Cantrip

A cantrip is a playful trick. Simple really. Thanks for the batch of intriguing meanings suggested for cantrip. I enjoyed them all. Congratulations to Thinks! who wowed the crowd.

Phrontistery

I'm loving this word. My brain now has a new name. It's phrontistery! That's because my wise dictionary tells me that a phrontistery is a place for thinking. It even uses the beautifully eloquent synonym "thinkery". Thanks to all the new word imps who visited today. You are all very welcome and it's good to see that one of our new visitors also won on the poll. Great work, Willimanater.

Stauroscope

A stauroscope is actually used for examining how polarised light affects crystals. Science lovers will get that. I'm still stuck on 'polarised'. Never mind. Our word imps had fun with complicated and inventive meanings for stauroscope and the voting public chose realityjunkie as today's winner. Well done again RJ!

Nescience

Nescience is the opposite of what you would think. It's the absence of knowledge. Weird! A bit like what realityjunkie suggested, but I'm sure her meaning was done in a nescient sort of way. Well done again to Holly Dolly who was the favourite on the poll again!

Protista

Okay. I'm going to have to quote my concise Oxford dictionary on this one, because I can't figure out a way to say this in my own words. Here goes: a protista is a kingdom of organised beings not distinguished as animals or plants. Despite my extensive education, I am none the wiser on what a protista actually is. But never mind, the invented meanings gave me a lot of joy and that's what matters most. Thanks for your enthusiasm and well done to a new player, Osobutterfly, for a winning entry on the poll. Fly our way again soon.

Foozle

A foozle is actually a clumsy manoevre. Or it can be a verb. You can foozle and make a complete mess of things. Quite a handy word really. Oh, sorry for my foozle. The word imps were not foozlers, though. They were on the ball in every way and none more so than Holly Dolly who cleaned up big time on today's poll. Well done, HD!

Paterfamilias

The paterfamilias is actually the head of the family. Or so says my dictionary. I enjoyed the variety of meanings suggested by the word imps and was thrilled to see some new names joining in the game too. Great stuff. And great work to realityjunkie for her winning meaning on the poll. Glad you're back!

Emunctory

One of our talented word imps nearly got this one, I presume accidentally. Emunctory is to do with nose blowing or ejecting any other waste matter from the body, apparently. Now, for something a little nicer, I enjoyed your invented meanings and am happy to announce that sliver_flight was today's winner. Excellent.

Rampion

Rampion is a bell shaped flower whose roots are used in salad. Not by me but I'm sure they're a treat for some obscure salad lovers. Perhaps some of the word imps have eaten rampion roots. Please tell. The impish meanings were well crafted, as always and, for the second day in a row, everybody loves Brian! You are the poll winner again, man! Great work.

Stumer

Dated Thursday October 15 - confusion caused again by time difference.
A stumer is not something you want. Especially not a big one. It's a counterfeit or otherwise worthless note, cheque or coin. Great to know the official name though. Perhaps I would know that already if I had taken up a career in banking. I would also probably be more wealthy. Oh well. I enjoyed your meanings for stumer and am happy to announce Brian o vretanos as the winner on the day. Go Brian.

Orfe

I was wrong, as we all knew. An orfe is not a dwarf elf. It's a kind of goldfish. Unfortunately, I can provide no further information than that. Those fishy types who also enjoy research, can find out more at their leisure. It was great to see some more new word imps in the mix today. Thanks for joining us and I hope you come back soon. One of those new word imps won on the poll too. Well done, Dawn Treader. Hope to see you again soon.

Cangue

Cangue is a bit unfortunate. It's the name for a heavy piece of wood that Chinese criminals wore around the neck. I'm hoping it's an old fashioned term, for their sake. Your meanings for cangue were great. Thanks for your commitment. Best of all was the meaning suggested by Hey Jude. In fact, Jude, I think many of us will now have the word cangue forever in our vocabulary, thanks to your well written meaning. Great work!

Ponceau

Dated Monday 12 October (confusion caused by time difference and late blogging) If I understand my dictionary correctly - which isn't always easy - ponceau is the official colour of a bright red poppy. Fascinating. Actually, that page of the dictionary is full of interesting p words, but you'll have to wait for those. I loved your inventive meanings, as always, and enjoyed the variety very much. Thinks! had a funny meaning and the voters agreed. Well done!

Storax

Oddly enough, storax is quite different indeed from any of the invented meanings of our dedicated and creative word imps. In fact, it is rather ordinary. Storax is a tree which has a vanilla scented resin named after it. Storax was used for medicine and perfume in times gone by. That aside, the invented meanings were top of the charts today. I'm impressed! We had a tie for the win again today, with Hey Jude and Sophie doing equally well. Great work ladies!

Lunkah

A lunkah is a strong Indian cigar. I loved the word impish meanings and am pleased to announce that silver_flight is the winner on today's poll. Great work everyone, though. Very funny meanings all round.

Scholium

Okay, so my dictionary reports that a scholium is actually an explanatory note in the margin of a book. I can't quite work out whether it's one scribbled in by a reader/editor or a printed one by the author. Nevertheless, you get the general idea. The poll win was a tie between the boys, Stephen and Brian o vretanos. Well done and come back soon.

Clonus

Clonus, as many of you guessed, is medical. It's a violent muscular spasm. Your meanings were intriguing, as requested, and the winner on the poll was contributed by Magdalene. Great work and thanks for being part of getting this blog back up and running.

Ochlocracy

I love this word. It's my new fave, especially with an obligatory Scottish accent. Try it and see! That's not to say it's a Scottish word, cos it's not. In fact, the real meaning of ochlocracy is mob rule. So, next time I see mob rule taking hold, I'll be able to stand, chin in hand and sagely refer to the general chaos as an ochlocracy. Thanks to my fellow word imps who offered their invented meanings. The winner on the poll was Anonymous. Well done, whoever you are.

Paragoge

Okay, firstly, I'm hopeless. At being a decent word imp that is. I do have some redeeming features. But consistency in blogging obviously isn't one of them. Call me what you will. But I'm back today and that's something. Maybe it will be the start of bigger and better things. To my trusty followers, I know you're all older and wiser, but if you're still there... Yay! I appreciate your tenacity. Anyway, back to today's word - Paragoge. The real meaning is grammatical. It's the addition of an extra letter or syllable to a word. Not sure if I can give you an example. Perhaps making paragoge spelled paragogue... We all loved the meaning invented by Mags, who's today's winner. Great work Mags and I can't wait to try out a paragoge myself!

Suzerain

A suzerain was a feudal lord. Quite boring really. Thanks for your much more interesting meanings. And many apologies once again for my lengthy absence. I will make a concerted effort to be present and make this blog something to be proud of. Love from the word imp. Oh, and congratulations to Lively Clamor for your winning meaning.