Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Via’tic, a. relating to travelling.
Word in the Wild: She’d always been powerless to resist the lure of the faraway. First it was leaving the neighbourhood on her own, then it was biking to the next town over, and now it was the viatic call of a investigative journalism. She just couldn’t hold still.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Salsu’ginous, a. a little saltish.
Word in the Wild: I’d really like to recommend that new restaurant on the corner since the owners are so friendly, but everything I’ve eaten there is so salsuginous I just can’t.
The above meaning of salsuginous is obsolete (and even at its height it was generally used to refer to something brackish), but that’s a shame considering how much extra salt is hanging out in food these days. So let’s run amok and start using it as The Vest-Pocket Dictionary suggests—for anything that’s a bit on the saltish side! I’ll start: “Mmm… I sure could go for some delicious salsuginous potato chips about now.”
The OED shows that this word is still, rarely, in use, but only in one particular botanical context: it’s used to describe plants that grow in soil saturated with salt water.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Well, it’s been a diuturnity since I last posted, but the radio silence is finally over. I’ve finished my publishing program (woo hoo!), and I’m glad to be blogging again. So without further ado here’s this week’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary, which is all about radio silence.
Elin′guid, adj. unable to speak.
Word in the Wild: By the end of Morag’s pitch detailing how the company could recoup costs by training the rats in the basement to run the photocopy machines, the CEO was positively elinguid.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
I’ve spent the long weekend living it up: I rode my bike up to Kleinburg, checked out the McMichael Collection, ate extremely well, and I’m taking today off work. This is certainly the perfect word to describe my decadent 5-day weekend.
Dap′atical, adj. sumptuous in living.
Word in the Wild: Edgar was trying to pinch his pennies and draw in the purse strings, but could he help it if he liked the finer things? Valet parking, dapatical cuisine, the best vintages…
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
So we’ve made it to the end of the alphabet again, and you now have all the words you’ll need to participate in the Vest-Pocket Challenge! Good luck, fellow verbivores, and have fun!
Zythep’sary, n. a house where malt liquor is brewed.
Word in the Wild: I’m meeting up with Caroline and Saima at a zythepsary in the distillery district that afternoon. If you’re free, you’re welcome to join us.
Questions and Answers
Cheryl has submitted another great question for us: she’s found the word hesternal in the novel she’s reading and wonders what it means.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Vi’atecture, n. the art of making roads, canals, &c.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Sorn’er, n. one who sponges on others.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Refos’sion, n. the act of digging up.
