Ogham

Ogham (also spelled ogam) is an ancient alphabet that I, for one, have never heard of until now. Apparently it had 20 letters and was used in Britain and Ireland. Not sure how similar it was to our current alphabet. Perhaps the linguists out there can bring us up to speed on that. Thanks to Thinks! for another great invented meaning. You're top of the poll once again. Your dedication to Word Imperfect is appreciated - especially considering you're a cat!

Nagana

Nagana isn't nice. It's a livestock disease transmitted via the tsetse fly. Your invented meanings were great! I was very impressed with them. We had another tie on the poll today. It was between Pastor Phil and The Encourager. How appropriate. I'm sure you'll both be happy to share the honour.

Scug

Oh the poor scug! It's a person lacking spirit, sociabililty, sportsmanship and manners! Come on, scug. Get your act together. I suspect we all know a scug. Some may even be related to one. Nuf said. Well done, Magdalene, for your great meaning for scug. You're today's poll winner.

Bradawl

A bradawl is a small non-spiral boring tool. I can't think of a use for one right now, but leave it with me. I should come up with something over the course of the day. Speaking of the day, you may or may not have noticed that I've changed the time of day that I update this blog. Hopefully this will be more family friendly! I loved your meanings for bradawl by the way. Very innovative. Aviva is today's winner, by the way. Great work, Aviva.

Anosmia

Anosmia is having no sense of smell. Now that could be useful from time to time. My daughter, unfortunately, has the opposite of anosmia. A highly developed sense of smell. Not sure of the word to describe that. Well done for all your meanings for anosmia. They were hilarious. Judi was the winner today. Great work, Judi.

Jequirity

Oddly enough, jequirity is an Indian shrub! Its seeds are used for ornamental and medicinal purposes. We were all well and truly fooled by that one. Loved your meanings as usual. Its amazing how many original meanings we can come up with, each and every day. The power of the human mind and all that, I guess. And one of our clever word imps has won at the poll again today. Congratulations, Brian O Vretanos!

Exuviate

To exuviate is to shed or slough off your skin, shell or other type of covering. A couple of our word imps were very close to the correct meaning - accidentally I'm sure. I found it interesting to read the invented meanings and try to figure out the invented etymology that went along with them. Obviously avoiding housework today! And happy to add that Aviva took the votes with her meaning for exuviate. Thanks, Aviva. Great work.

Pittite

A pittite is someone who sits in a seat located in the pit of a theatre. Obvious, some would say. The blog meanings were a wonderful mix of "of course!" and "fancy that!" today. Well done to everyone who played the game - especially Chris who was top of the poll today. Great work!

Jeremiad

A jeremiad is a lamentation or doleful complaint, named for Jeremiah of Biblical fame. Some of your meanings weren't far off the mark today. I really enjoyed reading them and found each one interesting. Thanks for your dedication to the cause. Realityjunkie took all the sympathy and a lot of the votes today. Congratulations for being the winner on the poll, Realityjunkie. Hope it made up for the jeremiad of a day!

Dandle

To dandle a child is to dance the child around in your arms or on your knee. A great pasttime! Thanks for your invented meanings for dandle. I enjoyed them immensely. Well done to Brian O Vretanos who was the winner on today's poll. Great work as always, Brian.

Fabulist

A fabulist creates fables. Apparently this can be in the literary sense - as in Aesop - as well as being the equivalent of a liar. I think I'd rather be the literary type of fabulist. But there's another interesting fact to tuck away. Thanks for your meanings today. Two word imps tied at the top of the poll. Well done to Thinks! and Scriptor Senex. Keep up the great work.

Welkin

My dictionary tells me that welkin is a poetic word for sky. Poetic? Mmmm. Interesting. I have no more to say on that topic. I liked my own invented meaning much better. However, the winner on the poll was Judi. Great work again, Judi.

Skippet

Okay. Here goes. A skippet is a small container. The container is cylindrical and wooden. It was historically used to protect the seal attached to a ribbon on a deed. Any the wiser? Never mind. Today was another one of those days when each of the three people on the poll received the same number of votes. So it's a hearty congratulations to Magdalene, Brian O Vretanos and Sara. Love your work!

Platinize

To platinize something is to coat it with platinum. Obvious really. However, I do prefer the option of Coolskoolmom's type of platinizing - as did the voters on the poll. Well done, Coolskoolmom. And send your platinizer this way soon!

Huggery

I wish I could say a huggery was something a lot more cuddly than it really is. But I can't. It's really a little boring. It happens when a barrister tries to get a job with an attorney. Something like that anyway. The dictionary meaning was a bit vague. However, the invented meanings were fabulous. I loved them all. And I personally think huggery should get a new meaning. Magdalene's huggery was a big hit with the voters, so that could be it. Well done, Magdalene.

Trecento

The trecento is the correct name for the 14th century in Italian art and literature. At first I found this hard to fathom, thinking that 14 and "tre" didn't seem to work that well together. But then I engaged my brain and realised that the 14th century was really all the dates starting with 13! And, yes Pastor Phil, I did start this blog on Friday 13th. Just to make a point. Back to trecento. Thanks for the meanings added by dedicated word imps. They were very creative. There's something weird going on though. Last time I put a "tri" word on the blog, 3 people tied on the poll. And it's happened again with a "tre" word. So, strangely enough, it's congratulations to Brian O Vretanos, Aviva and Lorenzothellama!

Fraxinella

Fraxinella is a garden herb which, oddly enough, emits a flammable vapour in hot weather! Good grief. As if life wasn't frightening enough. However, I don't have it in my garden as far as I know. I loved the meanings on the blog today. Wonderful! The voting was split evenly between Aviva and Thinks! Great work, both of you.

Thaumaturge

Yes, thaumaturge is a real word. And a good one. It means miracle worker. I had fun reading the meanings from our word imps today and welcome the contributions from several new names on the blog. There was a wide range of suggestions and the winner on the blog came from a newcomer of royal status, named King William. Well done, KW.

Paternoster

Paternoster is mostly in relation to things of the faith. It's apparently another word for The Lord's Prayer. It has other related meanings which you can discover for yourself. However, it's apparently also the word to describe a fishing line with hooks at intervals. Of course the word imps were on fine form with their invented meanings, as is always the case. The pollsters particularly liked the meaning suggested by Holly. Great work, Holly. And lovely name, too.

Kerf

A kerf is the edge left by cutting something with a saw. So, the cut end of a tree which has been felled is called a kerf. Who knew? Hopefully the woodcutter did, but I'm not so sure. However, we had a wonderful range of word imps vying for the leader board again today. Some old names and new ones - which was very exciting. Well done to Coolskoolmom who came away with a win on the poll today. Great work!

Sporangium

A sporangium is a special case for the production of spores. Thank you all for a wonderfully humorous range of meanings for sporangium today. I was very amused by all of today's contributions. Voting was fervent, with a tie between Osobutterfly and Thesaurus Rex. Well done, both of you.

Glyptography

Glyptography is the art of engraving on gem stones. More new information for my tired brain. I can't recall having ever seen an engraved gem stone but there you go. Thanks to the dedicated band of word imps who are keeping things going while some of our number are busy with other duties. I appreciate your commitment. Your meanings were great and the best of all, according to pollsters, was Magdalene. Great work!

Flustra

Flustra is some kind of "sea mat" resembling seaweed, according to my lexicon. Probably that ghastly stuff I accidentally step on while I'm having a summer dip. We only had a small number of word imps participating today but their meanings were great. I hope our other participants come back soon. We miss you! In the meantime, Ju's Little Sister was the winner on the poll. Thanks JLS. I loved your meaning.

Piscivorous

A piscivorous person is a fish eater, of course. Not sure if I would have figured that out without the help of the dictionary though. Herbivorous, carnivorous, omnivorous, piscivorous. I never knew there was a fourth category. Perhaps there are more still... Watch this space. Congratulations to Karishma Hasnat who was a runaway winner on today's poll. Well done, KH. And all the best with the job.

Meniscus

Meniscus is the term for the the curved upper surface of liquid in a container. Fascinating. The invented meanings were also wonderful and I'm pleased to announce The Encourager as today's winner. Well done.

Jactitation

Jactitation seems to have several meanings. One is to falsely claim to be someone's spouse! Another is the restless tossing and turning that occurs with feverish illness. Yet another is limb or muscle twitching. I've had that, but I didn't know it was jactitation at the time. Now I do. And so do you. Thanks for your invented meanings. They all took different winding roads which made for an interesting reading journey. Today's winner on the poll was Edith. Thanks for that Edith. Well done.

Pilgarlic

Pilgarlic actually does have something to do with garlic! It means bald headed and its etymology (according to my dictionary rather than my scholarly background) is related to the similarities between a bald head and peeled garlic! So there you go. I'll try hard to remember that one next time I see a pilgarlic. Thanks for your well written meanings. Very descriptive and interesting indeed. Magdalene was the favoured one among voters today. Great work!

Simoom

A simoom occurs chiefly in the Arabian desert. It's a suffocatingly hot dusty wind which sweeps through a narrow path and is gone within minutes. Makes me glad I'm not a desert dweller. The invented meanings were especially enjoyable and poll voters chose the meaning suggested by Realityjunkie as the best of the best today. Well done, RJ.

Peduncle

Peduncle is, strangely enough, a botanical term. It's the name for the main stalk of a plant. Perhaps I learned that many moons ago but didn't have a reason to remember it. I've got a feeling that I'll forget it again - but never mind. Thanks for your fabulous meanings for peduncle today. I enjoyed them immensely. Voters chose Thesaurus Rex as the winner on the poll. Well done, TR.