Index

Being an irregular record of the English language.

The word of the day dictionary. My primary source is the Oxford English Dictionary. Further research, quotation, and commentary comes from me, Arthur D. Ryel-Lindsey.

A

aa
abattoir
abhor
abjure
abstemious
acclimate
accrue
ace in the hole
acerb
ad hominem
afoot
ailurophile
akimbo
Alford plea
allay
alone
ambergris
amidward
ampere
anathema
anchovy
anopisthographic
aperçu
aphorism
apogee
apricity
argy-bargy
aristo
ass over teakettle
atelier
atonal
atone
awesome

B

Baba Yaga
backsplash
badinage
bailiwick
banshee
barn-burner
barnstorm
barrack
basho
basis point
batten
beaucoup
Beaujolais
becalm
belt and suspenders
bee’s knees
berserk
beslap
bethel
beweep
betwixt
bifurcate
bight
binge-watch
biweekly
blaflum
blanch
blasé
blazon
blind side
blinder
blitz
blivet
blockchain
blue streak
bogey
bog-standard
bold
bombastic
boom
bootleg
borborygm
bouncebackability
boycott
brandish
brass tacks
Brobdingnagian
bromide
Bronx cheer
brownie point
bull
bullish
bush league
butterless
by long chalks
by your bootstraps

C

caboose
cacophony
caftan
cahoot
cajole
calamity
calm
campanile
capsize
case in point
Cassandra
catawampus
catbird seat
catch as catch can
cavalier
caveat emptor
celery
cereal
champ
charger
charlatan
chatoyant
chevron
chew the fat
chock-full
chortle
chuffed
churlish
citation
clearing house
close to the wind
coat-tail
cocktail
coconut
coincide
collocation
commerce
compendium
confluence
constabulary
contemner
conundrum
cordon
corral
costermonger
coterie
covenant
creamy
creole
crepuscular
crestfallen
cri de coeur
cubit
cucurbitaceous
curse
cursive
cut of your jib
cut to the quick
cut-throat
cute

D

dairy
daisy
daisy-cutter
darling
dead ringer
deadfall
debacle
defenestration
deft
déjà vu
denim
desolation
destiny
detritus
deviled
dickens
dipsy-doodle
disabuse
disambiguation
discombobulate
dissectologist
divaricate
dog days
doggone
dog’s breakfast
dragline
dragnet
dredge
drip
drive the nail home
dusky
dying quail

E

Easterlin paradox
eavesdrop
ecclesiastic
echo
ecstatic
egad
eglantine
eighty-six
emend
encomium
ensorcell
Erebus
eristic
escheat
espalier
esprit de l’escalier
et cetera
etui
everyday
excuse my French
exigency
exuberant
eyeshot

F

Fahrenheit
fail-safe
fait accompli
fantastic
felicity
fettle
fichu
fickle
fidelity
finagle
fine-tooth comb
finical
firebrand
fits and starts
flagship
flâneur
flibbertigibbet
flim-flam
folderol
foray
forte
forthwith
fortune
foyer
freshwater soldier
frivolity
fulmination
fur
furlong
furrow
fustigate

G

gallivant
galumph
gambrel
gangbuster
generation
germane
gibberish
gift horse
gimcrack
gnarly
gregarious
grindstone
guile
gulch
gumshoe
gusto

H

haberdasher
hackney
haet
hagiography
hair of the dog
Halloween
hands down
haphazard
happy hour
harangue
harum-scarum
havoc
heirloom
hell-for-leather
heyday
hiccup
hide and hair
higgledy-piggledy
high sign
hippodrome
hirsute
hoity-toity
holistic
holla
homophily
hone in
honeymoon
hoodwink
horse-trade
hoser
hot dog
household
hurly-burly
husting
huxing

I

ides
idiolect
idyll
imaginate
imbroglio
immanent
immure
imperious
impound
impresario
in a nutshell
in situ
in spades
in with a shout
incandescent
incorrigible
indict
indurate
inflorescence
ingratiate
inscrutable
interesting
into thin air
irascible

J

jejune
jeremiad
jiffy
the jig is up
jinx
Johnny-come-lately
jubilee
jump the gun
justify

K

kairos
kerfuffle
kicky-wicky
kismet
kittle
knave
knot
know the ropes
koozie

L

laggard
landlord
lapis lazuli
latent
laundry list
lbw
leviathan
lickety
ligature
lily
Limey
linchpin
lipstick on a pig
litmus test
llama
lofty
lopsided
lour
lunatic

M

macabre
mammoth
manifesto
mansplain
maraud
meddle
memory lane
mercurial
mermaid
meshugas
métier
mettle
micturate
mirth
mistletoe
mitosis
module
morass
morphology
mosey
move the cheese
muckrake
mudlark
mutability

N

namaste
neck of the woods
née
needs must
newfangled
nominal
non sequitur
nonpareil

O

obsequious
obsidian
obverse
Occam’s razor
off the bat
offal
offhand
on a dime
on the fence
one fell swoop
ordinal
ostentation
out of the blue
outfit
over a barrel

P

paddock
paean
palaver
palindrome
palisade
palladium
palliate
paltry
panacea
panache
pancreas
Panenka
Panglossian
panoply
pantheon
paper tiger
paradiddle
paradox
paragon
paroxysm
parsimony
part and parcel
pathos
patrician
pear-shaped
penchant
pedant
the penny drops
penumbra
per fas et nefas
peregrination
peripatetic
perjury
persevere
persnickety
pestilence
petard
petition
petrichor
phaeton
phenomenon
philately
photobomb
picaresque
pickle
piebald
pilfer
Pillars of Hercules
pinion
pipsqueak
Plantagenet
plasticine
play it by ear
pleasance
poinsettia
poltroon
polyglot
ponderous
pony
poop
popinjay
posse comitatus
postulate
potboiler
precarious
prescience
pretension
primrose path
procrastinate
pro forma
prudence
psilanthropism
psyche
punctilious
pundit
purple patch
Pyrrhic

Q

quadrille
quandary
quibble
quiescent
quintessence
quorum

R

raconteur
radar
rank and file
rapscallion
rapt
ratchet
razzmatazz
reconnoiter
red-letter day
red herring
red mist
red tape
rejoinder
restaurant
rheophile
riff
rift
riparian
rubber
ruse

S

sally
sandwich
sarcasm
satiate
sawyer
say your piece
scapegoat
scattergun
schism
sconce
scoundrel
scouse
scritch
scull
scuttlebutt
segue
seigniorage
sesquipedalian
shenanigan
ship-shape
shirttail
shitshow
shoehorn
shoo-in
shoot the breeze
shoot the moon
shorthand
sin bin
sinecure
sinister
skedaddle
skiagrapher
skiff
skunk works
slipshod
smack-dab
smithereen
smokeshow
sobriquet
son of a—
sophomore
sotto voce
soubhiyé
soup
spatchcock
spats
spatula
spiffy
spin a yarn
splenetic
split hairs
springbok
sprocket
squee
stakeholder
stalking horse
stay the course
steady
stoic
stop
straw man
strawberry
stridulous
stronghold
stymie
sublime
substantial
sundae
supernova