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GARDYLOO - an historic cry warning passersby of waste water being thrown from the window. [Scottish corruption of French, 'gardez l'eau' - mind the water.] Modern sewerage systems have stilled the gardyloo holler.
USTORIOUS - having the quality of burning; craving attention through drama [From Latin, urere - to burn] A child in a tantrum, as much as blaze in the bush, can be ustorious.
FLANDERISE - to exaggerate a character's single trait (like Ned Flanders' piety in The Simpsons) so that it overrides all other traits; to render into caricature [Coined 2006/7] Many comic characters - from Pepe Le Pew to Con The Fruiterer - are the victims of flanderising.
CAMERLENGO - the place-holding cardinal who manages the Roman Catholic Church in the interregnum between Popes. [Italian equivalent of chamberlain, a senior official vested with managing an estate] Before Pope Leo XIV took office in May, in came the Vatican's camerlengo.
TELLURIC - of planet earth; terrestrial [From Latin - tellus (earth) - via French, tellurique] Maybe the reason Martians are so reluctant to visit is linked to their telluric misgivings, understandably.
BUHURT - modern version of mediaeval combat involving full armour, umpires and blunt weaponry [Via Old French, béhourd: joust or tournament] Australian buhurt warriors 'joust' above their weight, many winning medals at the 2025 World Cup in Hungary.
RABONA - a trick kick in soccer where the player's kicking leg is crossed behind the back of the standing leg. [From Spanish, to play hooky] Designed to confuse defenders, the rabona was popularised by Argentinian striker Ricardo Infante in 1948
SCYTALE – a wooden cylinder used in cryptology by Ancient Spartans. [From Greek, skutálē - club or baton] Warriors like King Leonidas would wrap parchment around one scytale - among many different sizes - to inscribe his code.
DERECHO – windstorm typified by strong, direct winds - as opposed to the cyclical nature of tornadoes [From Spanish, straight] Had Dorothy's farmhouse been caught by a derecho, she could have missed Oz for Cincinnati.
JAROVISE - to expose germinating seeds to low temperatures [Backformation of jarovisation, from Russian yarovizátsiya, via yarov - the convert into springtime, or vernalise] Northern European farmers may need to jarovise certain crops to trigger growth]
MONASTERY - a basic two-step, bending your knees with each foot tap, and turning your knee inward, similar to a chicken dance but with a bouncier feel; also a mono. [After former St Louis venue, Club Monastery] Beyond the monk's retreat, can you conjure a monastery clue with the dance as your destination?
DWALE - another name for belladonna - or deadly nightshade - used in calibrated doses as a pre-ether anaesthetic (or poison!) [From Middle English meaning stupor, via Old Norse dvala - sleep] To prep for surgery, mediaeval patients would inhale a wad of dwale.
URANOMANIA - delusion that one is a god [From Greek urano- (heavens) + -mania (fixation)] Some world leaders live with uranomania.
DIGITAL ASBESTOS - irretractable effects and consequence of AI within human learning and communication [Modern slang] ChatGPT, Google Overview and other active bots are deepening the potential crisis of digital asbestos.
SCAGLIOLA [skall-LOLL-yee-ah] - composite of glue, pigments and plaster of Paris used to mimic marble or other stone. [From Italian scaglia, or chips] Scagliola is a crafty masonic means of achieving budgetary grandeur.
MARWAT - traditional Arnhem Land paintbrush derived from human hair [From marawat in the local language, literally 'hair of the head'] The marwat is a single stick with hair strands secured by vegetable fibre or short twig.
ROCHAMBEAU [roh-SHAM-boh] - alternative name for rock-paper-scissors [Named after French officer Count Rochambeau who allegedly played the game during the American Revolutionary War] In Japan, Rochambeau offers the options of slug, frog and snake
SEROTINY [sair-ROT-uh-nee] seed dispersal typically triggered by fire or dramatic temperature shift [From Latin, serotinus coming late, linked to sero, late - a cousin of soiree] Global warming has meddled with a forest's serotiny.
PRANDICLE - light meal; snack [Via Latin prandium (luncheon) + -culum (-cule)] Your mid-afternoon cuppa and cake can now be called a prandicle.
KINBAKU - Japanese style of bondage involving intricate ropework [Literally "tight binding" in Japanese.] For an elegant-poetic depiction of kinbaku, watch the closing scenes of No Cure For Love, the duet sung by Rowena Wise and Didirri.
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