Wondrous Words Wednesday is a fabulous weekly meme hosted by Bermuda Onion, where we share new (to us) words that we've encountered in our weekly reading.
Todays words come from my recent reading of the Australian classic Picnic at Hanging Rock.
1. Caryatids (Noun)
Two in the long drawing-room of white marble, supported by pairs of caryatids as firm of bust as Madam herself; others of carved and tortured wood embellished with a thousand winking tiddling mirrors.
A sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. Wiki.
2. Pelisse (Noun)
A gaunt female figure in a puce- coloured pelisse was emerging from the outdoor 'dunnie', an earth-closet reached by a secluded path edged with begonias.
i) Any of various long outer garments, esp. a coat or cloak made of or lined or trimmed with fur.
ii) A woman's long cloak with slits for the arms. The free dictionary.
3. Crocodile (Noun)
For the first mile or two the scenery was familiar through the daily perambulation of the College crocodile.
Obviously, I know what a crocodile is but I'd never seen this usage before.
I ignored the many descriptors of large reptiles, and instead honed in on this one.
Brit informal. A line of people, esp schoolchildren, walking two by two.
4. Sevres clock (Noun)
Love for instance, when only a few minutes ago the thought of Louis' hand expertly turning the key of the little Sevres clock had made her feel almost ready to faint.
I was very excited to see this term crop up. On my recent trip to Paris we stayed on Rue de Sevres- a mganificent location in the 6th, so I knew that Sevres is a suburb of Paris, famous for porcelain.
5. Truckle bed (Noun)
'I don't know, Mum, I'll ask Cook,' said Minnie, who had last seen her adored Tom half an hour ago, stretched out in his underpants on the truckle bed in her attic room.
A low bed on casters, usually pushed under another bed when not in use. Trundle bed. The free dictionary.
6. Flamdoodle
Or was there really something in all this flamdoodle about looking for the lost sheilas that made sense?
Two in the long drawing-room of white marble, supported by pairs of caryatids as firm of bust as Madam herself; others of carved and tortured wood embellished with a thousand winking tiddling mirrors.
A sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. Wiki.
 |
| Picture source |
2. Pelisse (Noun)
A gaunt female figure in a puce- coloured pelisse was emerging from the outdoor 'dunnie', an earth-closet reached by a secluded path edged with begonias.
i) Any of various long outer garments, esp. a coat or cloak made of or lined or trimmed with fur.
ii) A woman's long cloak with slits for the arms. The free dictionary.
3. Crocodile (Noun)
For the first mile or two the scenery was familiar through the daily perambulation of the College crocodile.
Obviously, I know what a crocodile is but I'd never seen this usage before.
I ignored the many descriptors of large reptiles, and instead honed in on this one.
Brit informal. A line of people, esp schoolchildren, walking two by two.
4. Sevres clock (Noun)
Love for instance, when only a few minutes ago the thought of Louis' hand expertly turning the key of the little Sevres clock had made her feel almost ready to faint.
I was very excited to see this term crop up. On my recent trip to Paris we stayed on Rue de Sevres- a mganificent location in the 6th, so I knew that Sevres is a suburb of Paris, famous for porcelain.
 |
| Picture source |
5. Truckle bed (Noun)
'I don't know, Mum, I'll ask Cook,' said Minnie, who had last seen her adored Tom half an hour ago, stretched out in his underpants on the truckle bed in her attic room.
A low bed on casters, usually pushed under another bed when not in use. Trundle bed. The free dictionary.
6. Flamdoodle
Or was there really something in all this flamdoodle about looking for the lost sheilas that made sense?
Nonsense. Dictionary.com.
I love flamdoodle. I may have to use it every day from now on.
I feel like I should have known pelisse but I'm not sure I did. That use of crocodile is new to me as well. I love flamdoodle and am going to try my best to use it today!
ReplyDeleteoh flamdoodle is a good word to use with my 2 year old grandson ~ he will think it's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAnd I really appreciate the pictures, especially with Caryatids ~ helped me to visualize along with the definition.
Wonderful words today!
Love flamdoodle too! There's a lot of that floating around the minivan when the kids get silly after school. Thanks for including pictures- I never would have understood the first word!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow - you have quite the list this week. All are quite interesting but flamdoodle is one I can use right now.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and words, I knew one meaning of pelisse.
ReplyDeletehttp://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/09/wondrous-words-wednesday_18.html
Flamdoodle is wonderful! I hope to remember to say it soon. Truckle bed is my second favorite from your list. Fun post today!
ReplyDelete