Malapert

MALAPERT

-adj.

1. (archaic or literary) saucy or impudent

-noun

2. (archaic or literary) a saucy or impudent person

























For a not so humble feee,

The hunt is open

And I invade the inhabitants

Of this cute Kitty Café

With my camera

Making a pest of myself

Being called malapert

By the furry locals 

Bimonthly

BIMONTHLY

-adj., -adv.

1. every two months

2. (often avoided because of confusion with sense 1) twice a month; semimonthly.

-noun

3. a periodical published every two months

Sam would go out

And meet death bimonthly

For a game of chess

Played for money;

Cheated to lose so that

Death could afford something to eat

It looked way too thin

To be healthy

Bumfuzzle

BUMFUZZLE

-verb (trans.)

to confuse

A partially torn poster

Bumfuzzles the mind

For a short while

Then memory strikes back

To homophobic propaganda

I tear the rest of the poster

Obfuscate

OBFUSCATE

-verb (trans.)

1. to obscure or darken

2. to perplex or bewilder

Inattentive glances

And mixed propaganda

Obfuscating the message

This is no teething angel

But Aeolus firing a rocket

Assonance

ASSONANCE

-noun

1. the use of the same vowel sound with different consonants or the same consonant with different vowels in successive words or stressed syllables, as in a line of verse.

2. partial correspondence; rough similarity

Rosy dawn

Gelid morning

Atmospheric assonance

Dissonance

DISSONANCE

-noun

1. a discordant combination of sounds

2. lack of agreement or consistency

3. (music)

a. a sensation commonly associated with all intervals of the second and seventh, all diminished and augmented intervals, and all chords based on these intervals.

b. an interval or chord of this kind

Pinching the cords of dissonance

Asserting my rights to be different

Incongruent and magnificently unique

Just like my cells want me to be

Ginger

GINGER

-noun

1. any of several zingiberaceous plants of the genus Zingiber, especially Z. officinale of the East Indies, cultivated throughout the tropics for its spicy hot-tasting underground stem.

2. the underground stem of this plant, which is used fresh or powdered as a flavouring or crystallized as a sweetmeat

3. any of certain related plants

4. a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown colour

5. (informal) . liveliness; vigour

6. (informal) . a person with ginger hair

-verb

7. (trans.) to add the spice ginger to (a dish)

Fate is fiery

Ginger and scary

Regal

REGAL

-adj.

of, relating to, or befitting a king or queen; royal

-noun

(sometimes plural) a portable organ equipped only with small reed pipes, popular from the 15th century and recently revived for modern performance

Accepting homages

The only acceptable orange tyrant

A most regal creature

The poor fractured Heathcliffe

Harum-scarum

HARUM-SCARUM

-adj., -adv.

1. in a reckless way or of a reckless nature

-noun

2. a person who is impetuous or rash

Oh the votes

Have gone all harum-scarum

May we all rust in peace

Hmm

HMM

-exclamation

a sound made when considering or puzzling over something

My favourite Englishman

Says "hmm" a lot

And can make it sound cheeky

(Happy birthday, Neil)

Roost

ROOST

-noun

1. a place, perch, branch, etc., where birds, especially domestic fowl, rest or sleep

2. a temporary place to rest or stay

-verb (intr.)

3. to rest or sleep on a roost

4. to settle down or stay

At the end of the journey

I find my old roost

Filled with whatnots and books

Spindle

SPINDLE

-noun

1. a rod or stick that has a notch in the top, used to draw out natural fibres for spinning into thread, and a long narrow body around which the thread is wound when spun

2. one of the thin rods or pins bearing bobbins upon which spun thread is wound in a spinning wheel or machine

3. any of various parts in the form of a rod, especially a rotating rod that acts as an axle, mandrel, or arbour

4. a piece of wood that has been turned, such as a baluster or table leg

5. a small square metal shaft that passes through the lock of a door and to which the door knobs or handles are fixed

6. a measure of length of yarn equal to 18 hanks (15 120 yards) for cotton or 14 400 yards for linen

7. (biology) a spindle-shaped structure formed by microtubules during mitosis or meiosis which draws the duplicated chromosomes apart as the cell divides

8. a less common name for a hydrometer

9. a tall pole with a marker at the top, fixed to an underwater obstruction as an aid to navigation

10. a device consisting of a sharp upright spike on a pedestal on which bills, order forms, etc., are impaled

11. short for spindle tree (any of various shrubs or trees of the genus Euonymus, especially E. europaeus, of Europe and Western Asia, typically having red fruits and yielding a hard wood formerly used in making spindles – family: Celastraceae)

-verb

12. (trans.) to form into a spindle or equip with spindles

13. (intr.) rare (of a plant, stem, shoot, etc.) to grow rapidly and become elongated and thin

You wander about, crushing chestnuts husks underfoot,

Hermaphrodite spindle tangled in your hair

Death promised with every lock laughing in the autumn sun

Photon

PHOTON

-noun

a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, regarded as a particle with zero rest mass and charge, unit spin, and energy equal to the product of the frequency of the radiation and the Planck constant

A bitter scent of decay

Photons burning away

Stained evening

Confection

CONFECTION

-noun

1. the act or process of compounding or mixing

2. any sweet preparation of fruit, nuts, etc., such as a preserve or a sweet

3. old-fashioned an elaborate article of clothing, especially for women

4. informal anything regarded as over-elaborate or frivolous

5. a medicinal drug sweetened with sugar, honey, etc.

Buttery scones

Summery confection

Autumn comfort food

Grouse

GROUSE

-verb

1. (intr.) to grumble; complain

-noun

2. a persistent complaint

-noun

1. any gallinaceous bird of the family Tetraonidae, occurring mainly in the Northern hemisphere, having a stocky body and feathered legs and feet. They are popular game birds

-adj.

2. (Australian and New Zealand) (slang) excellent

Lacking attention

He grouses away

A forsaken star

Teetotal

TEETOTAL

-adj.

1. of, relating to, or practising abstinence from alcoholic drink

2. (dialect) . complete

Looking at the waves

Waving back

A teetotal experience

Koumpounophobia

KOUMPOUNOPHOBIA

-noun

irrational and persistent fear of buttons

Summer is fighting its last battle

Summoning koumpounophobia

In support of everything light

Detrition

DETRITION

-noun

the act of rubbing or wearing away by friction

Dawn

In an act of detrition

Night fritters away

Arbitration

ARBITRATION

-noun

1. (law) . the hearing and determination of a dispute, especially an industrial dispute, by an impartial referee selected or agreed upon by the parties concerned

2. (international law) . the procedure laid down for the settlement of international disputes

All games turned sour

They plead for arbitration

Promising to better behave

Stereotaxis

STEREOTAXIS

-noun

the movement of an organism in response to the stimulus of contact with a solid object

Against the obstacle

Flesh turning to stereotaxis

To avoid being bruised

New shapes are born

Cake

CAKE

-noun

1. a baked food, usually in loaf or layer form, typically made from a mixture of flour, sugar, and eggs

2. a flat thin mass of bread, especially unleavened bread

3. a shaped mass of dough or other food of similar consistency

4. a mass, slab, or crust of a solidified or compressed substance, as of soap or ice

9. (informal) . the whole or total of something that is to be shared or divided

-verb

10. (trans.) to cover with a hard layer; encrust

11. to form or be formed into a hardened mass

Defying definition

And concept of mere cake

Rose and raspberry Saint Honoré

Swack

SWACK

-noun

1. (Scottish) a hard blow

-adj.

2. (Scottish) flexible

-verb

3. (Scottish) (intr.) . to strike

4. (Scottish) (trans.) to brandish (a sword)

Sleep dealt him

A mighty swack

And he fell

All swack and fluffy

At my side

Rhombus

RHOMBUS

-noun

an oblique-angled parallelogram having four equal sides. Also called: rhomb (plural: rhombi - rhombuses)

Mosaic roosting birds

Skewed by earthquakes

And haphazard restoration

Into awkward rhombi

Captured for relative eternity

Unable to feed but on dreams

Scrappy

SCRAPPY

-adj.

fragmentary; disjointed

-adj.

(informal) pugnacious

On the roof of our dreams

Scrappy monsters

Stunned from flight

Roaring to the skies

Punitive

PUNITIVE

-adj.

relating to, involving, or with the intention of inflicting punishment

Here lay the remains

Of Scylla’s punitive assault

On Ulysses’ men

Cast in chimera and stone

Palaver

PALAVER

-noun

1. tedious or time-consuming business, especially when of a formal nature

2. loud and confused talk and activity; hubbub

3. (often used humorously) a conference

4. rare talk intended to flatter or persuade

5. West Africa

a. an argument

b. trouble arising from an argument

-verb

6. (intr.) (often used humorously) to have a conference

7. (intr.) to talk loudly and confusedly

8. (trans.) to flatter or cajole

Coming on to Halloween

Great palavers were held

Over costume choices

Formula

FORMULA

-noun

1. an established form or set of words, as used in religious ceremonies, legal proceedings, etc.

2. (mathematics, physics a general relationship) , principle, or rule stated, often as an equation, in the form of symbols

3. (chemistry) . a representation of molecules, radicals, ions, etc., expressed in the symbols of the atoms of their constituent elements. 

4. a method, pattern, or rule for doing or producing something, often one proved to be successful

5.

a. a prescription for making up a medicine, baby's food, etc.

b. a substance prepared according to such a prescription

6. (motor racing) .  the specific category in which a particular type of car competes, judged according to engine size, weight, and fuel capacity

Colours

Light and

A formula

Turning dreams

Into fog

Lean

LEAN

-verb

1. (followed by “against”, “on”, or “upon”) . to rest or cause to rest against a support

2. to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position

3. (intr.) (followed by “to” or “towards”) . to have or express a tendency or leaning

-noun

4. the condition of inclining from a vertical position

-adj.

1. (especially of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump

2. not bulky or full

3. (of meat) having little or no fat

4. not rich, abundant, or satisfying

5. (of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much air

6. (of printer's type) having a thin appearance

7. (of a paint) containing relatively little oil

8. (of an ore) not having a high mineral content

9. (of concrete) made with a small amount of cement

-noun

10. the part of meat that contains little or no fat

Leaning towards

Tenderized

Lean duck

Fat apricots

Flump

FLUMP

-noun

1. an onomatopoeic word used to describe a dull, thudding sound produced by flumping

-verb

2. to (cause to) fall heavily with a dull thudding noise

There are days

Where all the energy he has

Is deployed in a flump

Tender

TENDER

-adj.

1. easily broken, cut, or crushed; soft; not tough

2. easily damaged; vulnerable or sensitive

3. having or expressing warm and affectionate feelings

4. kind, merciful, or sympathetic

5. arousing warm feelings; touching

6. gentle and delicate

7. requiring care in handling; ticklish

8. painful or sore

9. sensitive to moral or spiritual feelings

10. (postpositive; followed by “of”) . careful or protective

11. (of a sailing vessel) easily keeled over by a wind; crank.

-verb

12. (trans.) rare

a. to make tender

b. to treat tenderly

-verb

1. (trans.) to give, present, or offer

2. (intr.) (followed by “for”) . to make a formal offer or estimate for (a job or contract)

3. (trans.) law to offer (money or goods) in settlement of a debt or claim

-noun

4. the act or an instance of tendering; offer

5. business a formal offer to supply specified goods or services at a stated cost or rate

6. something, especially money, used as an official medium of payment

Not sure what the locals tender for

But tenderness doesn’t seem to apply

Poll

POLL

-noun

1. the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting

2. the result or quantity of such a voting

3. Also called: opinion poll

a. a canvassing of a representative sample of a large group of people on some question in order to determine the general opinion of the group

b. the results or record of such a canvassing

4. any counting or enumeration

5. short for poll tax

6. a list or enumeration of people, especially for taxation or voting purposes

7. the striking face of a hammer

8. the occipital or back part of the head of an animal

-verb (mainly trans.)

9. to receive (a vote or quantity of votes)

10. to receive, take, or record the votes of

11. to canvass (a person, group, area, etc.) as part of a survey of opinion

12. mainly US to take the vote, verdict, opinion, etc., individually of each member (of a jury, conference, etc.)

13. (sometimes intr.) to cast (a vote) in an election

14. computing (in data transmission when several terminals share communications channels) to check each channel rapidly to establish which are free, or to call for data from each terminal in turn

15. to clip or shear

16. to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)

The polled cat

Doesn’t care

About elections

Knell

KNELL

-noun

1. the sound of a bell rung to announce a death or a funeral

2. something that precipitates or indicates death or destruction

-verb

3. (intr.) to ring a knell

4. (trans.) to proclaim or announce by or as if by a tolling bell

Here wind keens

And a knell tolls

For the departed

Impute

IMPUTE

-verb (trans.)

1. to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, especially a criminal offence) to a person

2. to attribute to a source or cause

3. business to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown

In this case of seduction

Laurel is imputed

Though the cook won

By hiding the leaves in sauce

Bleat

BLEAT

-verb

1. (intr.) (of a sheep, goat, or calf) . to utter its characteristic plaintive cry

2. (intr.) to speak with any similar sound

3. to whine; whimper

-noun

4. the characteristic cry of sheep, goats, and young calves

5. any sound similar to this

6. a weak complaint or whine

Rain across badly sealed windows
Bleating wind faltering
Under the weight of desert sand

Ewer

EWER

-noun

a large jug or pitcher with a wide mouth

Leave it out
Hope sand does not
Come to call when
Ewer feel up with rain

Sickly

SICKLY

-adj.

1. disposed to frequent ailments; not healthy; weak

2. of, relating to, or caused by sickness

3. (of a smell, taste, etc.) causing revulsion or nausea

4. (of light or colour) faint or feeble

5. mawkish; insipid

-adv.

6. in a sick or sickly manner

Another sickly kitty

Refusing to eat

Trying to escape home

Or perhaps life

Evergreen

EVERGREEN

-adj.

1. (of certain trees and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year; continually shedding and replacing leaves.

2. remaining fresh and vital

-noun

3. an evergreen tree or shrub

Ready for harvesting

Edible jade nesting in evergreen

Synesthesia

SYNESTHESIA

-noun

1. (Physiology) . sensation felt in one part of the body when another part is stimulated

2. (Psychology) . a process in which one type of stimulus produces a secondary, subjective sensation, as when some colour evokes a specific smell

Mist on my skin

Calls images in decayed brown

A scent of smoke

Synesthesia

Saccade

SACCADE

-noun

1. the movement of the eye when it makes a sudden change of fixation, as in reading

2. a sudden check given to a horse

Tears flow

Salt stains

Empty eyes

Without saccade

Gritted teeth

Emerging mildew

Property

PROPERTY

-noun

1. something of value, either tangible, such as land, or intangible, such as patents, copyrights, etc.

2. law the right to possess, use, and dispose of anything

3. possessions collectively or the fact of owning possessions of value

4. a piece of land or real estate, especially used for agricultural purposes

5. (mainly Australian) . a ranch or station, especially a small one

6. a quality, attribute, or distinctive feature of anything, especially a characteristic attribute such as the density or strength of a material

7. (logic) (obsolete) .  another name for proprium

8. any movable object used on the set of a stage play or film. Usually shortened to: prop

Waiting for be picked

Edible property

With a future in wine industry

Propagate

PROPAGATE

-verb

1. (biology) . to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed

2. (trans.) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc.

3. (trans.) to promulgate; disseminate

4. (physics) . to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, especially in the form of a wave

5. (trans.) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next

Old rhizomes

Campaigning to be propagated

Rather than made tea

Crackling

CRACKLING

-noun

the crisp browned skin of roast pork

Against sadness

Cracklings and wine

Sweet and salty

Edible tears

Fray

FRAY

-noun

1. a noisy quarrel

2. a fight or brawl

3. an archaic word for fright

-verb

4. (trans.) (archaic) . to frighten

-verb

1. to wear or cause to wear away into tatters or loose threads, especially at an edge or end

2. to make or become strained or irritated

3. to rub or chafe (another object) or (of two objects) to rub against one another

-noun

4. a frayed place, as in cloth

Too many frays

Have frayed the stray

And his home

Parsimonious

PARSIMONIOUS

-adj.

exhibiting or marked by parsimony; extreme care or reluctance in spending; frugality; niggardliness

Day breaks

Parsimonious light shaken over the land

Crumbs of luminosity over mist

Lavish

LAVISH

-adj.

1. prolific, abundant, or profuse

2. generous; unstinting; liberal

3. extravagant; prodigal; wasteful

-verb

4. (trans.) to give, expend, or apply abundantly, generously, or in profusion

Again the wall

Lavish expense

Of photography props

Tempting fate

Profuse

PROFUSE

-adj.

1. plentiful, copious, or abundant

2. (often followed by “in”) . free or generous in the giving (of)

Although autumn is already here

Warm weather means profuse water

Still has to be sprayed over fields

And newly ploughed terrains

Recline

RECLINE

-verb

to rest or cause to rest in a leaning position

If

You

Manage

Close your eyes

Imagine the clouds

Reclining upon cushy hills

As soft winds pass by

And dried grass

Tickles

Your

Back

Betide

BETIDE

-verb

to happen or happen to; befall

Not too  sure

About what betides

Or how, let alone why.

Could this be a murder?

Copious

COPIOUS

-adj.

1. abundant; extensive in quantity

2. having or providing an abundant supply

3. full of words, ideas, etc.; profuse

Preparing a feast

Copious amount of fried food

Made up of anchovies

Apples and sage leaves

Abulia

ABULIA

-noun

(psychiatry) . a pathological inability to take decisions

He wavers

Not so much plagued by abulia

Than conflicting temptations

And tourists sandwiches