This week’s obscure English word is yeet. It’s got several meanings, mostly as a verb associated with throwing useless things away forcefully. It’s also an urban expression for surprise. I quite like the verb form, though. According to YouTuber Scott Manley, the world’s biggest yeet is a thing known as Spin Launch. And both meanings … More The obscure word of the week is yeet

This week’s obscure English word is peristeronic. It means something relating to pigeons. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022

This week’s obscure English word is doryphore. It’s a word coined in the mid-twentieth century by Sir Harold Nicholson, and means a critic who is both pedantic and persistent. I’ve attracted a few of those over the years, courtesy of my writing, not that any of them have had the guts to actually introduce themselves … More The obscure word of the week is doryphore

This week’s obscure English word is bardolatry. It means to like Shakespeare excessively. Really. I mean, sure, every high school kid was tortured by those stupid sonnets which were first made boring by the English teacher, then rammed at them for over-analysis. But apparently there are some people who get quite enthusiastic about the Immortal … More The obscure word of the week is bardolatry

This week’s obscure English word is concinnity. It’s a mass noun originating from the sixteenth century that means to harmoniously fit different parts of something together. A secondary meaning is to have an elegant literary style. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments that displays literary concinnity. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022

This week’s obscure English word is adscititious. It means addition, and is thought to have emerged in the 17th century, derived from Latin. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022

This week’s obscure English word is edacious. It basically means liking to eat. I found a YouTube channel that seems to be of this nature: Your challenge: make up a sentence using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022

This week’s obscure English word is barmecide. It is an eighteenth century term derived from the name of a character in the Arabian Nights stories, meaning something imaginary and disappointing. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022

This week’s obscure English word is dight. It’s a verb that derives from Middle English and which has several meanings. In a literary sense it means to prepare something for its purpose. However, it also has a couple of dialectical meanings: in Scotland it means to wipe something dry, and it can also mean to … More The obscure word of the week is dight

This week’s obscure English word is decubitus. It’s a 19th century word deriving from Latin, typically used these days as a medical term, and means ‘lying down’. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2022