Wondrous Words Wednesday , a weekly meme, is kindly hosted by Bermuda Onion.
This week's words are taken from Murder at Madingley Grange by Caroline Graham.
- costive: adj. 1. contipated 2. slow, sluggish 3. stingy
- This adjective was used like this: "she gave him a costive smile." I can just imagine how that must look!
- gammon: n. a ham that has been cured or smoked. It was used as follow when describing his ears. " They stuck out from each side of his head like fine shavings of gammon". Another wonderfully descriptive phrase.
- ululation : n. a long, wavering, high-pitched sound resembling the howl of a dog or wolf with a trilling quality.
Great words!
ReplyDeleteI love the quotes that go with your first two words! I've never heard of either of them.
ReplyDeleteMy words are here.
Gammon - I wonder if that's related to "gams" which is usually slang for legs. Interesting....
ReplyDeleteMy words are here.
How was "ululation" used? That's such a cool word!
ReplyDeleteInteresting point, Lisa, it could come from that. Not sure.
ReplyDeleteJeane- unfortunately, I didn't write down the sentence with ululation in it but i think it did have the word ears in the sentence because I remember thinking, new words and they relate to ears. Next time, I promise to write it down. It always helps to see it in a sentence. Thanks for the great question!
gammon I know. it is frequently used to refer to certain cuts of pork products, ham and such, in Ireland.
ReplyDeletethe other two, I was clueless. not an uncommon state!
ululation is one I haven't seen before.
ReplyDeleteCostive is one I can probably remember and use correctly! It's a great word. Thanks for playing along today.
ReplyDeleteBased on your words, this sounds like a good book.
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