Orrery

An orrery is a clockwork model of the planetary system - something we should all have been well aware of. However, I'm happy to admit that it was news to me. Fascinating array of invented meanings today! Thanks for all your contributions. Well done especially to Raelha who's made it to the top of the poll today.

Undine

An undine is a female water sprite who has the chance of receiving a soul if she marries a mortal and bears a child. Another important fact that I've missed over the years. Ho hum. Thanks for your interesting and wide ranging invented meanings for undine. Today's poll winner is Shella. Well done!

Tribology

Tribology is the study of friction, lubrication and wear and tear on machine parts. Well, well, well. Nothing like the meanings invented by the esteemed word imps today, but interesting nevertheless. I think that word could come handy in a pub quiz some day! Oddly enough for a word starting with "tri", all three contestants on the poll gained the same number of votes today. So all three are winners. Congratulations to Sprite, The Encourager and Realityjunkie.

Roucou

Roucou is an orange dye which comes from a West Indian tree of the same name. Our invented meanings are far more fascinating, I'm sure you'll agree. Raelha was the top word imp on our poll today, with a resounding win. Fabulous work, Raelha!

Chad

I heard about chad on the radio the other day. It's the stuff that lots of people, including myself, wrongly call "confetti". Chad is the real name for the stuff which is punched out of a hole punch! I hope I'm not the only one who didn't know that already. Thanks for your invented meanings. They were great. I've added up the votes cast on the blog and through the poll and am happy to announce that Phil was top of the pops today. Well done, Phil.

Eyas

An eyas is, surprisingly, a young hawk which is "in training". I can't be specific on what it's in training for, but I suspect it's something top secret. Anyway, another useful piece of information for those collecting such stuff. Thanks for your interesting meanings for eyas. The poll has finally returned and I'm happy to announce that Edith and Thinks! are equal first. Great work you two.

Opodeldoc

Opodeldoc is nowhere near as interesting as it sounds. My dictionary refers to it as a kind of soap liniment. Not sure if that means a lot to me. There was also mention made of "kinds of medical plaster". So I'll leave it with you to decipher if necessary. Another medical one for the qualified word imps amongst us. Loved your creative meanings today! And very well done to Bee, for a spectacular win on the poll. Keep up the good work.

Equilibrist

An equilibrist is a rope walker. Strange that! Way back when I started this blog in October last year I used a great word - funambulist - which also means rope walker. Just thought I'd share that little piece of trivia with the word imp world. Loved your invented meanings for equilibrist - and particularly enjoyed the meaning suggested by Pastor Phil which was also the winner on the poll. Great work, P.P.

Filaria

Filaria is a parasitic worm! Yukky! It's injected into the bloodstream via certain types of flies and mosquitoes. The blog meanings were far more palatable. Thanks for visiting. Aviva was the poll favourite today. Congratulations on a great meaning, Aviva.

Rhabdomancy

Rhabdomancy is the correct word for water divining using a rod. Fascinating stuff! I hope I wasn't the only one who didn't know that before today. Your invented meanings for rhabdomancy were excellent and I'm pleased to say that Judi was today's winner. Great work, Judi!

Nekton

Nekton is the collective term for free swimming organic life that you would find in oceans and lakes. I'm no scientist, so I'm not sure if I understand what I just typed. Perhaps it will mean something to someone else, though. Nevertheless, a plethora of invented meanings for nekton were suggested. The winner on the poll was Brian O Vretanos. Great work, again, Brian.

Quiff

A quiff is ever so cute. It's a curl lying over a forehead. Just like the nursery rhyme. I'll be looking for opportunities to use that word as soon as possible. The invented meanings were just as wonderful. I found it extremely tricky choosing my top three, though, as each sounded exactly right. The poll voters didn't have any trouble picking a winner, however. It was Realityjunkie. Well done, RJ.

Madrepore

A madrepore is a kind of perforated coral as well as the animal which produces such coral. News to me, but so is most of the stuff I find in the dictionary. My knowledge fits in a box which is much smaller than I'd like to admit. I hope this blog will change that, if only slightly. We had a great turn out of invented meanings today, with a well-deserved win to Herdingcats. Great work!

Scrimshank

To scrimshank is to shirk your duties. Such a person is, of course, a scrimshanker. My dictionary refers to the term as "military slang". Perhaps some of our North American word imps secretly knew that. I'm glad I know this word now. I shall enjoy using it at the earliest possible opportunity. Thanks to Pami Sami for her take on scrimshank. We loved that meaning and it was a clear poll winner today. Great work, PS.

Puttoo

Puttoo is an Indian fabric made from coarse goat's wool. I loved the meanings for puttoo and offer my heartiest congratulations to Thinks! for another fine winning effort.

Vicennial

Vicennial refers to anything which recurs every 20 years or lasts 20 years. Fabulous meanings as always, and apologies again for going AWOL on my dedicated word imps. But I'm back now! Not concentrating well though. I realised, too late, that I hadn't put my three favourites for this one on the poll after all. Late night brain flag, I call it. So, many apologies. In order to avoid a voting backlog, I've decided on a winner myself. Thanks, Brian O Vretanos. I thought your meaning was fabulous.

Doxy

Doxy has two distinct meanings. Firstly, a doxy is a beggar's wench. Who knew? Secondly, a doxy is an opinion on theology. Quite varied meanings, as you can tell, but there you go. The invented meanings were also varied and gave me much cause for hilarity. Thanks for that. The contribution from Wunx~ sneaked through on the poll. Well done, Wunx~.

Buccinator

I'm sorry to report that a buccinator is neither interesting nor funny. According to my dictionary it's a flat, thin cheek muscle. Oh well. It gave us food for thought and plenty of great meanings. Thinks! thought hard and made it to 50 per cent of the vote on the poll - which was enough to be declared today's official winner. Good thinking!

Curare

Curare is a bitter substance from South American plants which Indians used to poison their arrows. Nasty! I'll keep that little tidbit under my hat for now. Not sure if and when it will come in handy. Your invented meanings were strange and wonderful. Magdalene's meaning pipped the others at the post in the winning stakes. Well done, Magdalene. You kept your nose just in front!

Umbles

Umbles is the edible offal of deer and definitely has a connection with the term humble pie. You'll have to look it up yourself for more information on that as the time of night prevents me from going into any further detail. Well done on a fascinating array of invented meanings. Realityjunkie was back with flying colours today and a big win on the poll. Well done, RJ.

Flews

The hanging lips of a bloodhound are known as flews. Another extraordinary fact brought to you by Word Imp. The invented meanings were just as extraordinary and well crafted. Brian O Vretanos had plenty of followers today and his meaning topped the poll. Well done, BOV.

Smallage

Smallage is nowhere near as interesting as it sounds. It's wild celery. The invented meanings were far more out there. I enjoyed reading them very much. It was quite a pick me up after a long day at a squash tournament. Well done, everyone, and especially Pastor Phil who's back from holiday and winning on the poll again. Great work.

Dotard

A dotard is someone in his or her dotage, of course. Now, for those who need more help, your dotage is usually that stage of life when old age and feebleness of mind coincide. I know a few dotards, but I'm too polite to name them. The invented meanings were wonderfully funny, as always. And I'm thrilled to announce that Ju's Little Sister won our hearts and votes with her invented meaning. Great work!

Flivver

A flivver is a cheap motor car. Funny that. Our family has always owned flivvers and never known what to call them. Now we do. It's a slang word of unknown origin according to my dictionary. However, all sorts of other flivvers made it to the blog. Well done everyone - and welcome back, Pastor Phil. Thesaurus Rex took full honours on the poll for this one. Congratulations, again, T.R.

Exsanguinate

To exsanguinate something is to drain it of blood. Charming. There were several word imps who knew this one - obviously ghoulish horror movie fans - but I have to admit it was news to me. I prefer romantic comedies with less blood letting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading today's meanings and am happy to announce that Flamingo was today's poll winner. Congratulations!

Sciagraphy

Sciagraphy is very interesting. It's the action of shading while drawing. It's also x-ray photography. And it's telling the time by looking at the shadows on a sun dial. So, there you go. Fascinating and incredibly informative. If only I could still remember that tomorrow. Ho hum. Well done to Thinks! who was the winner on the poll today.

Geostrophic

Geostrophic means depending on the rotation of the earth. I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of invented meanings on the blog today. Thanks for continuing to visit. I appreciate it very much. The poll voting left Pami Sami as today's winner. Great work, PS!

Repique

A repique is part of a card game called piquet. I think it's when you win 30 points before you've even started playing. Something like that anyway. What a fabulous array of invented meanings! Well done to you all - especially the winner, Raelha. Well done, Raelha.