Weird Words
 

swasivious [sway-siv-ee-us]

Any ideas about what this word means? (It is a rare or obsolete word ...) ;)


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swasivious /swa SIV ee uhs/ agreeably persuasive.

I'd not heard that word before in my life, as far as I recall.

I looked around a little and apparently the nature of being swasivious or agreeably persuasive has a lot to do with "tone".

hmmnn, interesting word.

Yes, you both got it right.


Next word:

finifugal [fye-nif-yoo-gul]

Finiculee finicula, finiculee finiculaaaaaa
echoes sound afar finiculee finiculaaaaaa

first thing I thought of :D

No idea what that word is, scrabble, and I don't want to look it up.

finifugal

fini would probably mean the end of something? No idea what though. I learned greek and latin roots in school. Can't remember any of them

finifugal - is an adjective meaning 'shunning the end (of anything).' Appropriate for children avoiding bedtime and for those who "just don't want the book to end."

(I thought the 'fini' must mean 'finished' also. The 'fugal' I first read as 'frugal' ... :rolleyes: )


Next word:

aspectabund [uh-spek-tuh-bund]


???

Aspectabund is an old word for "expressive," referring to the face.

Sharob, well done!

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Next word:

sciapodus [sye-app-uh-dus]


???

sciapodus [sye-app-uh-dus]

So don't laugh at what I say 'cause I'm trying to do this without looking anything up. It's more fun for me that way.

scia ... well only other word I can think of with scia is sciatica, so scia might have something to do with back

pod might refer to foot or feet or standing. another word with that is anthropod

us... well that's in a lot of biology terms. Ornithorhynchus or ornithorinchus.

my guess is it's something like being able to stand on back legs or describes an animal or creature that can stand on back legs. Unless it means something really obscure like having backbone.

:o

I like your style, Lara ... :)

You got the 'pod' right .... and that is as far as I got too. :rolleyes:

"sciapodous-having feet large enough to shelter the whole body when used as an umbrella. :eek: From a Greek word meaning 'shadow foot'. The Sciapodes who had these feet were supposed to live in Libya."

scopperil [skop-uh-ril]


???

Well, I'm not real sure, but I think scopperil has something to do with a children's toy, at least in one sense of the word. I remember reading about it in my Uncle John's Bathroom Reader...:D Those are good books. I think it was a kind of spinning toy or something, wasn't it?

Hey, if you really want to have some fun, try fitting these words into your everyday vocabulary! That would be a hoot...:p

scopperil [skop-uh-ril] - "a hyperactive child, or a squirrel." :D

"From another use of the word to mean 'a kind of spinning top'."

Well done, Idealist! :)

"So, this is a Pumpkin Spice Latte. How selcouth!" she exclaimed.

Ain't got no idea about that one, LOL. I know what couth means, and uncouth. But selcouth? Could it mean smooth, tasty, good? Just guessing here. But I do like the way that you put it into a sentence. What I'd like to see is you using that sentence in a normal conversation at the supermarket or something...:D

I said this just yesterday at Starbucks! ;)

selcouth [sel-kooth] - an adjective meaning 'unfamiliar, rare, strange, marvelous, wonderful.' It comes from Old English words meaning 'seldom known.'

Uncouth and selcouth used to be synonyms, but uncouth now means 'unpleasant, rude'.

"After the young boy ran up to me at recess to tell me that Max called Melissa a 'jollux', Max yelled back at the boy 'you titvil!' "

'scopperil [skop-uh-ril] - "a hyperactive child, or a squirrel."'

Ohhhh, I like that word. I love squirrels with their ticcy little tails. I have hours of video of squirrels that were taken when in D.C.. :cool:

I like the word selcouth too, but had no idea what it meant, apart from knowing the "couth" part as in "uncouth".

jollux and titvil, hey? Sounds French. Rhymes with bollocks? lol
The titvil sounds like a bird, but I guess in the context it's not going to be a bird. Are they real words, or are they words that children have mispronounced which mean something totally different. My daughter used to say Ambliance... for ambulance e.g. sooo cute she was. :)

Just another thought... Does titvil mean like a tattletale???

In context ""After the young boy ran up to me at recess to tell me that Max called Melissa a 'jollux', Max yelled back at the boy 'you titvil!' "... was max calling melissa a boy and max called the boy a girl? LOL just guessing. I haven't a CLUE.

Nope, no idea on those two.

First, these are all real words ... taken from a book called 'Totally Weird and Wonderful Words' - edited by Erin McKean, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Lara, you were onto something to start with ... (if you read to the end of this definition:)

titivil [tit-uh-vul] - a name for a devil said to collect words mumbled, dropped, or omitted in the recitation of divine service, and to carry them to hell where they would be held against the offender. By extension, a tattletale.

jollux [joll-uks] - an obsolete slang term meaning 'a fat person'.

"Don't you dare spanghew that poor, diminutive amphibian!" she hollered as she carefully stepped through the slek on the soccer field.

LOL! I wouldn't want to spanghew anybody or anything! Have no idea what it means, though.

I thought slek meant a dummy or an idiot, but that can't be right. Not in the context of that sentence...:rolleyes:

spanghew [spang-hyoo] - to cause a frog or toad to fly into the air. (Usually violently, from the end of a stick, although it seems as though it wouldn't ever feel gentle to the poor toad or frog!)

sleck [slek] - soft mud, ooze.

"I was glad there was a strong breastsummer as I walked into the ancient castle."

Hmmnnn. summer breeze?
The ancient castle probably was all damp and mouldy.

That one with "tattletale". That was cool. I really had no idea, but thought about the whole sentence and imagined what might have played out for the namecalling to take place.

spanghew and sleck are doozies aren't they? I must try to remember spanghew. lol

These are hard, but keep 'em coming. :)

breastsummer [bress-uh-mer] - a large beam, extending horizontally over an opening, that supports the whole weight of the wall above it.

(If you thought it was pronounced 'breast-summer' then you might think it has something to do with going through puberty over summer!)

"When I heard youfing coming from inside my daughter's jacket, I discovered she was trying to smuggle a wavenger into our house."

wow, must be animal related. something that would be small enough to fit inside jacket. The wavenger part sounds somewhat familiar to me for some reason, but no idea what it could be. I'll say a cat, but it could be a dog, 'cause youfing might rhyme with woofing depending on your accent LOL

:confused:

Oh, you are good, Lara ....

youf [yowf] - to bark in a muffled way.

wavenger [way-vin-djer] - an obsolete word meaning 'a stray animal'.

"I have a peruke and I like to wear it in a cadogan and sometimes I like to thrum it."

Oh cool! I thought it was going to be a cat or a mouse though. Very neat.

I love doing these. :D Others will tire of me before I do.

I wonder if a cadogan is a cardigan? hmnnn nah
Says "in" a cardogan, so couldn't be cardigan or it would probably say "on".
I wonder if thrum is like strum or fiddle with.
a peruke? No idea.

Maybe peruke is a hatpin or badge or brooch or something and it's worn in a hat and they like to twiddle or fiddle with it.
The only other thing I can think of is that thrum might me throw, so that would change everything else.

:confused:

You're getting there ...

peruke is a natural head of hair

Does that help you out with the other 2 weird words? :D

Not really. lol

I'll make three wild guesses.

"I have a peruke and I like to wear it in a cadogan and sometimes I like to thrum it."

1.I have a natural head of hair and I like to wear it in a ponytail and sometimes I like to swing it?

2.I have a natural head of hair and I like to wear it in a bun and sometimes I like to plait it?

3.I have a natural head of hair and I like to wear it in a ponytail and sometimes I like to plait it?

Probably No. 2.

Where's Idealist and Sharob? Don't let my meanderings put you off. ;)

Very close, Lara! :)

I have a natural head of hair and I like to wear it in a knot at the back of my head and sometimes I like to curl it.

You thought 'thrum' might have to do with fiddling ... and when my hair is curled I do sometimes wind it around my finger. ;)

"Would you rather wear a jipijapa, a nudger, a pakul, a balibuntal or a rusky?"

I don't know. Wondering if they're headwear?

Pakul sounds Indian. I'd probably wear a pakul.
The balibuntal is confusing to me. Doubt it's connected to our beloved Bali, but if in Bali I would wear sarong or pareo, unless balibuntal is some sort of headwear too. :)

goodnight world.

Good guessing, Lara!

"Would you rather wear a jipijapa (Panama hat), a nudger (bowler hat), a pakul (a kind of flat round woolen hat traditionally worn in Afghanistan), a balibuntal (a hat made of very fine straw) or a rusky (a hat made of coarse straw)?"

"I wonder if Curious saw a funambulist frecking at the circus?"

I shall abstain on this one. I know the answer. I took myself and my children to circus school when they were little, plus I feel as if I'm stealing all the fun by answering all the time. lol :o

I'm shocked that you'd use language like that!! :D

heh, heh, heh ......... :D