Index

 

Being an irregular record of the English language.

 

The word of the day dictionary. My primary source is the Oxford English Dictionary. Further research, quotation, and commentary comes from me, Arthur D. Ryel-Lindsey.

 
 
 

A

aa
abattoir
abhor
abjure
abstemious
ace in the hole
acerb
ad hominem
afoot
ailurophile
akimbo
Alford plea
allay
alone
ambergris
amidward
anathema
anopisthographic
apercu
aphorism
apogee
apricity
argy-bargy
ass over teakettle
atelier
atonal
atone
awesome

B

Baba Yaga
backsplash
badinage
bailiwick
barn-burner
barnstorm
barrack
basho
basispoint
beaucoup
Beaujolais
becalm
belt and suspenders
bee’s knees
berserk
beslap
bethel
beweep
bifurcate
bight
bingewatching
biweekly
blaflum
blanch
blase
blazon
blinder
blind side
blitz
blivet
blockchain
bogey
bog-standard
bold
bombastic
boom
borborygm
bouncebackability
brass tacks
Brobdingnagian
bromide
Bronx cheer
bull
bullish
butterless
by long chalks
by your bootstraps

C

caboose
cacophony
caftan
cahoot
cajole
calamity
calm
campanile
capsize
case in point
Cassandra
catawampus
catbird seat
catch as catch can
cavalier
cereal
champ
charger
charlatan
chatoyant
chew the fat
chock-full
chortle
chuffed
citation
clearinghouse
close to the wind
coattail
cocktail
coconut
coincide
collocation
commerce
compendium
confluence
constabulary
contemner
cordon
corral
costermonger
covenant
creamy
creole
crepuscular
cucurbitaceous
curse
cursive
cute
cutthroat
cut to the quick

D

dairy
daisy
daisy-cutter
darling
dead ringer
deadfall
debacle
defenestration
deft
déjà vu
denim
desolation
dickens
dipsy-doodle
disabuse
disambiguation
discombobulate
divaricate
dog days
doggone
dog’s breakfast
dragline
dredge
drip
dying quail

E

Easterlin Paradox
eavesdrop
ecclesiastic
eglantine
eighty-six
emend
encomium
ensorcell
Erebus
eristic
espalier
et cetera
everyday
excuse my French
exigency
exuberant
eyeshot

F

fail-safe
fait accompli
fantastic
felicity
fettle
fichu
fickle
fidelity
finagle
fine-tooth comb
finical
firebrand
flaneur
flibbertigibbet
flim-flam
foray
fortune
foyer
freshwater soldier
frivolity
fulmination
fur
furlong

G

gallivant
gangbuster
generation
germane
gibberish
gift horse
gimcrack
gregarious
grindstone
guile
gulch
gumshoe
gusto

H

haberdasher
hackney
haet
hagiography
hair of the dog
Halloween
hands down
happy hour
harum-scarum
heirloom
hell for leather
hiccup
hide and hair
higgledy-piggledy
high sign
hippodrome
hirsute
hoity-toity
holistic
holla
homophily
honeymoon
hoodwink
horse-trade
hoser
hotdog
household
hurly-burly
husting

I

ides
idiolect
idyll
imaginate
imbroglio
immanent
immure
imperious
impresario
in situ
in spades
in with a shout
incandescent
incorrigible
indict
indurate
inflorescence
ingratiate
into thin air

J

jeremiad
jiffy
jinx
Johnny-come-lately
jubilee
jump the gun
justify

K

kairos
kerfuffle
kicky-wicky
kismet
kittle
koozie
knave
knot
know the ropes

L

laggard
landlord
lapis lazuli
laundry list
lbw
leviathan
lickety
ligature
lily
Limey
linchpin
lipstick on a pig
llama
lofty
lunatic

M

macabre
mammoth
manifesto
mansplain
maraud
meddle
memory lane
mercurial
meshugas
mettle
mirth
mistletoe
mitosis
morass
morphology
mosey
move the cheese
muckrake
mudlark
mutability

N

namaste
née
needs must
newfangled
nominal
nonpareil

O

obsequious
Occam’s razor
offal
offhand
on a dime
one fell swoop
ordinal
ostentation
outfit
over a barrel

P

paean
palaver
palindrome
palladium
palliate
paltry
panacea
pancreas
Panenka
Panglossian
panoply
paper tiger
paradiddle
paradox
paragon
paroxysm
parsimony
part and parcel
pathos
pedant
the penny drops
penumbra
peregrination
per fas et nefas
persevere
persnickety
pestilence
petard
petition
petrichor
phaeton
phenomenon
philately
photobomb
piebald
picaresque
Pillars of Hercules
pinion
pipsqueak
Plantagenet
pleasance
poinsettia
poltroon
polyglot
ponderous
pony
poop
postulate
potboiler
precarious
prescience
pretension
primrose path
procrastinate
pro forma
prudence
psilanthropism
psyche
punctilious

Q

quadrille
quibble
quiescent
quintessence
quorum

R

raconteur
rank and file
rapscallion
rapt
ratchet
razzmatazz
reconnoiter
red-letter day
red herring
red tape
rejoinder
restaurant
rheophile
riff
rift
riparian
ruse

S

sally
sandwich
sarcasm
satiate
sawyer
say your piece
scattergun
schism
sconce
scoundrel
scouse
scritch
scull
scuttlebutt
segue
seigniorage
sesquipedalian
shoot the moon
ship-shape
shirttail
shitshow
shoehorn
shoo-in
shoot the breeze
sin bin
sinecure
sinister
skiagrapher
skiff
skunk works
smokeshow
sobriquet
son of a…
sophomore
sotto voce
soubhiye
soup
spatchcock
spats
spatula
spiffy
spin a yarn
splenetic
springbok
sprocket
squee
stakeholder
stalking horse
stay the course
steady
stop
strawberry
stridulous
stymie
sublime
substantial
sundae