Dubiety

DUBIETY

-noun

1. the state of being doubtful

2. a doubtful matter

Looking over the chasm

Dubiety casting cracks in stone

Faith left the stage a long time ago

Pursued by the bear of management

Swelter

SWELTER

-verb

1. (intr.) to suffer under oppressive heat, especially to sweat and feel faint

2. (trans.) archaic to exude (venom)

3. (trans.) rare to cause to suffer under oppressive heat

-noun

4. a sweltering condition

5. oppressive humid heat

Summer swelter means

Drastic measures

Compensating with grattachecca

Faugh

FAUGH

-exclamation

an exclamation of disgust, scorn, etc.

So this art, they say?

Faugh!

Just a pair

And mine are nicer!

Public gallery photo-montage on Photofunia 

Duff

DUFF

-noun

A thick flour pudding, often flavoured with currants, citron, etc., and boiled in a cloth bag

I couldn’t find

A suitable bag

So baked my duff

Instead and

Called it clafoutis

Fractious

FRACTIOUS

-adj.

1. irritable

2. unruly

Most of the time

Fast asleep

With a side of fractious

Play hour

Strife

STRIFE

-noun

1. angry or violent struggle; conflict

2. rivalry or contention, especially of a bitter kind

3. (Australian and New Zealand) trouble or discord of any kind

4. (archaic) striving

Some days

Keeping your head up

Is a real strife

Foul

FOUL

-adj.

1. offensive to the senses; revolting

2. offensive in odour; stinking

3. charged with or full of dirt or offensive matter; filthy

4. (of food) putrid; rotten

5. morally or spiritually offensive; wicked; vile

6. obscene; vulgar

7. not in accordance with accepted standards or established rules; unfair

8. (especially of weather) unpleasant or adverse

9. blocked or obstructed with dirt or foreign matter

10. entangled or impeded

11. (of the bottom of a vessel) covered with barnacles and other growth that slow forward motion

12. informal unsatisfactory or uninteresting; bad

13. archaic ugly

-noun

14. (sport) a violation of the rules

15. something foul

16. an entanglement or collision, especially in sailing or fishing

-verb

17. to make or become dirty or polluted

18. to become or cause to become entangled or snarled

19. (trans.) to disgrace or dishonour

20. to become or cause to become clogged or choked

21. (trans.) nautical (of underwater growth) to cling to (the bottom of a vessel) so as to slow its motion

22. (trans.) sport to commit a foul against (an opponent)

23. (trans.) baseball to hit (a ball) in an illegal manner

24. (intr.) sport to infringe the rules

25. (trans.) (of an animal, especially a dog) to defecate on

26. to collide with (a boat, etc.)

-adv.

27. in a foul or unfair manner

Foul love

Stolen space

Best love

Fugal

FUGAL

-adj.

of, relating to, or in the style of a fugue

What

Is

This fear

But a dream

A fugal moment

A breath instantly neglected

Quickly forgotten

For a scar

Burning

Our

Souls

Grip

GRIP

-noun

1. the act or an instance of grasping and holding firmly

2. Also called: handgrip . the strength or pressure of such a grasp, as in a handshake

3. the style or manner of grasping an object, such as a tennis racket

4. understanding, control, or mastery of a subject, problem, etc.

5. Also called: handgrip . a part by which an object is grasped; handle

6. Also called: handgrip . a travelling bag or holdall

7. any device that holds by friction, such as certain types of brake

8. a method of clasping or shaking hands used by members of secret societies to greet or identify one another

9. a spasm of pain

10. a worker in a camera crew or a stagehand who shifts sets and props, etc.

11. a small drainage channel cut above an excavation to conduct surface water away from the excavation

-verb

12. to take hold of firmly or tightly, as by a clutch

13. to hold the interest or attention of

-noun

1.(medicine) a variant spelling of grippe (influenza)

A couple of sugar cubes

As grips for love

Popularity with horses

Flamboyant

FLAMBOYANT

-adj.

1. elaborate or extravagant; florid; showy

2. rich or brilliant in colour; resplendent

3. exuberant or ostentatious

4. of, denoting, or relating to the French Gothic style of architecture characterized by flame-like tracery and elaborate carving

-noun

5. Also called: flamboyante . another name for royal poinciana

Hidden in a corner

A flamboyant fountain

Records a fastuous past

Meatball

MEATBALL

-noun

1. minced beef, shaped into a ball before cooking

2. (US and Canadian slang) a stupid or boring person

I still struggle

To consider meatballs

A delicacy and yet

I loved hunting

Subtle flavours in these

Spurn

SPURN

-verb

1. to reject (a person or thing) with contempt

2. (when intr., often followed by “against”) archaic to kick (at)

-noun

3. an instance of spurning

4. archaic a kick or thrust

When he returned home

He first spurned food

Then came back to life

And now steals in his friends’ bowl

Business as usual

Sublime

SUBLIME

-adj.

1. of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted

2. inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity

3. unparalleled; supreme

4. poetic of proud bearing or aspect

5. archaic raised up

-noun

6. something that is sublime

7. the ultimate degree or perfect example

-verb

8. (trans.) to make higher or purer

9. to change or cause to change directly from a solid to a vapour or gas without first melting

10. to undergo or cause to undergo this process followed by a reverse change directly from a vapour to a solid

Summer is here

Subliming our dreams

Into clouds

Cogent

COGENT

-adj.

compelling belief or assent; forcefully convincing

This terrified bunny

Suffers from the cogent fear that

I might see him if he moves

Rapid

RAPID

-adj.

1. (of an action or movement) performed or occurring during a short interval of time; quick

2. characterized by high speed

3. acting or moving quickly; fast

Ours is a lazy journey

Far from the world

Of rapid public transport

Punctuated by stops

And pictures along the way

Bustle

BUSTLE

-verb

1. (when intr., often followed by “about”) to hurry or cause to hurry with a great show of energy or activity

-noun

2. energetic and noisy activity

-noun

a cushion or a metal or whalebone framework worn by women in the late 19th century at the back below the waist in order to expand the skirt

Around the fountain

A bustle of sphinxes

Plays around with skulls and roses

Massive

MASSIVE

-adj.

1. (of objects) large in mass; bulky, heavy, and usually solid

2. impressive or imposing in quality, degree, or scope

3. relatively intensive or large; considerable

4. (pathology) affecting a large area of the body

5. (geology)

a. (of igneous rocks) having no stratification, cleavage, etc.; homogeneous

b. (of sedimentary rocks) arranged in thick poorly defined strata

6. (mineralogy) without obvious crystalline structure

-noun

7. (slang) a group of friends or associates; gang

In another dimension

Massive shells do not birth goddesses

But eat them alive for power

Sponge

SPONGE

-noun

1. any multicellular typically marine animal of the phylum Porifera, usually occurring in complex sessile colonies in which the porous body is supported by a fibrous, calcareous, or siliceous skeletal framework

2. a piece of the light porous highly absorbent elastic skeleton of certain sponges, used in bathing, cleaning, etc.

3. any of a number of light porous elastic materials resembling a sponge

4. another word for sponger, i.e. a person who lives off other people by continually taking advantage of their generosity; parasite or scrounger

5. informal a person who indulges in heavy drinking

6. leavened dough, especially before kneading

7. short for sponge cake

8. Also called: sponge pudding . (British) a light steamed or baked pudding, spongy in texture, made with various flavourings or fruit

9. porous metal produced by electrolysis or by reducing a metal compound without fusion or sintering and capable of absorbing large quantities of gas

10. a rub with a sponge

-verb

11. (trans.; often followed by “off” or “down”) to clean (something) by wiping or rubbing with a damp or wet sponge

12. (trans.; usually followed by “off”, “away”, “out”, etc.) to remove (marks, etc.) by rubbing with a damp or wet sponge or cloth

13. (when trans., often followed by “up”) to absorb (liquids, especially when spilt) in the manner of a sponge

14. (trans.; often followed by “off”) to get (something) from (someone) by presuming on his generosity

15. (intr.; often followed by “off” or “on”) to obtain one's subsistence, welfare, etc., unjustifiably (from)

16. (intr.) to go collecting sponges

More and more

Edible sponges

Appear on plates

Good, fun,

And intriguing

Docible

DOCIBLE

-adj.

(obsolete) susceptible to teaching or training; easily tamed

He didn’t have to be

Docible though he learned

When to come home

For meals or cuddles

Yet decided to leave

To die in peace

Triad

TRIAD

-noun

1. a group of three; trio

2. (chemistry) an atom, element, group, or ion that has a valency of three

3. (music) a three-note chord consisting of a note and the third and fifth above it

4. an aphoristic literary form used in medieval Welsh and Irish literature

5. the US strategic nuclear force, consisting of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers

-noun (capitalised)

1. any of several Chinese secret societies, especially one involved in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking

A triad of lines

Plus the passing of seasons

Syllables counting

Volable

VOLABLE

-adj.

quick-witted

You turn around

And volable walls

Wink at you

You run but

There’s no escape

Valency

VALENCY

-noun

1. chemistry a property of atoms or groups, equal to the number of atoms of hydrogen that the atom or group could combine with or displace in forming compounds

2. (linguistics) the number of satellite noun phrases with which a verb combines

3. (immunology)

a. the number of antigen-binding sites on an antibody molecule

b. the number of antigen-binding sites with which an antigen can combine

Playing with fire

Looking for valency

In old books and

Alchemy burns

Vilify

VILIFY

-verb (trans.)

1. to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malign

2. (rare) to make vile; debase; degrade

Vilified in the book

Saved by humanity

Forge

FORGE

-noun

1. a place in which metal is worked by heating and hammering; smithy

2. a hearth or furnace used for heating metal

3. a machine used to shape metals by hammering

-verb

4. (trans.) to shape (metal) by heating and hammering

5. (trans.) to form, shape, make, or fashion (objects, articles, etc.)

6. (trans.) to invent or devise (an agreement, understanding, etc.)

7. to make or produce a fraudulent imitation of (a signature, banknote, etc.) or to commit forgery

-verb (intr.)

1. to move at a steady and persevering pace

2. to increase speed; spurt

Exhausted, they forge through the night

Focusing on the light in their hands

Papillote

PAPILLOTE

-noun

1. a paper frill around cutlets, etc.

2. Preceded by “en” . (of food) cooked in oiled greaseproof paper or foil

Delicate fish and tender greens

En papillote for greater taste

And easy transportation

Miss

MISS

-verb

1. to fail to reach, hit, meet, find, or attain (some specified or implied aim, goal, target, etc.)

2. (trans.) to fail to attend or be present for

3. (trans.) to fail to see, hear, understand, or perceive

4. (trans.) to lose, overlook, or fail to take advantage of

5. (trans.) to leave out; omit

6. (trans.) to discover or regret the loss or absence of

7. (trans.) to escape or avoid (something, especially a danger), usually narrowly

-noun

8. a failure to reach, hit, meet, find, etc.

-noun

1. informal an unmarried woman or girl, especially a schoolgirl

-noun

1. a title of an unmarried woman or girl, usually used before the surname or sometimes alone in direct address

Missing in action

Taken up by summer

And asthma

Swaddle

SWADDLE

-verb (trans.)

1. to wind a bandage round

2. to wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes

3. to restrain as if by wrapping with bandages; smother

-noun

4. (mainly US) swaddling clothes

Swaddled hands

Was all his protection

Copper blood still fresh

On his brow, his lips

White

WHITE

-adj.

1. having no hue due to the reflection of all or almost all incident light.

2. (of light, such as sunlight) consisting of all the colours of the spectrum or produced by certain mixtures of three additive primary colours, such as red, green, and blue

3. comparatively white or whitish-grey in colour or having parts of this colour

4. (of an animal) having pale-coloured or white skin, fur, or feathers

5. bloodless or pale, as from pain, emotion, etc.

6. (of hair, a beard, etc.) silvery or grey, usually from age

7. benevolent or without malicious intent

8. colourless or transparent

9. capped with or accompanied by snow

10. (sometimes capital) counterrevolutionary, very conservative, or royalist.

11. blank, as an unprinted area of a page

12. (of wine) made from pale grapes or from black grapes separated from their skins

13. (of coffee or tea) with milk or cream

14. (physics) having or characterized by a continuous distribution of energy, wavelength, or frequency

15. (informal) honourable or generous

16. (of armour) made completely of iron or steel

17. (rare) morally unblemished

18. rare (of times, seasons, etc.) auspicious; favourable

19. (poetic or archaic) having a fair complexion; blond

-noun

20. a white colour

21. the condition or quality of being white; whiteness

22. the white or lightly coloured part or area of something

23. (anatomy) the white part (sclera) of the eyeball

24. any of various butterflies of the family Pieridae.

25. chess, draughts

a. a white or light-coloured piece or square

b. (usually capital) the player playing with such pieces

26. anything that has or is characterized by a white colour, such as a white paint or pigment, a white cloth, a white ball in billiards

27. an unprinted area of a page

28. archery

a. the outer ring of the target, having the lowest score

b. a shot or arrow hitting this ring

29. (poetic) fairness of complexion

-verb

30. (usually followed by “out”) to create or leave white spaces in (printed or other matter)

31. (obsolete) to make or become white

She stirs winds

Her white coat and hair whipping about

Frost in her smile

Blooms dying  in her hand

Swad

SWAD

-noun

1. a loutish person

2. mining a layer of worthless material at the base of a seam

3. a thick bunch (of grass)

4. a large number (of people)

Yesterday

Today & tomorrow

Angry swads

Sumptuous

SUMPTUOUS

-adj.

1. expensive or extravagant

2. magnificent; splendid

A rather

Sumptuous meal

For a toddler

Martext

MARTEXT

-noun

(obsolete) a preacher who makes many mistakes

Mark that a martext

Isn’t someone butchering

Orthography with a SMS

Orthorexia

ORTHOREXIA

-noun

a disorder characterized by a morbid obsession with eating healthy foods only

She disguises

Her orthorexia

With fine dining

Mercy

MERCY

-noun 

1. compassionate treatment of or attitude towards an offender, adversary, etc., who is in one's power or care; clemency; pity

2. the power to show mercy

3. a relieving or welcome occurrence or state of affairs

Morning light being too sharp

He cries for mercy

And another ten minutes nap

Alimony

ALIMONY

-noun

law (formerly) an allowance paid under a court order by one spouse to another when they are separated but not divorced.

At the mere notion

Of alimony

He hid and fled

Dispute

DISPUTE

-verb

1. to argue, debate, or quarrel about (something)

2. (may take a clause as object) to doubt the validity, etc., of

3. (trans.) to seek to win; contest for

4. (trans.) to struggle against; resist

-noun

5. an argument or quarrel

This awkward moment when

She turns her despondent lover

Into a statue in the heat of a dispute

Twin

TWIN

-noun

1. either of two persons or animals conceived at the same time

2. either of two persons or things that are identical or very similar; counterpart

3. Also called: macle . a crystal consisting of two parts each of which has a definite orientation to the other

-verb

4. to pair or be paired together; couple

5. (intr.) to bear twins

6. (intr.) (of a crystal) to form into a twin

7. (intr.) archaic to be born as a twin

8. (trans.)

a. to create a reciprocal relation between (two towns in different countries); pair (a town) with another in a different country

b. (intr.) (of a town) to be paired with a town in a different country

Held in place by fate

Twins yet different

Looking in the same direction

Amidmost

AMIDMOST

-adv.

1. (poetic) in the middle or centre

-preposition

2. (poetic) in the centre of

Night cloak

Amidmost light

Flickering ghosts

Recalescence

RECALESCENCE

-noun

a sudden spontaneous increase in the temperature of cooling iron resulting from an exothermic change in crystal structure occurring at a particular temperature

Spring goes everywhere

Following its fancy

For recalescence and

Untimely frost

Moist

MOIST

-adj.

1. slightly damp or wet

2. saturated with or suggestive of moisture

Moist is the cup
A great abundance
Of interrupted legends
As shadow grow longer
During evening conversation
Loose spirals

Delve

DELVE

-verb (mainly intr.; often followed by “in” or “into”)

1. to inquire or research deeply or intensively (for information, etc.)

2. to search or rummage (in a drawer, the pockets, etc.)

3. (especially of an animal) to dig or burrow deeply (into the ground, etc.)

4. (also trans.) (archaic or dialect) to dig or turn up (earth, a garden, etc.), as with a spade

She likes to hide

To delve into her basket

To dream the world away

Purrs give her away

Uphold

UPHOLD

-verb  (trans.)

1. to maintain, affirm, or defend against opposition or challenge

2. to give moral support or inspiration to

3. (rare) to support physically

4. to lift up

It is such a headache

To uphold the world

Effloresce

EFFLORESCE

-verb (intr.)

1. to burst forth into or as if into flower; bloom

2. to become powdery by loss of water or crystallization

3. to become encrusted with powder or crystals as a result of chemical change or the evaporation of a solution

Spring strikes and

Pavements effloresce

Before summer comes

And nature effloresces

Hurdle

HURDLE

-noun

1. (athletics) one of a number of light barriers over which runners leap in certain events

2. a low barrier used in certain horse races

3. an obstacle to be overcome

4. a light framework of interlaced osiers, wattle, etc., used as a temporary fence

5. (British) a sledge on which criminals were dragged to their executions

-verb

6. to jump (a hurdle, etc.), as in racing

7. (trans.) to surround with hurdles

8. (trans.) to overcome

Hurdles on the ceiling

To trap/trip ghosts and angels 

Stickler

STICKLER

-noun

1. (usually followed by “for”) . a person who makes insistent demands

2. a problem or puzzle

Without wanting

To act as stickler

But wondering

If this is straight

Sully

SULLY

-verb

1. to stain or tarnish (a reputation, etc.) or (of a reputation) to become stained or tarnished

-noun

2. a stain

3. the act of sullying

How could anyone

Call this sully? 

Roe

ROE

-noun

1. Also called: hard roe the ovary of a female fish filled with mature eggs

2. Also called: soft roe the testis of a male fish filled with mature sperm

3. the ripe ovary of certain crustaceans, such as the lobster

Tender flash

Roe on oats

Matcha coat

Scatty

SCATTY

-adj.

(British, informal)

1. empty-headed, frivolous, or thoughtless

2. distracted 

Scatty cat

Concentrate

On snooze

Pragmatize

PRAGMATIZE

-verb

1. (intr.) to act or view matters pragmatically

2. (trans.) to make (something) pragmatic or interpret (something) in a pragmatic way

Not all clockwork artifices

Aim to pragmatize

In fact nobody knows

What this one was meant to be

Nixie

NIXIE

-noun

(German mythology) a female water sprite, usually unfriendly to humans

Would you believe?

Tender nixies

Torn by storm

Plotting your demise

Surrealism

SURREALISM

-noun

(sometimes capital) a movement in art and literature in the 1920s, which developed especially from dada, characterized by the evocative juxtaposition of incongruous images in order to include unconscious and dream elements

Caught in the venomous charm

Of surrealism – that Platonic cavern -

Tied in darkness by their sole lack of will

In the arms of a video supernova