FollowHere are the Non-Words for August. I’ve made it through month eight, which included at the beginning a vacation to the Idaho desert and at the end five days with a fever.
Thanks to Jennifer Marcellus, Rebecca Ann Bartlett, Lesley Hopper, Charlotte Hadella, William della Santina, Cara Ungar, and Amy Miller for their non-words.
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glind, v. to simultaneously grind and glide. 1 Aug
twoops, n. a pre-programmed tweet that suddenly becomes inappropriate in the context of that day’s news. 2 Aug
biofullia, v. to have had too much of the great outdoors. 3 Aug
eluct, v. to avoid (also, eluctable, adj., able to be avoided or resisted-backformations of ineluctable). 4 Aug
undermood, n. insufficient pride in one’s accomplishments (cf. Old Eng. “overmod,” and thanks to Jennifer Marcellus). 5 Aug
cudgole, v. to persuade someone to move along by displaying a nightstick but not actually using it. 6 Aug
dwin, n. the flat monotone of one who knows many languages. 7 Aug
exvestigate, v. to outsource one’s research, inquiry or investigation to consultants. 8 Aug
wretchword, n. TV character’s catchphrase used with the intent of producing annoyance (eg, Rob Lowe’s “literally”). 9 Aug
widle, v. to move with one’s widest part side first in a blustery advance (“He widled up to the woman at the bar.”) 10 Aug
birch, v. to walk by someone and pretend you don’t see him/her (thanks, Rebecca Ann Bartlett). 11 Aug
Augdust n. superheated, dry summer weather carrying dirt and debris on hot winds. 12 Aug
caren’tless adj. to do something in an “I couldn’t care less” manner. 13 Aug
vitup n. (pronounced “vit-TOOP”) prolonged verbal abuse or severe censure (clipping of vituperate). 14 Aug
dogmanic, adj. to willingly have your life taken over by a dog’s needs (thanks Lesley Hopper). 15 Aug
cananity, n. to treat dogs better than people [from inane plus canine, thanks to Charlotte Hadella]. 16 Aug
huscular adj. of a boy, husky evolving to muscular; of a man, muscular devolving to husky [tks William della Santina] 17 Aug
rainmanliness n. the demonstration of savant-like abilities (overheard from Cara Ungar on Facebook). 18 Aug
ekleptic, adj. to compulsively steal ideas and opinions from a wide variety of sources. 19 Aug
fanupsmanship n. to outfan others with arcane knowledge of some sport, pastime or popular genre. 20 Aug
ideoligarch, n. one who must have his or her ideas validated. 21 Aug
terroneous adj. mistaken for a terrorist, or to mistakenly terrorize. 22 Aug
debonoir, adj. displaying the charm and smarm of a 1940s movie villain. 23 Aug
hakkle, noun or verb, the ability of most pets and some people to feel a command before it is made. 24 Aug
schlubeezer n. [faux Yiddish] someone whom retirement does no good. 25 Aug
hwin, n. the sound of fingers on whiskers. 26 Aug
foreforgive, v. to anticipate that someone is going to do something wrong and forgive them in advance. 27 Aug
confligate, adj. to be excessively thrifty or cheap; or to hoard money. 28 Aug
autocowreck, n. a linguistic infelicity caused by an aggressive autocorrect feature. 29 Aug
polyphones, n. words (like “economics” or “either”) that have more than one acceptable pronunciation. 30 Aug
febreesia, n. a sweet scent that you first think is fresh flowers, then realize is air freshener. Thanks to Amy Miller. 31 Aug
Coming soon on Literary Ashland: Authors, Editors and Reviewers on Book Reviewing and An Interview with Kristy Athens.
