the cock marks the dawn, no one thinks the bird is responsible - Tessa Blackstone
The gall of the wild - Jonathon Miller
The devil isn't just in the detail, there's a cloven hoofprint on every page. - Michael Gove
Political correctness - or, to give it its full title, untrammelled idiocy - is a form of thinking in which those with limited imaginations attempt to impose their limitations on others. - Kirk Elder, The Scotsman, June 23, 2000.
Too much of a good thing is wonderful. - Mae West
Welcome to the desert of the real. - The character Morpheus in the film The Matrix
parsimonius sprite - Rex Murphy
withering the rhetorical wind from a blast from... - Rex Murphy
intellectual tinsel - p. 100 of Higher Superstition by Gross & Levitt
philosophical styrofoam - p. 98 of Higher Superstition

Vocabulary

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abseil - to descend down a steep slope using a rope
acidulous - adj. somewhat acid or harsh in taste or manner
adamant - n. a stone believed to be of impenetrable hardness; extremely hard substance
adjudge - settle judiciously; consider; condemn; pass sentence on
adumbrate - foreshadow
affiant - a person who makes an affadavit
affray - fray, brawl; v. startle, frighten
agitprop - n. propaganda, especially political propaganda promulgated chiefly in literature, drama, music or art. Also used as an adjective
alarum -
anodyne - adj. having the power of easing pain or anxiety; n. something that soothes pain or anxiety
anomie - a state of society in which standards of conduct and belief are weak or lacking. Also, in an individual, characterised by disorientation, anxiety, isolation
antinomianism -
antipathy - contrarity of feeling; feeling against, hostile feeling towards
apostasy - defection; renunciation of a religious faith
apothegm - a concise saying or maixm; an aphorism
apotheosis - raising of person or thing to highest possible honour and glory; or the state reached in this way; the perfect example; quintessence
apotropaic - supposedly having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck
appetency - a longing or desire
apposite - (+ to, for) adj. exactly suitable to, or directly connected with the present moment or situation (eg., "apposite remark")
approbation - praise or approval, especially when official
archimandrite - head of a monastery; abbot; distinguished celibate priest's title
ascription - the attribution of something to a cause
aspergillum - brush or instrument for distributing holy water
asperity - n. roughness or severity, especially in speech or manners or weather
asseveration - the solemn or emphatic declaration or statement of something
assonance - similarity of vowel sounds in syllables that do not form a complete rhyme, as in vermin/furnish
astrakhan - dark tightly curled fleece of lambs from Astrakhan in Russia; fabric imitating this
avuncular - of or pertaining to, or characteristic of an uncle
autoschediastic - unplanned, spur of the moment, improvised
avatar - n. an incarnation in human form; an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person
badinage - playful repartée; banter
baize - coarse woolen or cotton fabric napped to imitate felt
banausic - serving utilitarian purposes only; mechanical; practical
bathetic - producing an unintentional effect of anticlimax
benighted - in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity; overtaken by darkness
berk - jerk
bespoke - made-to-measure
bey -provincial governor in the Ottoman empire; title of respect for Turkish dignitaries
bier - moveable frame, like a table, sometimes with wheels, for supporting a corpse or coffin
bilious - peevish; ill-tempered
boffin - a person engaged in technical research
borstal - custodial institution for young offenders
bowdlerise - (disapproving) to remove from a book, play or film language or parts considered unsuitable or offensive
brae - (Scots) hillside, slope
briki - a pot used for making Greek coffee
bumper - a generous glassful of an alcoholic drink, typically drunk as a toast
cachinnation - cachinnate: to laugh loudly or immoderately
caïque - n. a long narrow rowboat used on the Bosporus; a single masted sailing vessel used on the eastern Mediterranean
calumny (+against) - n. (the act of making) an incorrect and unjust report about a person with intent to besmirch
campanile - a bell tower
captious - tending to find fault or raise petty objections
carbuncle - any of several red precious stones; painful local purulent inflammation of the skin and deeper tissues with multiple openings for the discharge of pus
castellation - the building of castles; the furnishing of a house with battlements; a battlement
cenobite - a member of a religious group living in a monastic community
chaplet - a wreath or garland for the head; a string of beads; a string of beads 1/3 the length of a rosary, for counting prayers
chary (+ of) - adj. unwilling to take risks
chasuble - sleeveless vestment worn by celebrant at mass or eucharist
chiaroscuro - art: the use of strong contrasts between light and dark
ciborium - any vessel designed to contain the host or sacred wafers for the Eucharist
cicatrize - cicatrization: scar formation at a wound site
chibouk - Turkish tobacco pipe with a stiff stem, 4 or 5 feet long
chiliast - chiliasm (khi...): n. Christian belief in the millenium
chillblain - inflammatory swelling produced by exposure to cold
chiral - adj. asymmetric in such a way that the structure and its mirror image are not superimposable
chlamys - a short woolen mantle worn by men
chthonic - infernal (from Greek chtho(n): earth)
churlish - boorish; ill-bred
Cimmerian - member of a mythical people living in perpetual mist and darkness near the land of the dead
codicil - an appendix to a will
collation - presentation of a clergyman to a benefice; light meal permitted on a day of general fasting; practice of reading and conversing on the lives of the saints or the scriptures
colophon - a publisher's emblem or imprint, esp. one on the title page or spine of a book
coloratura - runs, trills and other decorations in music
concupiscence - eager or vehement desire; the coveting of carnal things; libidinous desire; lust
condignly - condign (adj.) worthy, well-deserved
conflate - v. to bring (parts) together; combine
confute - to overwhelm by argument; refute conclusively; confound
congeries - a disorderly collection; a jumble
conspectus - a general or comprehensive view; survey; digest; résumé
costive - adj. affected with or causing constipation; slow in action or expression; stingy
consubstantial - of one and the same substance
contemn - despise; to view or treat with contempt
contemporaneous - adj. existing, or happening during the same period of time
contumely - n. rude language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt
coprophilia - undue interest in faeces or dung
coruscate - flash, sparkle
cotisation - allotment to each person of amount of contribution to a tax
cumbrous - cumbersome
cynosure - a person or thing that is the centre of attention
declivity - downward slope
demesne - (di' mein) land around a great house; land owned by a lord or a king
demotic - popular
descant - discourse or comment on a theme felt to resemble variations on a musical air; sing, warble; to talk or write at considerable length
descry - to make out something unclear or distant by looking carefully; to discover, detect
desquamate - to peel off, as the skin in certain diseases
desultory - adj. passing from one thing to another without plan or purpose
diffident - adj. unwilling to speak or act with confidence because of having a low opinion of one's abilities
dint - blow, stroke; force, power; dent
dipsomaniacal - dipsomania: uncontrolled craving for alcoholic liquors
diptych - a hinged two-leaved tablet used in ancient times for writing on with a stylus
doddle - n. an easy task
doss - v. to sleep, especially in a doss-house (cheap lodging-house)
dreich - ("dreekh") adj. slow, tedious, dreary; n. stunted dwarfish person
durst - (old) past tense of dare
ecdysiast - stripper
echt - (German) adj. authentic, genuine
ectype - reproduction, copy
effacement - obliteration
effete - (e feet) no longer fertile; decadent; degenerate; weak
egregious - senseless, ridiculous, absurd
elegiac - mournful or pensive style
emetic - n., adj. something, especially a medicine, eaten or drunk to induce vomiting
emolument - compensation or perquisite; advantage
encomium - an expression of very high praise
epigone - member of a succeeding generation
eponymous - eponym: the name of a real or mythical person after whom something is believed to be named; having the same name as the title. (e.g., "He took the role of the eponymous detective in the long-running series Columbo")
eremite - hermit or recluse
erstwhile - formerly; hitherto
eructation - burping
estoppel - a bar or impediment preventing a party from asserting a fact or claim inconsistent with a position he previously took
evzone - an infantryman belonging to an elite corps in the Greek army
excoriate - to strip off or remove skin from; to denounce severely; to flay verbally
exculpation - exculpate: to clear from alleged blame or fault
exegesis - explanation or critical interpretation of a text. adj. exegetical
exemplum - an example or model, especially a moralising or illustrative story
expiate - to atone for; appease
factotum - any servant or assistant doing all kinds of work
fain - pleased, happy (archaic); inclined (archaic); willing, obliged, compelled. Also an adverb: willingly (archaic); rather
farrago (pl. -goes) - a confused mixture; hodge-podge; medley
fatuity - something foolish or stupid; stupidity; imbecility
feckless - inappropriate, ineffectual
fellah - a native peasant in Egypt or Syria (etc.)
fervid - fervent; showing warmth of feeling
filial - of a (or due to a) child; having relationship of a child or offspring
filigree - ornamental work, especially of fine wire applied to gold or silver surfaces; ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design
fillip - a blow or gesture made by forcible straightening of a finger curled up against the thumb; something tending to arouse or excite; to urge on
firth - (Scots) estuary
fissiparous - adj. producing new organisms by fission; pertaining to reproduction by fission
fob - a short chain or band of cloth to which a fob watch is attached
forfend - forbid, prevent, protect, preserve
fraught - laden, brimming
frisson - n. a feeling of excitement and/or pleasure, especially caused by something dangerous or forbidden of which one is slightly afraid
fulminate - v. express vehement protest
fundament - part of land surface not altered by man; buttocks; anus; the base on which a structure is erected; an underlying ground, theory or principle
fungible - to be freely exchangeable or replaceable
furth - forth
gallimaufry - medley; jumble
glabrous - without hair or down; smooth
gobstopper - a large round hard sweet
gonk - egg-shaped soft doll
gormless - stupid or thoughtless; slow in understanding
gravamen - n. grievance; formal complaint or accusation; the particular part of an accusation that bears most heavily on the accused
grunion - a small fish of coastal Mexico and California waters that spawns at night along beaches during high tides of spring and summer
guinea - 21 s; £1.05
halcyon - adj. calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent
hapax (legomenon) - a word that occurs only once within a context, either in the written record of an entire language, in the works of an author, or in a single text
harridan - bad-tempered unpleasant woman; hag
haughty adj. blatantly and disdainfully proud; having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempy for people or things perceived to be inferior
hermeneutics - the study of the methodological principles of interpretation (as of the Bible)
hierophant - a chief priest in ancient Greece; expositor, interpreter; advocate
hortatory - encouraging, urging
houghmagandie - (Scots) fornication
hypertrophy - excessive growth or accumulation
impecunious - adj. having very little or no money, usually habitually; penniless
importune - unseasonable; inconvenient (n. adj); v. to ask or beg insistently or pressingly
imprimis - adv. in the first place
inamorata - the woman whom a man loves
inchoate - just beginning, incipient, incomplete, rudimentary, not organised, lacking order
indolent - lazy; (Med.) causing no pain
ineluctable - incapable of being evaded; inescapable
ingénue - an artless innocent young woman, especially as a stage role
inglenook - a corner by the fire; chimney corner
intercalation - intercalate: to insert (as a day) in a calendar; to insert between or among existing elements or layers
intercrural - occuring or taking place between the thighs
invidious - tending to cause ill-will or make people unnecessarily offended or jealous
irredentism - (Italian politics) recovery and union to Italy of all Italian-speaking districts outside Italy
irrefragable - adj. undeniable
irruption - Malthusian growth
jalousie - type of blind or shutter made with horizontal slats to admit light and air but exclude rain and direct sun
jejune - adj. lacking nutritive value; lacking interest or significance (syn. DULL); lacking maturity (syn. PUERILE)
jelab - a loose fitting hooded gown or robe worn by men in N. Africa, esp. Morocco. Also: djellabah
jocosely - playful or humorous, also jocose
knout - whip used for flogging
knight errant - (medieval) a knight that roams the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric virtues
lachrymose - adj. resembling tears; tearful
lacuna - empty space where something is missing, especially in writing
lambent - running or moving lightly over a surface
lanceolate - shaped like the head of a lance
legover - an act of sexual intercourse
limpid - clear, transparent
lissome - supple, limber, lithe, agile
lithoidal - stonelike
louche - adj. oblique; not straightforward
lubricious - showing too great an interest in sex, especially in a way that is unpleasant or socially unacceptable; slippery, unstable
lucubration - laborious study (from L, study by night, or work produced at night)
lugubrious -mournful, especially exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful
lumpenproletariat - poorest, least cohesive section of the proletariat; ignorant, contented lower masses
maenad - bacchante (priestess or female votary of Bacchus); any frenzied or raging woman
Magian - Magus
magniloquent - adj. speaking in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous
Magus - member of a priestly caste of ancient Persia
Mammon - (n. derog.) (ancient god of) wealth, considered as attracting too much respect and admiration
matutinal - of, or occurring in, the morning
megatherium - a giant sloth (fossil); something of huge or ungainly proportions. pl. megatheria
melisma - a group of notes or tones sung in one syllable in plainsong; melodic embellishment
mellifluous - flowing or sweetened with or as if with honey; sweetly flowing melody or counterpoint
memetic isomorphism - tendency of an organisation to imitate another's structure because of the belief the structure of the latter organisation is beneficial
mendacious - lying, false, untruthful
mercurial - having the properties of Mercury: eloquence, ingenuity, aptitude for commerce
meretricious - attractive on the outside, but of false or no real value
metonymy - a figure of speech consisting of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated (e.g., "lands belonging to the Crown")
micturition - the desire to make water
mimsily -
miscegenation - mixing of people of different races
Mithra - Zoroastrian angelic divinity of Covenant and Oath; also, a judicial figure
monstrance - n. a vessel in which the consecrated Host is exposed for the adoration of the faithful
montigenous - of or native to mountain areas
mordancy - the quality of being biting in speech; sarcastic force; incisiveness (of style)
Morpheus - god of dreams in Greek mythology
multifarious - having great diversity or variety
mutatis mutandis - the necessary changes having been made
muzhik - Russian peasant
myriorama - a picture consisting of a number of separate sections which are capable of being combined in numerous ways to form different scenes; a form of public entertainment in which a large number of different panoramic scenes or images are shown in succession, supported by lighting and other special effects, often including a commentary
naff - unfashionable; lacking in style; rubbishy
naif - (French naif) naive
nepenthe - a drug, drink or plant yielding it with the power to induce forgetfulness of sorrow or trouble
nescience - n. absence or lack of knowledge, ignorance; a form or instance of ignorance
nob - (as in "... with nobs on ...") one in a superior position in life; head (slang)
nobble - (as in "...nobbling a jury...") to prevent a racehorse from winning (especially with drugs); to get dishonestly; to get the attention of someone to persuade for a favour
nombrilism - navel-gazing
nugatory - null and void; ineffectual; of no effect; without value
numinous - having a strong religious or spiritual quality
obloquy - abuse, slander; bad repute; a reproach
obscurantism - deliberatively preventing the facts or full details of some matter from becoming known
obstreperous - noisy, vociferous, unruly
oleaginous - oily, fatty
onanism - masturbation
opprobium - disgrace; infamy; obloquy
ordure - excrement; something morally degrading or depraving
orrery - an apparatus for representing the motions and phases of the planets, satellites, etc., in the solar system
ouroboros - an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail
palaestra - a public place for training in wrestling or athletics
palimpsest - n. an ancient piece of writing material on which the original writing has been (perhaps incompletely) erased, so it can be used again
palinode - a poem in which the poet retracts something said in an earlier poem
panegyrist - eulogy (panegyric: lauditory)
panoply - n. splendid ceremonial show or dress
papadhia - wife of a priest
paragon - (+ with) place side by side; match or mate
parapegmata - pl. of parapegma, a Greek almanac; form of inscribed stone on which days of the monthwere indicated by moveable pegs inserted into bored holes; also, lists of dates of seasonally regular weather changes, first and last appearances of stars or constellations at sunrise/set and solar events such as solstices
parlous - perilous, dangerous, risky to deal with, keen, malicious, wicked, excessive
parturition - giving birth to offspring
parvenu - one who has suddenly attained to wealth or power and has not yet secured the social position appropriate to it; upstart
paten - a plate, usually made of precious metal, used to carry the bread at the Eucharist
pelerine - a woman's cape of fur or cloth, usually waist length in back and with long descending ends in front
pellucid - adj. allowing maximum passage of light, translucent; clear
peltast - type of light infantry in ancient Greece
pend - (architecture) n. vault, archway
percipience - perception
peremptorily - from peremptory: leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal; imperative; imperious or dictatorial; positive or assertive in manner or speech or tone
perfervid - intense and impassioned
perfidy - deceive by trust; treachery
perforce - adv. by violence; forcibly; of necessity
pernicious - deadly; corrupting; deleterious; noxious
peroration - a highly rhetorical speech; concluding part of a discourse
perspicacity - a penetrating discernment
pettifogging - from pettifog: to quibble about petty points
phatic - adj. revealing or sharing feelings or establishing an atmosphere of sociability rather than communicating ideas
philological - adj. of the scientific study of languages and their development
phlegmatic - having or showing a slow and stolid temperment
pillion - a pad or cushion attached behind a saddle, esp. as a seat for a woman; a pad, cushion, saddle &c used as a passenger seat on a bicycle, motor scooter or motorcycle
pleonasm - n. the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; redundancy; a redundant word or expression
plight - vt. to pledge (one's troth) in engagement to marry; to bind someone by a pledge, esp. to marry; to give in pledge, as one's word; or to pledge, as one's honour (n. plighter)
plinth - (architecture) lower square member of the base of a column or pedestal; the squared base of a piece of furniture; projecting part of a wall immediately above the ground
plutocrat - person possessing or exercising power or influence over others by right of wealth
poltroon - spiritless coward
ponce - n. a pimp; male homosexual; lazy or effeminate man; v. (+ about, around) behave in an idle or effeminate manner
portmanteau - a case for carrying clothing; a rack for hanging clothes
positivism - a philosophical theory that certain knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations
postmodernism - a broad movement defined by an attitude of skepticism, irony or distrust toward grand narratives, ideologies and various tenets of Enlightenment rationality, including notions of human nature, social progress, objective reality and morality, absolute truth and reason
prandial - of dinner
prat - prank, a frolic; a worthless stupid person
pravity - depravity
praxis - exercise or practice of an art or science; customary practice or conduct
prelapsarian - adj. characteristic of the time before the Fall or Man; innocent and unspoiled
priapically - priapism: persistent erection of the penis
probity - uprightness
procrustean - adj. seeking to enforce conformity with a theory etc. by violent methods (e.g., by omitting all that contradicts it)
prodigal - recklessly wasteful or extravagant
prolix - spun out, protracted; unduly prolonged
promulgate - to make known by open declaration; publish
propinquity - nearness of blood; kinship; nearness in place or time: proximity
prosaic - prose-like; unpoetic; dull; commonplace; unimaginative
provenance - origin or source
psephologist - psephology: study of how people vote in elections
puce - dark red/purple-brown
pullulate - to send forth sprouts, buds, etc., to breed, produce or create rapidly; swarm; teem
punctiform - adj. shaped like or of the nature of a point or dot
punctilious - marked by precise, exact accordance with details of codes or conventions
punter - bettor on a horserace; customer (derog.); hooker's customer
purulent - containing or consisting of pus
pyx - box in which the eucharist is kept
quadrivium - geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, music (the mathematics)
quixotry - behaviour inspired by romantic beliefs without regard to reality
quango - (pl. quangos) QUAsi Non-Governmental Organisation
quidnunc - inquisitive person; a gossip; a newsmonger
raillery - good-natured ridicule; banter; jest
rapine - n. the carrying away of property by force; plunder
raddle - v. to interweave; wattle; ruddle; to colour coarsely
rebarbative - repellent, unattractive
rebecist - the player of a rebeck, a Renaissance fiddle with a pear-shaped body
recondite - adj. dealing with very profound, difficult or abstruse subject matter; beyond ordinary understanding; esoteric; little known; obscure
recrudescence - n. a new outbreak after a period of abatement or inactivity; renewal
recusant - (hist.) one (especially a Roman Catholic) who refused to attend the services of the Church of England; one who refuses to submit to authority or comply with regulations
redolent - having or diffusing a strong or pleasant odour; fragrant
reify - v. to consider of represent (soemthing abstract) as a material or concrete thing; to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)
repine - v. feel or express discontent; fret
resile - recoil, rebound, resume shape after deformation
retroussé - turned up at the tip (usually of the nose)
roman-à-clef - a novel about real people under disguised names
ruction - disturbance, riot
ruddle - n. a red variety of ochre, used for marking sheep, colouring &c. v. to mark or colour with ruddle
rum - adj. ridiculous, queer, odd, laughable
rumbustious - noisy, boisterous, turbulent, rough, unruly
sacerdotal - adj. priestly
saltire - a barrier (usually for animals) that can be jumped over by people
santir - a Persian dulcimer
saracen - a particular nomadic people; non-Christian, heathen, infidel, unbeliever; an Arab
sardonic - bitter, mocking
scion - shoot or twig; an heir
scholiast - commentator on ancient or classical literature
scrofulous - relating to or affected with scrofula (tuberculosis of lymph glands, especially in the neck); morally contaminated
Scylla and Charybdis - either of two dangers or pitfalls such that to avoid one increases the risk of the other
sear - adj. dry; sere
sedulous - persevering, persistently or carefully maintained
semantrist - the person striking the semantron, a wooden or metal bar struck by a mallet used to summon worshippers to service
semiology - sign language
semiotic - pertaining to signs; symptomatic
sempiternity - sempiternal: everlasting, eternal
sententious - self-righteousness; sanctimoniousness
shibboleth - catchword; slogan; custom or usage regarded as a criterion for distinguishing members of one group
silenus - minor woodland deity. pl: sileni
sine qua non - adj. indispensable; n. indispensable person or thing
sinecure - a position or office requiring little or no work
snook - n. a gesture of defiance, disrespect or derision. to cock (a/one's) snook - to thumb (the/one's) nose (+ at) ...
sobriquet - (sobri kay) nickname
sodality - brotherhood, community
solecism - an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence; a minor blunder in speech; something deviating from the proper, normal or accepted order; a breach of etiquette or decorum
soubrette - coquettish maid or frivolous young woman in comedies
splenetic - bad-tempered; spiteful
squall - (as in "...the poor man squalled terribly...") to cry out noisily
stertorously - characterised by stertor or heavy snoring; breathing in this manner
stichomythy - (stichomythia) dramatic dialogue between two characters, each of whom speaks in a scene of intense emotion or strong argumentation
stole - a clergyman's vestment consisting of a long strip of silk or other material worn round the neck with the ends hanging down in front
sub specie aeternitatis - adv. viewed in relation to the eternal; in a universal perspective
subaltern - a person or thing of inferior rank or status; second lieutenant
sui generis - of his/her/its/their own kind; unique
supercilious - adj. coolly and patronisingly haughty
supernal - being, or coming from, on high; heavenly; superlatively good
suspiration - a long deep sigh
swingeing - adj. very severe in force or degree, especially for financial matters
swivet - fluster or panic
swot - (alteration of sweat) grind (to study hard); also swotted, swotting
sybarite - n. a native of Sybaris (Magna Grecia); a person devoted to pleasure
synecdoche - a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole, or the whole for a part
synoicism - to cause to dwell with or unite under one capital city; union of several towns or villages into/under one capital city. Also spelt as synœcism, synoikism
taciturn - adj. inclined to silence
tat - tastelessness by virtue of being cheap and vulgar; tasteless articles, a tangled mess, tatty articles or a tatty condition
tatterdemalion - someone dressed in ragged clothing; ragamuffin
tendentious - adj. expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, especially a controversial one
tetany - a state marked by severe intermittent tonic contractions and muscular pain, frequently due to a deficiency of calcium salts
thalamic - toroidal
thetes - from thetic: positive, dogmatic
thrawn - unpleasing; perverse; crooked; misshapen
thrysus - a staff tipped with a pine cone and sometimes twined with ivy and vine branches, borne by Dionysus and his votaries
timocratic - from timocracy: a form of government in which the love of honour is the dominant motive of the rulers; also, a form of government in which a certain amount of property is requisite as a qualification for office
travail (as in "the moon is in travail") - toil, task, labour, parturition
toff - a nobleman
traduce - to speak falsely of someone, especially in order to make others think badly of him
trenchant - cutting deeply and quickly; sharp. Figuratively, clear, vigorous, effective
trivium - grammar, rhetoric, logic
troth - n. faithfulness, fidelity or loyalty: "by my troth"; truth or verity; one's word or promise, esp. in engaging oneself to marry
trothplight - n. engagement to be married; v.t. to betroth; adj. betrothed
trope - use of a word in a figurative sense; figure of speech
trundler - from trundle: small wheel or caster; sound of same; to roll along freely
tumbril - n. variation on ``tumbrel'' (the kind of cart used to deliver victims to the guillotine in revolutionary France)?
twee - adj. too delicate or pretty; unpleasantly dainty
unctuous - of the nature of or characteristic of an unguent or ointment; oily; characterised by excessive piousness or moralistic fervour
usufruct - the right to enjoy the use and advantages of another's property short of the destruction or waste of its substance
uxorial - of or pertaining to a wife or wives
uxoriality - wifehood
uxorious - overly fond of a wife
venery - art or act of hunting; game; pursuit of sexual indulgence or pleasure; sexual intercourse
versify - to turn into verse
vespers - evening church service; evensong
virago - fierce-tempered complaining woman with a loud voice
vituperation - an expression of blame or censure
viviparous - from vivipary: in animals, embryo development inside the body of the mother, as opposed to laying eggs. In plants, the embryos are buds as opposed to seeds
wallah - a person in charge of, employed at, or concerned with a particular thing
wattle - n. often woven with twigs or branches for making fences, walls &c. v. to bind a wall or fence with wattles; to roof or frame as with wattles; interweave or interlace
whelk - a large marine snail; pustule; welt
will-o'-the-wisp - a hope or goal that leads one on but is impossible to reach; something one finds sinister and confounding
winsome - attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent way
wight - n. a human being; a supernatural being, like a sprite or witch; any living being; adj. strong and brave; nimble
woggle - n. a loop or ring of leather, cord, etc., through which the ends of a Scout's neckerchief are threaded; v. variant of waggle - to move (anything held or fixed at one end) to and fro with short quick motions, or with a rapid undulation; esp. to shake (any movable part of the body). In sports or games often (colloq. or humorous), to wield or manipulate (a bat, oar, etc.)
yataghan - n. a Turkish sabre
yob - troublesome young man; lout