Assigning words with new meaning

I always thought thrumming was an onomatopoeic word meaning a sort of cross between vibrating and humming, something that wires did. I'm surprised to learn it isn't. Brackish is a lovely word, and deserves a less boring meaning.

dispensation - the feeling of having nothing to write with bicycle - alternating between the sexes hashish - resembling corned beef and potatoes content - outside accommodation for felon metronome - small person found on the Paris subway socket - gentle punch parenthesis - child-rearing text maximum - the old woman who lived in the shoe lackadaisical - sans wildflower ingest - joke for people in the know handicap - convenient headgear frankincense - make Francis angry crescendo - run out of salad ingredient in Japan ventricle - small leak remember - what they had to do to John Wayne Bobbit profiterole - where all my earnings have gone octopus - cat with only eight lives midriff - second eight bars of a heavy metal song ketchup - run faster buttress - hair on rear-end juggernaut - very small bra hopscotch - whisky for dancing defence - what goes around de garden If you want to buy my book, visit my blog: http://whatisthisstrangeplace.blogspot.com/

Hi Jude, I was given a book many years ago on curious and interesting words. One that might be applied to you and I is imbrication. As in a contraction of imbibe and intoxication. But the real meaning is rather more prosaic: it just means overlapping roof tiles. Here's one that makes me giggle: gorp. This applies to me, it's an orbicular person. OK quiz time. We've all seen one of these, what's a liripoop?

A descriptive term for really bad singing.

A highly specialised Japanese manure.

defeat: what goes over defence before detail detail: the last thing over defence detox: drunken fox leaping over defence (see above) "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

OK I'll put you all out of your misery: a liripoop is the tail on the hood of an academic gown.

Academic - sound equipment for Jack the poet. If you want to buy my book, visit my blog: http://whatisthisstrangeplace.blogspot.com/