It's Vocabulary Time Again

And away we go...:

Anfractuous:  This one means circuitous or sinuous.  Frankly, I'd stick with circuitous and call it good.  I don't want to be mistaken for William F. Buckley

Meach:    This means to slink or skulk, to move in a furtive or cringing manner.  Now that I know that, I can see it.  It's one of those onomatopoeic words.  But be careful:  The Urban Dictionary has meanings that are quite different, apparently.

Chilblains:  These are small, itchy swellings of the skin that result from exposure to the cold.  I always wondered, given how many times I've read this in books.  I just don't understand the -blains portion.

Listing:  The listing to which I'm referring is that which occurs when a ship teeters to one side.  Apparently, the origin of this usage dates back to the early 1600's, but no one's quite sure what made it mean this. 

Guile:  I included this because I like the word.  Apparently, it means sly or cunning intelligence.  I hope that doesn't mean it's only appropriate to use when referring to criminals.

Koan:  It's a story, dialogue, question, or statement, which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and test a student's progress in Zen practice.  In other words, a paradoxical riddle or anecdote.  I don't remember where I read it but I like this one.

Quant:  This has various meanings, and I'm not sure which it was used to mean when I first read it.  It could be an apocopation for quantity or quantitative, which is just nothing more than the moronic trend that reduces family to fam and vacation to vacay.  It can also refer to a pole that's used to move a canoe or other small water vessel.

Deseudtude:  Another Buckley-esque term, it simply means a state of disuse.  Yawn...

Weir:  This is a horizontal barrier across a river that alters the flow.  That makes sense, somehow.

That's all I have for today.  I've been collecting these for months and just let 'em sit.  It was time they saw the light of day, although now that I review them, I doubt I'll use many of them at all...

(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles