Saturday 30 June 2018

Ornament

ORNAMENT

-noun [ˈɔːnəmənt ]
1. anything that enhances the appearance of a person or thing
2. decorations collectively
3. a small decorative object
4. something regarded as a source of pride or beauty
5. (music) . any of several decorations, such as the trill, mordent, etc, occurring chiefly as improvised embellishments in baroque music
-verb [ˈɔːnəˌmɛnt ] (trans.)
6. to decorate with or as if with ornaments
7. to serve as an ornament to

























A lounger in the sun
Living ornament

Friday 29 June 2018

Dry

DRY

-adj.
1. lacking moisture; not damp or wet
2. having little or no rainfall
3. not in or under water
4. having the water drained away or evaporated
5. not providing milk
6. (of the eyes) free from tears
7. (informal)
a. in need of a drink; thirsty
b. causing thirst
8. eaten without butter, jam, etc.
9. (of a wine, cider, etc.) not sweet
10. (pathology) . not accompanied by or producing a mucous or watery discharge
11. consisting of solid as opposed to liquid substances or commodities
12. without adornment; plain
13. lacking interest or stimulation
14. lacking warmth or emotion; cold
15. (of wit or humour) shrewd and keen in an impersonal, sarcastic, or laconic way
16. opposed to or prohibiting the sale of alcoholic liquor for human consumption
17. (New Zealand) (of a ewe) without a lamb after the mating season
18. (electronics) . (of a soldered electrical joint) imperfect because the solder has not adhered to the metal, thus reducing conductance
-verb
19. (when intr., often followed by “off”) to make or become dry or free from moisture
20. (trans.) to preserve (meat, vegetables, fruit, etc.) by removing the moisture
-noun
21. (British) (informal) a Conservative politician who is considered to be a hard-liner




















Our past can be dried up
Flat and sweet
Red and white flowers still
Holding memories
A fluttering heart dancing
In a stream of light
Yet dead all the same

Thursday 28 June 2018

Nevertheless

NEVERTHELESS

-sentence connector
in spite of that; however; yet


























Where music will swim
The mind is swallowed out
Nevertheless, triumphant

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Former


FORMER

-adj. (prenominal)
1. belonging to or occurring in an earlier time
2. having been at a previous time
3. denoting the first or first mentioned of two
4. near the beginning

-noun
1. a person or thing that forms or shapes
2. (electrical engineering) . a tool for giving a coil or winding the required shape, sometimes consisting of a frame on which the wire can be wound, the frame then being removed

























In an oblique story

A former body still green
Waits for the stars
A mere white line on the ground 

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Mordent

MORDENT

-noun
(music) . a melodic ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of a note with a note one degree lower than it











Light
A mordent riff
Setting visual
Melodies
Ablaze

Oblique

OBLIQUE

-adj.
1. at an angle; slanting; sloping
2. (geometry)
a. (of lines, planes, etc) neither perpendicular nor parallel to one another or to another line, plane, etc
b. not related to or containing a right angle
3. indirect or evasive
4. (grammar) . denoting any case of nouns, pronouns, etc, other than the nominative and vocative
5. (biology) . having asymmetrical sides or planes
6. (of a map projection) constituting a type of zenithal projection in which the plane of projection is tangential to the earth's surface at some point between the equator and the poles
-noun
7. something oblique, in particular a line
8. (nautical) . the act of changing course by less than 90°
9. an aerial photograph taken at an oblique angle
-verb (intr.)
10. to take or have an oblique direction
11. (of a military formation) to move forward at an angle











Where music will swim
Waiting for the stars
The mind is swallowed out

In an oblique story
The body still green
stands over the door




Monday 25 June 2018

Askance

ASKANCE

-adv.
1. with an oblique glance
2. with doubt or mistrust

























A witch
And her cats
Looking askance
At the gingerbread door
Wondering where
A trap may be

Sunday 24 June 2018

Pollen

POLLEN

-noun
a fine powdery substance produced by the anthers of seed-bearing plants, consisting of numerous fine grains containing the male gametes

























Risotto for the non-allergic
Loaded with pollen and smoked paprika
Dairy-based too.

Saturday 23 June 2018

Hesitate

HESITATE

-verb (intr.)
1. to hold back or be slow in acting; be uncertain
2. to be unwilling or reluctant (to do something)
3. to stammer or pause in speaking

























She looks askance
Hesitating to trust a stranger
With her wellbeing

Friday 22 June 2018

Snicket

SNICKET

-noun
(Northern England dialect) a passageway between walls or fences

























Mock window
Open onto a snicket
Invites an escape

Thursday 21 June 2018

Conduit

CONDUIT

-noun
1. a pipe or channel for carrying a fluid
2. a rigid tube or duct for carrying and protecting electrical wires or cables
3. an agency or means of access, communication, etc.
4. (botany) . a water-transporting element in a plant; a xylem vessel or a tracheid
5.  a rare word for fountain
























As a recurring theme
This humorous conduit
Seems to hint at history

Or at least a story













Wednesday 20 June 2018

Disparage

DISPARAGE

-verb (trans.)
1. to speak contemptuously of; belittle
2. to damage the reputation of
























Rust acting up
All to disparage

Nobel metal artwork

Tuesday 19 June 2018

Lucent

LUCENT

-adj.
brilliant, shining, or translucent














Up north
Lucent dusks
Shimmering nights

Tender premature dawns

Monday 18 June 2018

Crustaceous

CRUSTACEOUS

-adj.
1. forming, resembling, or possessing a surrounding crust or shell
2. (zoology) another word for crustacean






















We cannot help
But marvel
At medieval beauty
Crustaceous lions

And stone lace



Sunday 17 June 2018

Plenteous

PLENTEOUS

-adj.
1. ample; abundant
2. producing or yielding abundantly
























Summer creeps in
Our Georgian fare
Plenteous in colours,

Scents, and heat
















Saturday 16 June 2018

Shill

SHILL

-noun
(slang) a confidence trickster's assistant, in particular a person who poses as an ordinary customer, gambler, etc., in order to entice others to participate


























She sleeps now
The sweet shill
Dreaming of tricking you
Into feeding her scraps
In order to start a trend
So that she has not
To beg anymore

Friday 15 June 2018

Infinite

INFINITE

-adj.
1. having no limits or boundaries in time, space, extent, or magnitude
2. extremely or immeasurably great or numerous
3. all-embracing, absolute, or total
4. (mathematics)
a. having an unlimited number of digits, factors, terms, members, etc.
b. (of a set) able to be put in a one-to-one correspondence with part of itself
c. (of an integral) having infinity as one or both limits of integration

























One
Strand
Untied
At a time
A fisherman’s job
Infinite patience paramount

Thursday 14 June 2018

Twitten

TWITTEN

-noun
(Southeast England dialect) a narrow alleyway

























Spring time
In the twitten
Listening to
Birdies tweet

Wednesday 13 June 2018

Ample

AMPLE

-adj.
1. more than sufficient; abundant
2. large in size, extent, or amount
























They come up to breathe
Ample land beasts
Ready to go back down
With every rise
Of the sea level

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Pluvious

PLUVIOUS

-adj.
of or relating to rain; rainy
























Where are your emotions?
Pluvious street art

Crying in the street

Monday 11 June 2018

Alley

ALLEY

-noun
1. a narrow lane or passage, in particular one between or behind buildings.
2. (tennis, mainly US) the space between the singles and doubles sidelines
3. a walk in a park or garden, in particular one lined with trees or bushes

-noun
1. a large playing marble


























Morning scuttles
Down the alley
On its way to the market
Waking up spiders
And lazy larks

Sunday 10 June 2018

Strain

STRAIN

-verb
1. to draw or be drawn taut; stretch tight
2. to exert, tax, or use (resources) to the utmost extent
3. to injure or damage or be injured or damaged by overexertion
4. to deform or be deformed as a result of a stress
5. (intr.) to make intense or violent efforts; strive
6. to subject or be subjected to mental tension or stress
7. to pour or pass (a substance) or (of a substance) to be poured or passed through a sieve, filter, or strainer
8. (trans.) to draw off or remove (one part of a substance or mixture from another) by or as if by filtering
9. (trans.) to clasp tightly; hug
10. (trans.) (obsolete) to force or constrain
11. (intr.; followed by “at”)
a. to push, pull, or work with violent exertion (upon)
b. to strive (for)
c. to balk or scruple (from)
-noun
12. the act or an instance of straining
13. the damage resulting from excessive exertion
14. an intense physical or mental effort
15. (music) (often plural) . a theme, melody, or tune
16. a great demand on the emotions, resources, etc.
17. a feeling of tension and tiredness resulting from overwork, worry, etc.; stress
18. a particular style or recurring theme in speech or writing
19. (physics) . the change in dimension of a body under load expressed as the ratio of the total deflection or change in dimension to the original unloaded dimension. It may be a ratio of lengths, areas, or volumes

-noun
1. the main body of descendants from one ancestor
2. a group of organisms within a species or variety, distinguished by one or more minor characteristics
3. a variety of bacterium or fungus, in particular when used for a culture
4. a streak; trace
5. (archaic) a kind, type, or sort
















Fresh cheese
Enriched with cream

Strained for a night

Saturday 9 June 2018

Nuzzle

NUZZLE

-verb
1. to push or rub gently against the nose or snout
2. (intr.) to nestle; lie close
3. (trans.) to dig out with the snout


























The magnificent
Fluff would nuzzle
Next to us
Snoring happily

Friday 8 June 2018

Blither

BLITHER

-verb 
(intr.) to talk nonsense
















Another dream; another blither
This time of old world building methods.
The smell of stewed birch brings back
Memories of drowned words

Thursday 7 June 2018

Derogatory

DEROGATORY

-adj.
tending or intended to detract, disparage, or belittle; intentionally offensive

























Accused of
Derogatory comments
They cry out
For fake news

Wednesday 6 June 2018

Benison

BENISON

-noun
(archaic) . a blessing, in particular a spoken one

























Lifting their heart
In a song
Chanted benison
Wishing for rain
To fertilise
Their dreams

Tuesday 5 June 2018

Dilettante

DILETTANTE

-noun
1. a person whose interest in a subject is superficial rather than professional
2. a person who loves the arts
-adj.
3. of or characteristic of a dilettante
























I never could understand
How one who loves the arts
Could be called a dilettante
In such derogatory manner

Monday 4 June 2018

Hurtle

HURTLE

-verb
1. to project or be projected very quickly, noisily, or violently
2. (intr.) (rare) . to collide or crash

























By the harbour
Old and modern
Hurtle by
And somehow stick
Together

Sunday 3 June 2018

Vinification

VINIFICATION

-noun
the fermentation of the juice of grapes into wine
























Glorious vinification
Turning sweetness into warmth



Saturday 2 June 2018

Inveigle

INVEIGLE

-verb
(trans; often followed by “into” or by an infinitive)
to lead (someone into a situation) or persuade (to do something) by cleverness or trickery; cajole


























There she tries
To inveigle customers
Into giving her food
She gets cuddles
For being so cute
And gives me a
Rather indignant look

Friday 1 June 2018

Delate

DELATE

-verb (trans.)
1. (formerly) to bring a charge against; denounce; impeach
2. (rare) to report (an offence, etc.)
3. (obsolete) to make known or public

























A tell-tale fog
Delates the drinker
Of white wine
So chill