New Thing #257--Save The Words!

A friend sent me a link to this article from the Times Online. Collins English dictionary has a list of words that are so little used that they may not appear in the next revision of the book. However, the words will be included in the new volume if people use them; they must appear at least six times in Collins' corpus (a database that records word usage in printed, broadcast and online media) before next February to be included.

I love a challenge, so today I wrote using a list of obscure words. I felt like I was back in sixth grade and the assignment was to use my spelling words in sentences, but these words were much harder. The obscure words made my Spell Check go crazy!

Here's what I came up with (in case you're not familiar with the words, either, the definitions follow):

I sat down to write, wanting to use as many words on the Collins list as possible. I have to admit that many of the words embrangled me, because I don’t have them in my everyday vocabulary. However, the article said they’d be dropped from the dictionary if they were no longer used, and I didn’t want that article to be fatidical.

As I was typing, one of my pets, Pepper, came and sat on my desk. He is a beautiful griseous shorthair cat. All of a sudden he walked right in front of the monitor, blocking my view. I gave a malison, and shoved him out of the way. He just looked at me with vilipend.

The other cat, Jackson, sauntered into the kitchen and jumped up on the window seat. When he sits in a certain way he looks quite fubsy. It may be time to put him back on a diet. Something outside fascinated him, and I looked out to see some birds flying away; the skirr of their wings was quite loud.

Pepper came over and started grooming Jackson. His abstergent tongue did a thorough job of exuviating Jackson’s excess hair. I’ll vaticinate that there will be an olid hair ball in the next couple days; I’ll have to clean up the mess and toss it with the rest of the recrement in the trash can.

Pepper must have done something to anger his brother, because Jackson’s mansuetude quickly turned oppugnant. Jackson chased Pepper out of the room.Pepper ran under the coffee table in the family room and sat there for a while in a niddering manner.The “safe” area must be a roborant for him, because after a few minutes he shot out of there to chase Jackson. However, their activity was over as quickly as started. It always amazes me how compossible they are. Their apodeictic affection for each other is amazing!

After I had spent a few minutes watching the cats, it was time to get ready for work. I decided to wear a necklace with a nitid periapt. I enjoy wearing jewelry; I guess that’s part of my muliebrity, because I don’t know many males who feel the same way.I opened my closet door and flipped the light switch. The bulb chose that moment to burn out. Despite the caliginosity of the closet I was able to find what I was looking for. I don’t want to leave the house looking agrestic. People might question my caducity.

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Abstergent Cleansing or scouring
Agrestic Rural; rustic; unpolished; uncouth
Apodeictic Unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration
Caducity Perishableness; senility
Caliginosity Dimness; darkness
Compossible Possible in coexistence with something else
Embrangle To confuse or entangle
Exuviate To shed (a skin or similar outer covering)
Fatidical Prophetic
Fubsy Short and stout; squat
Griseous Streaked or mixed with grey; somewhat grey
Malison A curse
Mansuetude Gentleness or mildness
Muliebrity The condition of being a woman
Niddering Cowardly
Nitid Bright; glistening
Olid Foul-smelling
Oppugnant Combative, antagonistic or contrary
Periapt A charm or amulet

Recrement Waste matter; refuse; dross
Roborant Tending to fortify or increase strength
Skirr A whirring or grating sound, as of the wings of birds in flight
Vaticinate To foretell; prophesy
Vilipend To treat or regard with contempt