cypseline, adjective.
1. having to do with or resembling a swift.
2. belonging to the same family of birds as
the swift.



talbot, noun.
a former variety of English hunting hound,
with hanging ears and heavy jaws, from which
the bloodhound and other hounds were developed.



stramineous, adjective.
1a. of or like straw.
b. (Figurative.) valueless.
2. (Botany.) strawcolored.


flank speed,
1. a ship's maximum prescribed speed.
Ex. They turned out to be three Indonesian
torpedo boats racing at flank speed (40 knots)
toward the Dutch New Guinea coast (Time).
2. a very great speed; top speed.
Ex. Seventh Avenue was filled with cabs,
all rushing past at flank speed (Russell Baker).

The ships in a fleet had to maintain moderate speed to allow slower vessels to maintain their position and avoid collisions. If high speed were suddenly required, only the
vessels on the flanks could accelerate immediately, with full war power.


cipolin, noun.
a kind of marble that shows alternations
of various coloring, especially white and green.


circulus in definiendo,(Latin.)
1. a circle in defining.
2. a faulty form of definition in which the
word or concept to be defined is used to
explain the meaning.


Abderite, noun.
a stupid person (because the inhabitants of Abdera,
an ancient town in Thrace, were known for their stupidity).


humectant, noun.
a moistening agent used especially in tobacco,
cosmetics, and textiles.
Ex. Humectants help replace the natural youthful
moisture that's lost with the years (New Yorker).


Sopher, noun, pl. -pherim.
a scribe; one of the ancient teachers or
expounders of the Jewish oral law. I am tempted to wonder if this word has any relation to Greek "sophist"
sophist
n.
5L sophista < Gr sophistcs, wise man: see prec.6
1 [often S3] in ancient Greece, any of a group of teachers of rhetoric, politics, philosophy, etc., some of whom were notorious for their clever, specious arguments
2 any person practicing clever, specious reasoning


poste restante,
1. a direction written on mail which
is to remain at the post office till
called for.
2. a post-office department in charge
of such mail.

dilettante, noun, pl. -tes, -ti, adjective,
verb, -ted, -teing.noun
1. a person who follows some art or science
without learning much about it; dabbler.
Ex. He was a dilettante in a dozen fields,
an expert in none. (SYN) amateur.
2. a lover of the fine arts.
3. a trifler.

caporegime, noun.(U.S.)
a member of the Mafia below a capo in
rank and serving as one of his lieutenants.


excogitation, noun.
1. the act of excogitating.
2. a plan; contrivance; invention.
Using the old bean to solve a problem.