Word of the Day: unusual words you may not have heard of

[Pyan]

Nidorosity (noun): a burp or belch that tastes of meat.

 

[farntfar]

Doubtless a useful word for the busy tube train or lift.
You can do a big noisy burp and then say, "Good Lord! That was a real nidorosity."
"A what?" someone will doubtless cry.
Then while everyone is discussing the history of the word and whether it actually smelt of lamb curry or artichoke hearts, they will forget just what a disgusting person you are.

 

[pogopossum]

In today's (5/28/2023) letters to the New York Times Book Review was the following, quoted in full.

"Regarding Joshua Cohen's review of 'Bruno Schultz' by Benjamin Balint (May 7): Congratulations to Mr. Cohen on winning the Pulitzer for his novel 'The Netanyahus.' Not so much praise for his pathological logophilia, evident throughout his review.:
Polonophone? Claustral? Ekphrastic? Sfumato?
Finding a quartet of such words on one page should be an event that doesn't recur."

 

[pogopossum]

Bibliklept -A book stealer.
Not that unusual. but I identify with the inclination.
Agelast. A person who never laughs.
Not in my preferred social circle.

 

[KiraAnn]

Shouldn't that be biblioklept ?

 

[pogopossum]

Yup. Probably takes one to know one.

 

[Snicklefritz]

To have the ‘mubble fubbles’ (16th century) is to experience a bout of melancholy such as the Sunday evening blues, combined with a vague sense of impending doom.

Sort of like Holly Golightly's mean reds.

The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of.

 

[THX1138]

Kennebecker: knapsack

 

[Snicklefritz]

Kennebecker: knapsack

Dingbat Prouty and the Kennebecker by Anita Kurth -- Now that's a book title

 

[KiraAnn]

Kennebecker or Kennebunker is New England slang, originating in Maine. I imagine it refers to Kennebunkport. Not universally used.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Here's grist for a story mill.​

Letters of the Kennebecker from the Boston Journal, 1889, 1889-1924​

Drew, John H.,. 1834-1890 Maine Historical Society holdings

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings pasted over a Portland & Rumford Falls Railway train orders book, chiefly consisting of letters (1890) by John H. Drew, the "Kennebecker" correspondent of the Boston Journal -- Also includes "A tribute from his native place" (1890) and "Notes" (1924).

Ship captain and later correspondent of the Boston Journal; b. in Chelsea, Me.; d. in Farmingdale, Me.; lived in Hallowell and Gardiner and commanded many of the ships sailing from Boston, including the Fearless, Sea Witch, and Franklin. One of the series he wrote for the Boston Journal was "The Cruise of the Sea Witch.".

 

[Snicklefritz]

deltiologist is someone who collects postcards

An arctophile collects teddy bears

 

[Ursa major]

Turbary is the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

One of my favourites is
Borborygmus (noun)
plural Borborygmi

A continuous low sound made by the movement of liquid and gas in the body.
Intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas.

"That vindaloo curry on top of 12 lagers last night sure gave me borborygmi."

 

[Cthulhu.Science]

Bullsh*t

Not a new word, but I didn't know that there was a philosophical definition of the term. From an article about a particular politician --

Philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s definition of bullsh*t, which Frankfurt describes as distinct from, and worse than, a lie, in that the bullsh*tter doesn’t even care whether or not what he’s saying is true.

Also distinct from humbug and misrepresentation.

Harry Frankurt's complete essay "On Bullsh*t"

https://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_bullshit.pdf

 

[Ursa major]

*Ursa wonders if he should have made it more clear that the bog with which Turbary used is like the one in the image below*

 

[THX1138]

Tittynope: a small quantity of something left over.

 

[THX1138]

Epistemic ambivalence: when you may know the truth of a situation but cannot say which truth it is, because there is more than one option.

 

[Rufus Coppertop]

disembiggenation the act of unembiggening something formerly embiggened.

 

[farntfar]

One of my favourites is
Borborygmus (noun)
plural Borborygmi

A continuous low sound made by the movement of liquid and gas in the body.
Intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas.

"That vindaloo curry on top of 12 lagers last night sure gave me borborygmi."

This is a nice word to know.
I had never known there was a word for it.
I shall now forget it, but I will at least know that a word exists, the next time it happens.
I tend not to talk about it a lot though, even then.
"Oh, I say. What an horrendous borborygmus!"