Albatross /ˈalbəˌtrôs/ noun a large bird with long, narrow wings found near the ocean, especially in the South Seas At first it looked like a cross, then it looked like an aeroplane, then it looked like a kite, and at last with a whirring of wings it was right overhead and was an albatross. – from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S.... Read More

Furor /ˈfyo͝oˌrôr,ˈfyo͞oˌrôr/ noun frenzy, a state of great public excitement It is to this ardor for making oneself the topic of conversation, to this furor to distinguish oneself which nearly always keeps us outside ourselves, that we owe what is best and worst among men, our virtues and vices, our sciences and our errors, our conquerors and our philosophers, that is to say, a... Read More

Royalty /ˈroi(ə)ltē/ noun 1. a member of the monarchy There’s no royalty in America, so people deify actors. – Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1981 – ) 2. a payment to the owner for the use of copyrighted material Now my only income is a few royalty cheques from my books. – Bobby Fischer (1943 – 2008)

Furtive /ˈfərdiv/ adjective secretive, attempting to avoid being noticed, usually due to guilt So swift, silent and furtive were his movements like those of a trained bloodhound picking out a scent, that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law instead of exerting them in its defense. – from... Read More

Microcosm /ˈmīkrōˌkäzəm/ noun a small world, a community or situation seen as possessing the characteristic features of something much larger I have found that each garden is just what Voltaire proposed in ‘Candide’: a microcosm of a just and beautiful society. – Andrew Weil (1942 – )

Sideshow /ˈsīdˌSHō/  noun 1. a small show or exhibition, usually as part of a circus or carnival I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas…when this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room. – from Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury (1920 – 2012) 2. a spectacle which diverts... Read More

Hearth /härTH/ noun the floor of a fireplace One may have a blazing hearth in one’s soul and yet no one ever came to sit by it. – Vincent van Gogh (1853 -1890)

Amalgamation /əˌmalɡəˈmāSHən/ noun the result or process of combining many things There is no process of amalgamation by which opinions, wrong individually, can become right merely by their multitude. – John Ruskin (1819 – 1900)

Diphthong /ˈdipˌTHäNG,ˈdifˌTHäNG/ noun a combination of two vowels forming a compound sound Out of the simple consonants of the alphabet and our eleven vowels and diphthongs all possible syllables of a certain sort were constructed, a vowel sound being placed between two consonants. – Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

Flowery /ˈflou(ə)rē/ adjective 1. full of many flowers, resembling or smelling of flowers I have a rosy sky and a green flowery Eden in my brain; but without, I am perfectly aware, lies at my feet a rough tract to travel, and around me gather black tempests to encounter. – from Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë (1816 – 1855) 2. (of speech or writing)... Read More