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Mizzle

Light rain or drizzle. British informal: to go away suddenly, vanish: he mizzled into the crowd. The dictionary makes a...

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Perlerorneq

May you be ever spared this suffocating, madness-inducing winter depression.  Lopez describes the misery or insanity it can bring on,...

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Concinnity

The OED describes this as a 'skilful and harmonious adaptation or fitting together of parts; harmony, congruity, consistency'.  The adjective...

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Potwalloper

'... potwallopers grazing marsh.'

This is a variant of 'potwaller', a curious and arcane English method of deciding who gets...

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Yarr

'Deadlock yarred through his bare teeth.'

'Between his teeth the hound yarred...'

A word now apparently limited to dialect, but...

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Tantivy

A rapid gallop or ride; a hunting cry; moving or riding swiftly.  May all your dreams tantivy-o!

...

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Crackey, ackymal and ruddock

'The crackeys and ackymals and ruddocks - Devon names for wrens and tomtits and robins ...'

All words for birds,...

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There, there, poppet

It's a long time since I have heard this charming, kindly, playful word. I've had it used towards me in...

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Ribambelle

A ringing sound to this French word.  A flock, a swarm, a string, a torrent.  My Harrap's tells me of...

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Behither

An old word for 'barring' or 'short of' or 'save', used in George Herbert's poem 'Holy Baptism (II)':

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Lidger

This word can echo 'ledger', and refer to a large copy of a book permanently placed somewhere, or a large...

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Blackavized Maniots

Patrick Leigh Fermor's beautifully wrought account of his travels in Mani in Greece provides a vivid portrayal of the Maniots,...

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