Exon (noun) ek-son (in Britain) one of four yeomen of the guard who act as commanding officers in the absence of higher authority. 1645–55; earlier exant, for French exempt (spelling…
Calumniate (verb) kal-um-nee-ayt to make false and malicious statements about; slander. 1545–55; Latin calumniātus (past participle of calumniārī to accuse falsely, trick), equivalent to calumni(a) calumny + -ātus-ate1 (more…)
18 wonderful novels set in a wonderful city – where London often becomes as central to the plot as the human characters themselves. We've also just turned our best…
The Bard of Birmingham, described as a “titan of British literature” Benjamin Zephaniah has tragically died, aged just 65 years old. The news was announced on the poet’s Instagram this…
Enervate (verb) en-er-vayt to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken. Enervate was first recorded in 1595–1605. Enervate is from the Latin word ēnervātus, meaning “weakened.” (more…)
Raillery (noun) ray-luh-ree good-humored ridicule; banter. 1645–55; French raillerie, equivalent to Middle French raill(er) (more…)
Persiflage (noun) pur-si-flahj light, bantering talk or writing. First recorded in 1750–60; from French, derivative of persifler “to banter,” equivalent to per- prefix meaning “through, thoroughly, very” + siffler “to…
Smithereens (noun) smith-uh-reens Small pieces. Bits. Smithereens was first recorded in 1820–30 and may come from the dialectal variant smithers, “tiny pieces.” (more…)
Pulpy (adj) pul-pee pertaining to, characteristic of, or resembling pulp; fleshy or soft. First recorded in 1585–95; pulp + -y (more…)
Prognathous (adj) prog-na-thus having protrusive jaws First recorded in 1830–40; pro + -gnathous (more…)
Well here we are nearly at the end of 2023, another year over. Thank you to everyone who has made this year's challenge our biggest and best yet. We've had…
Books abound about our furry friends. Simply match the book description with the two or four legged answer. We've also just turned our best quizzes into a book that…
Arachnic (noun) ar-ak-nid any wingless, carnivorous arthropod of the class Arachnida, including spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, and daddy-longlegs, having a body divided into two parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen,…
Convivium (noun) kon-viv-ee-um A banquet, feast, or gathering. Convivium was first recorded in 1720–30 and has roots in the Latin word for feast, convīviālis, which comes from the Latin verb…
Auberge (noun) oh-berzh An inn or hostel. Auberge entered English from French around 1770–80. The French word auberge comes from Old Provençal alberga, which meant “encampment, hut.” These forms diverged…
Finagle (verb) fin-ay-gl to get or achieve something by guile, trickery, or manipulation. Finagle is an Americanism that was first recorded in 1925–30 and comes from a variant of fainaigue,…
Cavort (verb) ka-vawt to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner. Cavort is an Americanism dating back to 1785–95, and comes from the earlier word cavault,which is perhaps a combination of…
Authors known by their initials. We know these writers by their initials and surname – but those initials do stand for something! How many do you know? We've also just…
Clement (adj) klem-ent mild or merciful in disposition or character; lenient; compassionate / (of the weather) mild and pleasant. First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English either from Old French…
Ologoan (verb) olu-gohn Irish to complain loudly without reason: she's always ologoaning about something. from Irish Gaelic olagón lament (more…)
