Brusque /brəsk/ adjective rough and short in manner, blunt Even the sky a hybrid — here clean and black and starred, there roiling with a brusque signature of cloud or piled in strata like folded linen or the interior of rock. – Stanley Elkin (1930 – 1995)

Bagpipe /ˈbaɡˌpīp/ noun an instrument that creates sound as air is squeezed through reed pipes from a bag beneath the player’s arm The music of the bagpipes is a call to the soul, a reminder of our connection to the land and our ancestors. – Author unknown

Skillet /ˈskilət/ noun a small metal pan with a handle, a frying pan Cooking with a cast iron skillet is great because it can also be used for presentation! – Rachel Hollis (1983 – )

Apoplectic /ˌapəˈplektik/ adjective extremely angry, furious Anger would’ve been the justified response, and for a time in private, I was certainly apoplectic…but as life has taught me more than once, resentment corrodes the veins of the person who carries it. – from Just as I Am, by Cicely Tyson (1924 – 2021)

Chrysanthemum /kriˈsanTHəməm/ noun a flowering plant in the daisy family that is often used ornamentally A chrysanthemum by any other name would be a lot easier to spell. – Robert C. Savage (1914 – 1987)

Apothegm /ˈapəˌTHem/ noun a pithy, compact saying, a proverb An apothegm refers to a short pithy saying or proverb, so some examples of apothegm quotes could be: ‘A stitch in time saves nine’, Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise’, The pen is mightier than the sword’, or ‘Knowledge is power’. – Anonymous

Tuatara /ˌto͞oəˈtärə/ noun a unique species of reptile native to New Zealand with spines along its back A tuatara’s average life span is about 60 years, but they can live up to 100 years. – New Zealand Department of Conservation

Universal /ˌyo͞onəˈvərs(ə)l/ adjective affecting or understood by all within a particular group That is part of the beauty of all literature…you discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. – F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940)

Pajamas /pəˈjäməz/ noun loose fitting clothes that are worn to bed When I was in fourth grade, a novelist came to talk to my English class…she told us that being an author meant sitting at the kitchen table in pajamas, drinking tea with the dogs at your feet. – J. Courtney Sullivan (1981 – )

Redolent /ˈredələnt/ adjective 1. strongly reminiscent Every mile was redolent of associations, which she would not have missed for the world, but each of which made her cry upon ‘the days that are no more’ with ineffable longing. – from North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell 2. fragrant, giving off a pleasant odor The flowers [in the garden] might have died, and the last... Read More