Ticpolonga

A ticpolonga isn't as nice as it sounds. It's a venomous Indian serpent. Also found in Sri Lanka. Your meanings were much more manageable. Well done to Magdalene, with a win on the poll today. Great work!

Securiform

Securiform means (wait for it, this is odd) "axe shaped". How or why, I don't know. I much prefer the incredible array of invented meanings from the in-form word imps. Well done to Thinks! whose meaning won the hearts of the voters.

Litotes

A litotes is an ironical understatement, especially using a negative to express a positive. My dictionary gives the example "no small feat" meaning "huge feat". There you go. I'm a writer and I didn't know that. Congrats to Sandy Feet for a great invented meaning.

Gestatorial chair

The gestatorial chair is used for carrying the Pope on certain occasions. Not sure which ones, but presumably pretty special occasions. What an exciting day on the blog. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all your meanings. Well done, everyone. You all deserve back pats. And especially well done to Scriptor Senex, today's poll winner.

Tachymeter

A tachymeter is rather more boring than your fabulous invented meanings would suggest, I'm sorry to say. It's an instrument used in surveying and has the job of locating points rapidly. I'm not a surveyor so that holds little meaning for me. Congratulations to Greedy Biscuit Baron for a good win on the poll - just edging out the competitors.

Idiopathy

Idiopathy refers to a disease without any known cause. I suspect it's closely related to hypochondria but not sure if the medical fraternity would agree. Your creative meanings were on the ball as always. Very enjoyable. And well done to Lydia B for her win on the poll. Keep 'em coming, Lydia.

Coronoid

Coronoid describes something (usually bones) which is curved like the beak of a crow! Who would have thought? And the invented meanings were so good. I loved them all. I big congrats to Chris for a fabulous meaning and well deserved win on the poll. Great work!

Omentum

So yes, the omentum is that ghastly stomach thing mentioned by Mandy. Or, as my dictionary puts more politely, the fold of the peritoneum connecting the stomach with other viscera. Not sure what viscera is but the doctor types will know. Well done to silver_flight and lorenzothellama for tying on the poll today. Great meanings, as always.

Bottomry

Bottomry is a money lending system. It's particularly to do with ships. The lender loans money to a shipowner so he can make a voyage. The ship is the security. Sadly, if the ship goes down, so does the lender's security. There you go. Your invented meanings, I have to say, were completely and utterly wonderful. I was in awe. And well done to Flamingo for being the best of the best according to the poll votes.

Commoney

A commoney is an inferior playing marble. Mmmm. Bet you never guessed that without cheating. Unless you were (or still are) a fan of playing marbles. Your invented meanings, on the other hand, were superb. I was very impressed with them all and had a good laugh too, which is always a bonus. Well done to Thinks! for a tightly fought win on the poll.

Thanatoid

Thanatoid is, of course, deathlike or deadly. Thanks for bearing with me after my first time of repeating a word that's been used before on this blog. My checks and balances were obviously non-operational. However, it won't happen again any time soon, I hope. Your meanings were great. I enjoyed them all and agreed with the pollsters' choice of Sara for the win. Great work, Sara. Join us again soon.

Longanimity

Longanimity is long suffering with a view to revenge in the future. Nasty. Good to have a word for it though. Loved your invented meanings for longanimity and big congrats to Loonilidi who outdid herself with lots of votes today. Great work!

Diathesis

Diathesis is a predisposition to ill health. Thanks for your meanings. Sandra Dodd got the most votes on the poll, which makes her today's winner. Congrats, SD!

Binnacle

A binnacle is useful. It's a case for holding a ship's compass. I bet it doesn't help the owner to figure out how to read the compass though. As you can tell, my technophobia extends to compasses. Or is that compii? Well done to Thesaurus Rex who was the first winner on our new poll.

Agrestic

Agrestic describes an uncouth rural character. I came across a few of those down at the rugby sevens last weekend, that's for sure. Their tendency towards agrestic behaviour was directly in relation to how much beer they had consumed. But that's half the fun of it, I guess. Your meanings for agrestic were interesting and if I had a poll I'd choose Merriam, Sandra Dodd and Stephen. I'll see if I can find another poll then.

Scammony

Scammony is actually an Asian plant which yields a gum resin used as a "drastic purgative". Scary. Your meanings were slightly less frigtening, but I still don't have a poll so I can't get people to vote. However, I would have chosen these three for the poll: Scriptor Senex, Empath and Chris.

Mesial

Mesial actually means in the middle line of the body. Our tummy buttons are mesial then. And so are our noses. Perhaps a medical person can correct me if I've got that wrong. I could use that word now and again to good effect. The poll still seems to be "encountering problems" so I'll just say that my favourite three of some great meanings were from Thinks!, Lorenzothellama and Sandra Dodd.

Sinistral

Sinistral means on the left, with particular reference to the spirals on certain shells which have whorls going towards the left as opposed to the more normal right hand direction. Can't say I've noticed that myself but I'll have a look next time I'm down at the beach. A couple of our clever word imps found ways of including the real meaning with their invented meanings. That's always fun. Thanks for all of today's contributions - it was good to see a wide variety of meanings. Because the poll wouldn't work, I had to rely on guesswork. I've made Stephen and Empath joint winners - mainly because I can. Thanks, both of you.

Opisometer

An opisometer apparently measures curved lines like the ones on a map. It's a wheel running on a screw, or so my dictionary puts it. I don't have a need for an opisometer at this stage, but I enjoyed the ideas of our word imps and have put three on the poll for voters. As the poll isn't working at the moment, I'm not sure who our winner is. You'll know as soon as I do, or vice versa!

Ingravescent

Ingravescent is medical term which means getting worse. Scary, eh? I hope none of the word imps have to hear that from a doctor any time soon. Fortunately, the infection at the bottom of my foot (from playing in a river) is not ingravescent any more. It's the opposite, at last. By the way, your invented meanings were appreciated. Thanks and congratulations to Maalie for a winning entry on the poll. Great work.