- AGLET - The plain or ornamental covering on the end of a shoelace.
- ARMSAYE - The armhole in clothing.
- CHANKING - Spat-out food, such as rinds or pits.
- COLUMELLA NASI - The bottom part of the nose between the nostrils.
- DRAGÉES - Small beadlike pieces of candy, usually silver-coloured, used for decorating cookies, cakes and sundaes.
- FEAT - A dangling curl of hair.
- FERRULE - The metal band on a pencil that holds the eraser in place.
- HARP - The small metal hoop that supports a lampshade.
- HEMIDEMISEMIQUAVER - A 64th note. (A 32nd is a demisemiquaver, and a 16th note is a semiquaver.)
- JARNS,
- NITTLES,
- GRAWLIX,
- and QUIMP - Various squiggles used to denote cussing in comic books.
- KEEPER - The loop on a belt that keeps the end in place after it has passed through the buckle.
- KICK or PUNT - The indentation at the bottom of some wine bottles. It gives added strength to the bottle but lessens its holding capacity.
- LIRIPIPE - The long tail on a graduate's academic hood.
- MINIMUS - The little finger or toe.
- NEF - An ornamental stand in the shape of a ship.
- OBDORMITION - The numbness caused by pressure on a nerve; when a limb is `asleep'.
- OCTOTHORPE - The symbol `#' on a telephone handset. Bell Labs' engineer Don Macpherson created the word in the 1960s by combining octo-, as in eight, with the name of one of his favourite athletes, 1912 Olympic decathlon champion Jim Thorpe.
- OPHRYON - The space between the eyebrows on a line with the top of the eye sockets.
- PEEN - The end of a hammer head opposite the striking face.
- PHOSPHENES - The lights you see when you close your eyes hard. Technically the luminous impressions are due to the excitation of the retina caused by pressure on the eyeball.
- PURLICUE - The space between the thumb and extended forefinger.
- RASCETA - Creases on the inside of the wrist.
- ROWEL - The revolving star on the back of a cowboy's spurs.
- SADDLE - The rounded part on the top of a matchbook.
- SCROOP - The rustle of silk.
- SNORKEL BOX - A mailbox with a protruding receiver to allow people to deposit mail without leaving their cars.
- SPRAINTS - Otter dung.
- TANG - The projecting prong on a tool or instrument.
- WAMBLE - Stomach rumbling.
- ZARF - A holder for a handleless coffee cup.
More word fun can be found at The Book of Lists.
1 comment:
Now you've gone and ruined my gift surprises; I was going to UPS a box of SPRAINTS to everyone this year.
Post a Comment