Lave

LAVE

[leɪv]

-verb

an archaic word for wash

The struck of midnight

Laving old sins into new gold

Calendar alchemy

Surrounded by sparklers

Brumal

BRUMAL

-adj.

of, characteristic of, or relating to winter; wintry

East of nothing

Brumal ghosts

Shiver in the sun

Puce

PUCE

-noun

1. a colour varying from deep red to dark purplish-brown

-adj.

2. something of that colour

Love messages

In puce over asphalt

Secret street code

Overlook

OVERLOOK

-verb (trans.)

1. to fail to notice or take into account

2. to disregard deliberately or indulgently

3. to look at or over from above

4. to afford a view of from above

5. to rise above

6. to look after

7. to look at carefully

8. to bewitch or cast the evil eye upon (someone)

-noun

9. (US) a high place affording a view

10. (US) an act of overlooking

 

An overlook in the metering

Turns a photograph into painting

Barbecue

BARBECUE

-noun

1. a meal cooked out of doors over an open fire

2. an outdoor party or picnic at which barbecued food is served

3. a grill or fireplace used in barbecuing

4. the food so cooked

-verb

1. to cook (meat, fish, etc.) on a grill, usually over charcoal and often with a highly seasoned sauce

2. to cook (meat, fish, etc.) in a highly seasoned sauce

Unusual breakfast

Barbecued lamb

Nested in a crusty loaf

Thief

THIEF

-noun

1. a person who steals something from another

2. (criminal law) . a person who commits theft

Plural: thieves

Furry criminal

Pillow thief

Planting kitty dreams

In my cushion

Resign

RESIGN

-verb

1. When intr., often followed by “from” . to give up tenure of (a job, office, etc.)

2. (trans.) to reconcile (oneself) to; yield

3. (trans.) to give up (a right, claim, etc.); relinquish 

Having read the statutes

I resign myself to

The unconceivable

I will never belong there

Trim

TRIM

-adj.

1. neat and spruce in appearance

2. slim; slender

3. in good condition

-verb (mainly trans.)

4. to put in good order, especially by cutting or pruning

5. to shape and finish (timber)

6. to adorn or decorate

7. sometimes followed by “off’ or "away” . to cut so as to remove

8. to cut down to the desired size or shape

9. (dialect) to decorate

10. (nautical)

a. (also intr.) to adjust the balance of (a vessel) or (of a vessel) to maintain an even balance, by distribution of ballast, cargo, etc.

b. (also intra.) to adjust (a vessel's sails) to take advantage of the wind

c. to stow (cargo)

11.  to balance (an aircraft) before flight by adjusting the position of the load or in flight by the use of trim tabs, fuel transfer, etc.

12. (also intr.) to modify (one's opinions, etc.) to suit opposing factions or for expediency

13. (informal) to thrash or beat

14. (informal) to rebuke

15. (obsolete) to furnish or equip

-noun

16. a decoration or adornment

17. the upholstery and decorative facings, as on the door panels, of a car's interior

18. proper order or fitness; good shape

19. a haircut that neatens but does not alter the existing hairstyle

20 (nautical)

a. the general set and appearance of a vessel

b. the difference between the draught of a vessel at the bow and at the stern

c. the fitness of a vessel

d. the position of a vessel's sails relative to the wind

e. the relative buoyancy of a submarine

21. dress or equipment

22. (US) window-dressing

23. the attitude of an aircraft in flight when the pilot allows the main control surfaces to take up their own positions

24. (cinema) . a section of shot cut out during editing

25. material that is trimmed off

26. decorative mouldings, such as architraves, picture rails, etc.

I try and trim

The trimmings

But the clown

Remained, stuck,

And laughing

Sanction

SANCTION

-noun

1. final permission; authorization

2. aid or encouragement

3. something, such as an ethical principle, that imparts binding force to a rule, oath, etc.

4. the penalty laid down in a law for contravention of its provisions

5. (often plural) . a coercive measure, especially one taken by one or more states against another guilty of violating international law

-verb

6. to give authority to; permit

7. to make authorized; confirm

8. to impose a sanction or penalty on

Do the cloud worry

About the angel’s sanction?

Wind carries both away

Trey

TREY

-noun

any card or dice throw with three spots

Fate handed in

Treasonous trey

Why are clover leaves luck?

Solstice

SOLSTICE

-noun

1. either the shortest day of the year (winter solstice) or the longest day of the year (summer solstice)

2. either of the two points on the ecliptic at which the sun is overhead at the tropic of Cancer or Capricorn at the summer and winter solstices

Born on a winter solstice

Yet the warmest sun in my life

Sage

SAGE

-noun

1. a man revered for his profound wisdom

-adj.

2. profoundly wise or prudent

3. (obsolete) solemn

-noun

1. a perennial Mediterranean plant, Salvia officinalis, having grey-green leaves and purple, blue, or white flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

2. the leaves of this plant, used in cooking for flavouring

3. short for sagebrush

Citrus laced butter

And unwise sage

In a Gordian knot

Sunday fresh pasta

Crass

CRASS

-adj.

stupid; gross

He comes in for cuddles

The crass creature

Who could resist him

Despite his dirty nose?

Intricate

INTRICATE

-adj.

1. difficult to understand; obscure; complex; puzzling

2. entangled or involved

Under the golden tree

An intricate lace

A struggle for power

And more dying sun 

Friend

FRIEND

-noun

1. a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate

2. an acquaintance or associate

3. an ally in a fight or cause; supporter

4. a fellow member of a party, society, etc.

5. a patron or supporter 

-verb

6. to add (a person) to one's list of contacts on a social networking website

7. an archaic word for befriend

Visiting

A dear friend

Talking until late

Waking up to watch the dawn

Wonderful

WONDERFUL

-adj.

1. exciting a feeling of wonder; marvellous or strange

2. extremely fine; excellent

In dark days

The light wonderful

Warming galaxies

Oversight

OVERSIGHT

-noun

1. an omission or mistake, especially one made through failure to notice something

2. supervision

In an oversight

I forgot my duties

The oversight of tea

Making darkness

Strip

STRIP

-verb

1. to take or pull (the covering, clothes, etc.) off (oneself, another person, or thing)

2. (intr.) to remove all one's clothes

3. (intr.) to perform a striptease

4. (trans.) to denude or empty completely

5. (trans.) to deprive

6. (trans.) to rob or plunder

7. (trans.) to remove (paint, varnish, etc) from (a surface, furniture, etc) by sanding, with a solvent, etc 

8. Also: pluck (trans.) . to pull out the old coat of hair from (dogs of certain long- and wire-haired breeds)

9. to remove the leaves from the stalks of (tobacco, etc.)

10. to separate the two sides of a leaf from the stem of (tobacco, etc)

11. (trans.) (agriculture) . to draw the last milk from each of the teats of (a cow)

12. to dismantle (an engine, mechanism, etc)

13. to tear off or break (the thread) from (a screw, bolt, etc) or (the teeth) from (a gear)

14. (often followed by “down”) . to remove the accessories from (a motor vehicle)

15. to remove (the most volatile constituent) from (a mixture of liquids) by boiling, evaporation, or distillation

16. (printing) (usually followed by “in”) . to combine (pieces of film or paper) to form a composite sheet from which a plate can be made

17. (trans.) (in freight transport) . to unpack (a container) 

-noun

18. the act or an instance of undressing or of performing a striptease

-noun

1. a relatively long, flat, narrow piece of something

2. short for airstrip

3. (philately) a horizontal or vertical row of three or more un-separated postage stamps

4. the clothes worn by the members of a team, especially a football team

5. (business) a triple option on a security or commodity consisting of one call option and two put options at the same price and for the same period

-verb

6. to cut or divide into strips

A strip of stranger

Kept for old time’s sake

Cracked yet burning still

Memories

Quinoa

QUINOA

-noun

a grain high in nutrients traditionally grown as a staple food high in the Andes

Sunday morning treat

Quinoa porridge full of sun

And luscious cream cheese

Poltroon

POLTROON

-noun

1. an abject or contemptible coward

-adj.

2. a rare word for cowardly

Diffident poltroon

Hiding on the roof

Clouds cowed in unison

Resilient

RESILIENT

-adj.

1. (of an object or material) capable of regaining its original shape or position after bending, stretching, compression, or other deformation; elastic

2. (of a person) recovering easily and quickly from shock, illness, hardship, etc.; irrepressible

Climate change

Is not a matter for resilient penguins

The earth is dying

Chav

CHAV

-noun

(British, informal, derogatory) . a young working-class person whose tastes, although sometimes expensive, are considered vulgar by some

It’s obvious from their faces

That they are far from raptus

And consider him a chav

For all his crimson glory

Chawbacon

CHAWBACON

-noun

(pejorative) . an unsophisticated person of low intellect

In the shadows

Lurks the chawbacon

Ready to pounce

In your timeline

Cheap

CHEAP

-adj.

1. costing relatively little; inexpensive; good value

2. charging low prices

3. of poor quality; shoddy

4. worth relatively little

5. not worthy of respect; vulgar

6. ashamed; embarrassed

7. stingy; miserly

8. (informal) mean; despicable 

Bad weather and

Cheap filters

For moody shots of

Nothing much

Insane

INSANE

-adj.

1. mentally deranged; crazy; of unsound mind

2. characteristic of a person of unsound mind

3. irresponsible; very foolish; stupid

Like a ghost

Scrapping nails on a blackboard,

The cough inside my head

Is driving me insane

Skim

SKIM

-verb

1. (trans.) to remove floating material from the surface of (a liquid), as with a spoon

2. to glide smoothly or lightly over (a surface)

3. (trans.) to throw (something) in a path over a surface, so as to bounce or ricochet over water

4. (when intr., usually followed by “through”) . to read (a book) in a superficial or cursory manner

5. to cover (a liquid) with a thin layer or (of liquid) to become coated in this way, as with ice, scum, etc.

-noun

6. the act or process of skimming

7. material skimmed off a liquid, especially off milk

8. the liquid left after skimming

9. any thin layer covering a surface

First skim some broth

Then add squash and

A piece of preserved lemon

Serve with cream

Glaikit

GLAIKIT

-adj.

(Scottish) foolish; silly; thoughtless 

Meet the local goof

Glaikit pole dancer

Fierce union leader

And cushion barnacle

Harridan

HARRIDAN

-noun

a scolding old woman; nag

The feedback is clear

When stressed

I turn to a harridan

No surprise

Plaudit

PLAUDIT

-noun (usually plural)

1. an expression of enthusiastic approval or approbation

2. a round of applause

An old puppet

Going for plaudits

Neapolitan comedy 

Kinesics

KINESICS

-noun

(functioning as singular) . the study of the role of body movements, such as winking, shrugging, etc., in communication

Cardboard kinesics

Sculptural élan

Ghosts at the window

Éclat

ÉCLAT

-noun

1. brilliant or conspicuous success, effect, etc.

2. showy display; ostentation

3. social distinction

4. approval; acclaim; applause

Winter comes in

Softly yet with éclat