Thumbnail Image

50 English words you probably have never heard of or thought existed. 你可能从未听说过或认为不存在的 50 个英语单词

Leslie S

1.     Agog – Very eager or curious to see something

2.     Axiomatic – self-evident or unquestionable

3.     Borborygmi – Rumbling noise made by gas movement through     intestines

4.     Bumfuzzle – To confuse or fluster

5.     Cacophony – A harsh discordant mixture of sounds

6.     Cattywampus – Askew or awry

7.     Collywobbles – A feeling of anxiety or upset stomach

8.     Defenestration – The act of throwing someone out of a window

9.     Discombobulate – To confuse or disconcert

10.     Doodle sack – A word for a bagpipe, Scottish musical instrument

11.     Erf – Piece of land in a city or town (South African English)

12.     Flibbertigibbet – A frivolous, flighty or excessively talkative         person

13.     Gardyloo – A warning shouted before throwing wastewater     from above

14.     Garrulous - Talkative

15.     Gobbledygook – Language that is meaningless or hard to understand

16.     Hullabaloo – A commotion of fuss made about something

17.     Impignorated – To have pawned or mortgaged something of value

18.     Insouciant – Carefree and nonchalant

19.     Jiggery- pokery – Deceitful or dishonest behaviour

20.     Kerfuffle – A commotion or fuss

21.     Limerence – The state of being infatuated with another person

22.     Liminal – Occupying a position of both sides of a boundary

23.     Lollygag – To dawdle or be slow

24.     Malarkey – Nonsense

25.      Mumpsimus – A stubborn person who keeps making a known mistake

26.     Nudiustertian – Relating to the day before yesterday

27.      Oxter – An armpit (Scottish /Irish English)

28.     Pandiculation – The act of stretching and yawning

29.     Petrichor – Pleasant smell of rain on dry soil after long drought

30.     Pettifogger – A lawyer who handles petty cases, often disreputably

31.      Quandary – A state of uncertainty or indecision

32.      Quincunx – Arrangement of five items

33.      Quire – Two dozen sheets of paper

34.      Ratoon – A small shoot growing from the root of a plant (sugar cane)

35.      Sialoquent – Spitting while speaking

36.      Skedaddle – To run away quickly

37.      Snollygoster – A shrewd, unprincipled person (specially in politics)

38.      Tintinnabulation – Ringing or tinkling sound

39.      Tittynope – A small quantity of something left over (a few grains of rice)

40.      Ulotrichous – Having woolly or tightly curled hair

41.      Ultracrepidarian – A person who speaks on things they don’t understand

42.      Vigesimal – Relating to the number twenty

43.      Wamble – Stomach rumbling or feeling of nausea

44.      Widdershins – Counterclockwise or in the wrong direction

45.      Xanthosis – yellowish discoloration of the skin

46.      Yclept – Named or called (archaic)

47.      Xertz – To gulp down something quickly and greedily

48.     Zenzizenzizenzic – The eighth power of a number (absolute math term)

49.      Zugzwang – A situation in chess where every possible move is a bad one

50.      Zymurgy – Study of fermentation of beer

Added to Saved

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

Lesson

Prepare, Perform, Prevail

30 min
5,500 Points

Comments (0)

Login to Comment Log in »

from:

in:

Lesson Categories

Language Fluency

English   Native
Afrikaans   Native
Chinese   Daily conversation
Malay   Daily conversation
Thai   Daily conversation

Leslie S's Most Popular Columns

« Back to List of Tutor's Column
Got a question? Click to Chat