a língua de milton e shakespeare
dalliance
a casual romantic or sexual relationship
nexus
link; center
bivouac
temporary encampment
hypostatize
to attribute real identity to (a concept)
to remainder
to dispose of
caterwaul
to make a harsh cry
to fob off
to pass or offer (something spurious) as genuine
to moider
to perplex
to winnow
to remove (often with out) - Winnow out inaccuracies. to sift - Winnow what is true and significant.
yew
tree species
climacteric
turning point
hortatory
exhortative
organic law
law determining the fundamental political principles of a government
gaskins
(archaic) breeches, hose [pants]
legate
(n.) envoy / (v.) bequeath
hendiadys
: the expression of an idea by the use of usually two independent words connected by and (such as nice and warm) instead of the usual combination of independent word and its modifier (such as nicely warm)
skittles
English ninepins played with a wooden disk or ball
caitiff
a cowardly and despicable person
tranche
a division or portion of a pool or whole
trowel
a hand tool used in concrete and masonry work to spread mortar or plaster
ekphrasis
a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art
janissary
a member of the Turkish infantry forming the Sultan's guard between the 14th and 19th centuries
beadle
a minor parish official
cenotaph
a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere
yokel
a naive inhabitant of a rural area or small town
cause célèbre
a notorious person, thing, or incident
rebus
a representation of words by symbols whose names resemble the intended words in sound
halfway house
a residence for individuals after release from institutionalization (as for mental illness, drug addiction, or criminal activity) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life
corniche
a road built along a coast and especially along the face of a cliff
epiphenomenal
a secondary phenomenon accompanying another and caused by it
foolscap
a size of paper; hat worn by jesters
critical mass
a size, number, or amount large enough to produce a particular result
gamine
a small playfully mischievous girl
piton
a spike, wedge, or peg that is driven into a rock or ice surface as a support (as for a mountain climber)
peremptory
admitting of no contradiction; haughty
warren
an enclosed space in which rabbits breed or are numerous; any place that is crowded like a rabbit warren; a maze of passageways or small rooms
bottle episode
an inexpensively produced episode of a television series that is typically confined to one setting
Gordian knot
an intricate problem
qua
as
pelagic
oceanic
proffer
offer
nip
bite, sip
prelate
church dignitary
hors de combat
disabled, out of combat
putty
doughlike material generally used to fasten glass in windowframes
apodictic
expressing absolute certainty
ci-devant
former
shell game
fraud
salvific
having the intent to redeem
avocation
hobby
exiguous
inadequate
denizen
inhabitant; frequenter
orthogonal
intersecting at right angles
schlemiel
loser
lenten
meager, suitable for Lent
chiliastic
millenarian; believing in a coming ideal society and especially one created by revolutionary action
magpie
miscellaneous, acquisitive
crick
muscle spasm
zany
n. toady adj. ludicrous
proem
preamble
donnish
scholarly
carrel
small individual study area in a library
sine qua non
something indispensable "reliability is a sine qua non for success'
bogey
specter
numinous
supernatural
thicket
tangle
corpus delicti
the body of facts which prove that a crime has been committed
simony
the buying and selling of church offices
nuncio
the official Vatican delegate for a nation
bathos
the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style; anticlimax "The serious message of the film is ruined by the bathos of its ridiculous ending."
roustabout
unskilled laborer (esp. at oil rig)
terrine
usually earthenware dish in which foods are cooked and served
doughty
valiant
métier
vocation, forte
oriel
window projecting outward from wall
mutatis mutandis
with the necessary changes having been made
