Thursday 31 March 2011

Fain

FAIN

–adv.
1. gladly; willingly.
–adj.
2. content; willing.
3. Archaic . constrained; obliged.
4. Archaic . glad; pleased.
5. Archaic . desirous; eager.




I fain wish
My love’s many happy returns
Kissing him softly
But he moans and tosses
Asleep, still.

Wednesday 30 March 2011

Plummet

PLUMMET

–noun
1. Also called plumb bob. a piece of lead or some other weight attached to a line, used for determining perpendicularity, for sounding, etc.; the bob of a plumb line.
2. something that weighs down or depresses.
–verb (used without object)
3. to plunge.



In absence of plummet
We’ve resorted to makeshift creations
Such as our life would dictate:
My dad uses an African statuette
I use a baking ring

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Traipse

TRAIPSE

–verb (used without object)
1. to walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one's goal.
–verb (used with object)
2. to walk over; tramp.
–noun
3. a tiring walk.






















Traipsing through the green
Looking for traces of spring
Scrawled all over the lawn.

Monday 28 March 2011

Fluke

FLUKE

-noun
1. The flat, triangular piece at the end of an arm of an anchor.
2. A barb or barbed head on a harpoon, arrow, etc.
3. Either of the two lobes of a whale's tail.

-noun
A chance occurrence, especially a stroke of good luck.

-noun
1. A flatfish, especially a flounder of the genus Paralichthys.
2. A trematode: a type of flatworm.



Sheer fluke:
One of my pictures
Earning me a guide book
To a region I'd love to visit.

Sunday 27 March 2011

Gird

GIRD

–verb (used with object)
1. to encircle or bind with a belt or band.
2. to surround; enclose; hem in.
3. to prepare (oneself) for action.
4. to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength.

–verb (used without object)
1. to gibe; jeer (usually followed by "at").
–verb (used with object)
2. to gibe or jeer at; taunt.
–noun
3. a gibe.























I rely on luscious food
To gird me with comfort
And subcutaneous fat.

Gird me all you can
I feel safety in numbers
Reading from my scales.

Saturday 26 March 2011

Trow

TROW

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
Archaic . to believe, think, or suppose.






















He
Trows
Dinner
Is coming
By intervention
Of house elves in green pointed hats
I fear we disappoint him still
Although he cares not
As long as
His food
Does
Come.

Friday 25 March 2011

Inosculate

INOSCULATE

-verb tr., intr.
To join or unite.





















A strategic ingredient
Inosculates creativity and fingers
Anew.

Thursday 24 March 2011

Snaffle

SNAFFLE

-trans. verb
to obtain especially by devious or irregular means
-noun
a simple usually jointed bit for a bridle



Hermes' presence is a clear give away:
The lady on the right is deep into her neighbour's clothes
Busy snaffling the poor girl's knickers.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Cacoethes

CACOETHES
[kak-oh-ee-theez]

–noun
an irresistible urge; mania.



Scribbling cacoethes
I am in there with Juvenal
And so many others.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Castrophrenia

CASTROPHRENIA

-noun
A morbid fear or delusion, occasional in schizophrenic patients, that their thoughts are being sucked out of their brains by enemies. Also spelled castraphrenia






















“Like carrots!” He cried
“Like carrots, they plop each one of them out of my head!”
“Castrophrenia” wrote the practician, wondering idly if thoughts were orange or even remotely crunchy

Monday 21 March 2011

Whelm

WHELM

–verb (used with object)
1. to submerge; engulf.
2. to overcome utterly.
–verb (used without object)
3. to roll or surge over something, as in becoming submerged.






















I chose to let the smile
Whelm over sadness
For things beyond my control
Rust gritting my teeth.

Sunday 20 March 2011

Slumgullion

SLUMGULLION

–noun

1. a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
2. a beverage made weak or thin, as watery tea, coffee, or the like.
3. the refuse from processing whale carcasses.
4. a reddish, muddy deposit in mining sluices.























In winter’s grip
We wrap ourselves
Around spicy slumgullions
And into potent wines

Saturday 19 March 2011

Perceptive

PERCEPTIVE

–adj.
1. having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition.
2. having the power or faculty of perceiving.
3. of, pertaining to, or showing perception.






















Despite years of pretending
He was someone highly perceptive
He was forced to admit
That life largely
Passed him by
Still.

Friday 18 March 2011

Parity

PARITY

-noun
Equality in amount, status, etc.

-noun
1. The condition of having given birth.
2. The number of children borne by a woman



Parity has us at a disadvantage
Only a few of us able to master that feat
And a good number of these
To live still.

Background picture courtesy of the Library of Congress on Flickr.

Thursday 17 March 2011

Shamrock

SHAMROCK

-noun
any of several trifoliate plants, as the wood sorrel, Oxalis acetosella,  or a small, pink-flowered clover, Trifolium repens minus,  but especially Trifolium procumbens,  a small, yellow-flowered clover: the national emblem of Ireland.























With the light just so
They look real
Kissed by life and glory
Glittering softly
Sugar confections
Fancy cake garnish
Of tropical disposition.
Shy Tanzanian violets
Ready for a party
Clad in green and shamrocks.



The background picture is copyright of Willow (Tess) of Willow Manor, who has put it forth as a writing prompt.
Join the writing fun at Magpie Tales.

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Fumigate

FUMIGATE

–verb (used with object)
to expose to smoke or fumes, as in disinfecting or exterminating roaches, ants, etc.
























Despite the near advent of spring
Frost still fumigates our garden
Getting rid of mosquito larvae
And precocious blooms alike.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Pilcrow

PILCROW

-noun
a paragraph mark





















Pilcrows spread about the page
Anchors for phrases and notions
Dreams hooked to bent talons.

Monday 14 March 2011

Rudimentary

RUDIMENTARY

–adj.
1. pertaining to rudiments or first principles; elementary.
2. of the nature of a rudiment; undeveloped or vestigial.
3. primitive.



All over the lawn
Rudimentary shower
Nature’s Morgenstern
Battering seeds in
Spreading tree madness

Sunday 13 March 2011

Clove

CLOVE

–noun

1. the dried flower bud of a tropical tree, Syzygium aromaticum, of the myrtle family, used whole or ground as a spice.
2. the tree itself.

–noun
Botany . one of the small bulbs formed in the axils of the scales of a mother bulb, as in garlic.

–verb

a simple past tense of cleave





















She clove the bulbs
Picking up the cloves
Doomed to later pickle
In wine vinegar
Fragrant with cloves


The background picture is copyright of Willow of Willow Manor, who has put it forth as a writing prompt.
Join the writing fun at Magpie Tales.

Saturday 12 March 2011

Helot

HELOT

-noun
A serf or slave.






















Furry heads
Love the helots
In their humans
Worshipping
Skilled hands
Most

Friday 11 March 2011

Prosopography

PROSOPOGRAPHY

-noun

1. A description of a person's appearance, career, personality, etc.
2. A study of a collection of persons or characters, especially their appearances, careers, personalities, etc., within a historical, literary, or social context.























At the city square
A gaggle of old women
Indulging in the noble art of prosopography.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Escutcheon

ESCUTCHEON

–noun
1. a shield or shield-like surface on which a coat of arms is depicted.
2. an ornamental or protective plate around a keyhole, door handle, drawer pull, light switch, etc.
3. Nautical . a panel on the stern of a vessel bearing its name and port of registry.



Entangled escutcheons
Mating on the old door frame
Calling for skeleton keys
Iron twins joined at the hips
Door opening enigmas

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Matutinal

MATUTINAL

–adj.
pertaining to or occurring in the morning; early in the day.
























Matutinal view
When all but a ray of light
Slumber still, at peace.
Magazines snore on the shelves
Books toss and turn in their sleep

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Fomes

FOMES

-noun
An object (for example, clothing or bedding) capable of absorbing and transmitting infectious organisms from one person to another. (plural: fomites)






















I threw away your things
Dropped each item out of the window
To the street
A danger to all underneath
So many fomites
I needed rid of
Before washing in lye.

Monday 7 March 2011

Urticant

URTICANT

-adj.
 Causing itching or stinging.
-noun
 A substance that causes itching or stinging.




Fragile lion fish
Urticant danger in rust
Floating from the blue

Sunday 6 March 2011

Fillet

FILLET

–noun
1. Cookery .
a. a boneless cut or slice of meat or fish, especially the beef tenderloin.
b. a piece of veal or other meat boned, rolled, and tied for roasting.
2. a narrow band of ribbon or the like worn around the head, usually as an ornament; headband.
3. any narrow strip, as wood or metal.
4. a strip of any material used for binding.
5. Bookbinding .
a. a decorative line impressed on a book cover, usually at the top and bottom of the back.
b. a rolling tool for impressing such lines.
6. Architecture .
a. Also called list. a narrow flat moulding or area, raised or sunk between larger mouldings or areas.
b. a narrow portion of the surface of a column left between adjoining flutes.
7. Anatomy . lemniscus.
8. a raised rim or ridge, as a ring on the muzzle of a gun.
9. Metallurgy . a concave strip forming a rounded interior angle in a foundry pattern.
–verb (used with object)
10.Cookery .
a. to cut or prepare (meat or fish) as a fillet.
b. to cut fillets from.
11.to bind or adorn with or as if with a fillet.
12.Machinery . to round off (an interior angle) with a fillet.






















Waiting to be filleted
Poor bass sings the blues

Saturday 5 March 2011

Anthropogenic

ANTHROPOGENIC

–adj.

caused or produced by humans



Her fate is anthropogenic
First taken in
Just to be abandoned next
Then given a shelter
She still likes humans, though
And courts stray caresses
At Torre Argentina.

Friday 4 March 2011

Repair

REPAIR

–verb (used with object)
1. to restore to a good or sound condition after decay or damage; mend.
2. to restore or renew by any process of making good, strengthening, etc..
3. to remedy; make good; make up for.
4. to make amends for; compensate.
–noun
5. an act, process, or work of repairing.
6. Usually, repairs.
a. an instance or operation of repairing.
b. a repaired part or an addition made in repairing.
7. repairs, (in book keeping, accounting, etc.) the part of maintenance expense that has been paid out to keep fixed assets in usable condition, as distinguished from amounts used for renewal or replacement.
8. the good condition resulting from continued maintenance and repairing.
9. condition with respect to soundness and usability


–verb (used without object)

1. to betake oneself; go, as to a place.
2. to go frequently or customarily.
–noun
3. a resort or haunt.
4. the act of going or going customarily; resort.
5. Scot. Obsolete . a meeting, association, or crowd of people.























After many years
Ssleeping alone at sea
The mermaid repairs to stable grounds,
Hot blooded company and the comfort of a bed
Only to hear her lover complain
About scales in the sheets.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Thenar

THENAR

–noun
Anatomy .
1. the fleshy mass of the outer side of the palm of the hand.
2. the fleshy prominence or ball of muscle at the base of the thumb.
–adj.
3. of or pertaining to the thenar.






















Lines
Life
Strata
Embedded
Scrawling all over
My history loaded thenar

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Pip

PIP

-noun
1. The small seed of a fruit, such as an apple or an orange.
2. Something or someone wonderful.

-noun
1. One of the dots or symbols on a die, playing card, or domino.
2. Any of the diamond-shaped segments on the surface of a pineapple.
3. An insignia on the shoulder indicating an officer's rank.

-noun
1. A disease of birds marked by mucus in the mouth.
2. Any minor, nonspecific ailment in a person.

-noun
The smallest change in the exchange rate for a given currency pair. Most major currencies (except yen) are priced to the fourth decimal place, so a pip is 1/100 of one percent (.0001).

-verb tr.
1. To defeat, especially by a narrow margin or at the last moment.
2. To hit with a gunshot.
3. To blackball.

-verb intr.
To peep or chirp.
-verb tr.
To break through the shell of an egg when hatching.





















Rust flowers blooming
Battered container as spring
Graceful graphic pips

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Vermeil

VERMEIL

-noun
1. Vermilion or a similar bright red colour.
2. Gilded silver, bronze, or copper.
-adj.
Bright red in colour.






















Vermeil ghosts.
That is all I could think of
scanning the kitchen for signs
of you.
of life.
of hope.
You were all over the place
and nowhere at all.
Years have passed
on the kitchen walls;
meanwhile vermeil has turned to rust.
They still have not found
your body.




The background picture is copyright of Willow of Willow Manor, who has put it forth as a writing prompt.
Join the writing fun at Magpie Tales.