Yarborough

Sean John stared across the card table, right into the eyes of Dr. Pantigal. His gaze cut right through the thick cigarette smoke. Sean John looked back at his hand. It was a total Yarborough, but he had to play it like this hand was the big screen one. The fate of the game - and of the entire island nation - depended on it.

Oeillade

My hair slicked back, cologne spritzed on just right, brand new fitted tux, I knew all the ladies were looking. This was my chance to make a sure pass at Jessica McCarthy, the hottest girl in school. I walked right past her, then stopped, turned my head and gave her a clear oeillade. She had to notice my actions, my longing look. She knew.

Hibernaculum

Tim fondly recalls spending his winters as a youth in the isolated mountainside home of his grandparents. Buffered from the wind and snow by several layers of jackets and sweaters and undergarments, he was free to roam nature as he saw fit. This is how he befriended a local black bear that he named Daisy. One afternoon he stumbled upon the creature's hibernaculum - a collection of brush and foliage material set up in a cave-like allover. It was the perfect spot for one of God's creatures to spend the winter.

Transpontine

William recalled his childhood, with his bedroom window overlooking the rider. If he woke up early enough, he could always watch the thick fog along the grassy plains dissipate as the sun's rays warmed the earth. And the nearest neighbors in a transpontine house, close enough to make secret gestures through windows.

Cathexis

Wally relied heavily on the act of brewing tea. The habits and motions calmed him, oriented him in any situation. When he is stressed or when rushed or overwhelmed or nervous with guests, the cathexis of the tea brewing process always leveled him.

Misoneism

The whole town was dated. The architecture, the clothing of its residents, its billboards and advertisements... It all appeared as if the town was stuck in the past. The citizens of this locale must be struck with a strong case of misoneism to have resisted change.

Ochlophobia

Sean John padded through the smooth bay water. The skies were as clear as the ocean in this secluded section of the Hawaii islands. He always enjoyed visiting his most private shark friend. This particular shark preferred to live alone - to dwell its days far from the schools and packs of fellow sharks. Possibly the only shark on earth to have been diagnosed with ochlophobia, Sean John was more than happy to honor his wishes of privacy.

Hardihood

Sean John looked deep into the eyes of Wheels, his most trusty shark. The mission that he was about to send the creature on was dangerous. Did Wheels know? He must have. This shark was blessed with more hardihood than any other shark Sean John had tamed, and he'd do his best to accomplish any task, now matter the danger.

Jocose

It was always a pleasure to stay with Uncle Jimmy. When you spent a few days with such a jocose man,you allays ended up laughing so much your mood had to be better than when you got there.

Slumgullion

For the starving child come in off the street, it didn't matter what was in the steaming bowl in front of him. To Patrick, this bowl of slumgullion was the best meal in the world.

Wroth

He opened his eyes to see dark, stormy sky. The lonely ocean on every horizon. He had been drugged and brought out here on this tiny skiff. Now, with a storm swooping in, the wroth water was starting to jostle the small vessel. Sean John needed help.

Decant

It is here in Dr. Pantigal's secret lab that some of his more nefarious creations came into being. He focuses intently on the glass beakers as he decants some destructive looking bubbly liquid from a vat into tiny containers.

Tenuity

Walking across the frozen water, Sean John kept an eye on the depths below. With the temperature dropping, he could feel the increasing tenuity of the ice. If it got too thin, he could fall victim to the vicious creature lurking below.

Protoplast

Sean John looked at the tiny, man made shark swimming in the tank. There was something awful about this experiment, he could feel it. Sean John vowed to make sure that this protoplast did not set a precedent for scientists everywhere.

Omnium gatherum

It was a terrible sight to see. The giant fisherman's net had indiscriminately swathed the most crowded marine corridor in the ocean. No type of fish was immune. Caught amongst it's harsh wires was an omnium gatherum of squirming scaly creatures.

Maugre

Maugre the fact that he has been sailing his whole life and had unmatched boating skills, he was unable to complete the simplest of boating courses after he heard the bad news.

Commisure

Although the secret door was well hidden - a casual observer would see only one solid mud patched wall - Sean John spotted from across the room the commisure where the wall ended and the door began.

Dr. Pantigal's secret lair was about to be not so secret.

Diathesis

It was one of Sean John's worries, and rightfully so. It's why he always kept months of vitamins stocked on his ship. His diathesis to some of the more common sea-bound diseases motivated him to stay extra healthy.

Mufti

The kids had never seen Park Ranger Steve outside of the field trips down to the local nature reserves. So when he showed up to class in mufti the kids didn't recognize him at first.

Clepe

The very first shark that fell under the spell of Sean John's spell was no ordinary shark. It was a massive great white shark that Sean John did affectionately clepe "Little Fin". Sean John chuckled at his ironically chosen nickname.

Adscititious

Terry finished cataloging his trading card collection. Over 1000 baseball cards of Topps brand along with some adscitituous football cards and hockey cards.

Skeigh

Little Jimmy unfolded the paper and posted it onto the refrigerator, using a small magnet. He stood back and looked skeigh at his work on display. It was the best drawing he had ever done.

Building to sky

Phantasmagoric

The storm raged on, and the boat rocked in the tempestuous waters. Sean John struggled to guide the vessel - wrenching the controls back and forth, guiding  by something other than sight. The lightning flashes illuminated the waters every few seconds, producing some phantasmagoric displays of shadow and light. Sean John knew he couldn't trust his eyes.

Crepuscle

Sean John lay on his back, his small vessel drifting lazily down the river. In the fading light, he could see nature's transitional scene. As it gets darker, Sean John sees the light and the darkness dance across the sky, through the trees and the water. As crepuscle comes along and it is the perfect mixture of light and dark, Sean John feels the balance.

Somnambulism

Walter looked at himself in the mirror. He looked just like the other boy of his age. He didn't look sick or disfigured. So what is it that made him afflicted with somnambulism? Why did he get out of bed in the middle of the night and wander around in a sleep state?

Yoho

The sky was clear and blue, blending with the ocean on the horizon. Sean John watched the vast expanse of wavy ripples mute away out of eyesight. "Yoho," hey shouted down below deck to Davis. "Come on up here, would you?"

Bequeath

The gossip columns sometimes discussed just how close of a relationship Sean John really has with his sharks. With no children or family to speak of, are these coarse-skinned creatures are replacement? It was even rumored that Sean John had written his will to bequeath all of his property to the sharks upon his passing.

Falderal

Sean John didn't know what to believe. If what the Gatekeeper had told him was true, then his entire mission was in jeopardy. On the other hand, if it was just a bunch of falderal, looking further into it would set him days behind and possibly damage some relationships in the process.

Chattel

Darius needed to come up with a couple hundred bucks, fast. He had run out of real cash just want couple days ago, so he decided to liquidate. Gathering up all chattel from his home that he could bear to part with, he drove down to the pawn shop with a packed truck.

Blowzy

Sean John gave up, and stopped sprinting. He felt the coattails of his suit jacket float back down. Now his outfit was covered in sweat, and surely his hair was in disarray. He would take one step into the courtroom and be immediately judged for his blowzy appearance. This wouldn't help his case.

Pinion

Sean John yanked open the covering tray to examine the gears at the heart of the machine. Leaning in, he spotted a pinion quite obviously out of place. The tiny cog was crooked and scratched. This looked like deliberate sabotage.

Arraign

The order to arraign Sean John went out yesterday. Now he had 2 choices. He could stay and accept the summons to the court, or he could run.

Promulgate

The mischievous prankster of Mrs Hickenlooper's 3rd grade English class devised a plan where all students would stand up and leave the classroom at precisely 12:03. He secretly promulgated this plan to his fellow students by discretely passing notes when the teacher had her back turned.

Snollygoster

"Don't you go hanging around with that boy from down the street. He's nothing but a snollygoster. I can just tell it, he is up to no good"

Annulate

All 12 cameras were positioned on the outer ring of a full circle , each facing outward. The annulate connectors kept the cameras in an exact circle. Not all I had to do was stand in the middle and capture a full 360 degrees.

Obverse

At first, I thought that Darryl had spent hours working on on very simple sketch, and wondered about his supposed talent. But then he flipped over the canvas to show me the obverse side. I had been looking at the rear. An incredibly designed collection of colors flowing in, out, beautiful waves and swans and fairies and princesses.

Tittup

The floor is still wet with mopped cleanliness. Frank tittups across the floor to make his way to the front door. The unexpected guest watches his awkward stepping.

Picaro

Charles is a picaro of the modern world. Always on the move, he has no home. Constantly scheming and shifting confidence in every new environment, he finagles a living off deception.

Malign

Sean John could only listen as the high priestess maligned him in front of the whole village. She accused him of deceit and manipulation. The village opinion was being swayed toward banishment - or worse. Sean John hoped that he would have an opportunity to speak in his own defense.

Bluestocking

The smart and talented Lisa Simpson is and will forever remain the most lovable bluestocking. A bookworm, a thinker, an all-around literary geek.

Hoosgow

It'd be 'bout dat time o' day when I gotta take ma body to da toilet. Here in da hoosgow, there ain't no privacy and you gotta ask for permission first. Da officer opened my cell door and led me down da hallway.

Loblolly

Wouldn't you know it, little Lassie had found the only part of this wide open expanse of plains that wasn't clean and dry. She pawed her way out of the loblolly covered in wet muck, shook her body like a jackhammer, and got my handsome clothes good and dirty.

Albedo

Professor Marshall disengaged from his telescope. Writing his notes on a pad, he considered what might be affecting the change in the distant planet's albedo. It had changed drastically since he measured it last week.

Fermata

The words smothered him. One assault of such force his universe shifted. He heard them over and over again as they spun around his head. Slammed into his brain. Knocked his life off course. All he could do was stand there as the words pummeled him repeatedly, stuck in one fermata of torment.

Pilose

This was unlike any doctor's office he'd ever visited before. There was a large comfy pilose couch along the wall - perhaps the hair of some mink animals. Darren ran his hand along the couch surface, taking in the furry texture.

Sobersided

Mr. Granton never cracked a smile. His classroom walls were nearly bare and his lectures were stern. He was the most sobersided teacher at Walton Elementary School.

So when Edna Winston saw the man walk up to the stage on open-mic night, she was convinced this was some kind of parallel world she stumbled into.

Parnassian

Derek lies on his back in the great expanse of these Midwestern plains. He watches the clouds drift along, pulled by some guiding force. The very same force that creates the earth's weather and climate, nurturing bountiful rainstorms and unleashing deadly monsoons.

Derek watches the world turn, and dreams of some parnassian lifestyle, a pastoral life of leisure and poetry.

Monad

Larry attributes his business success to hard work, a supportive community, dedicated workers, a diverse talent pool, innovative thinking, luck.... lots of factors. But if you really press him on the issue, he'll admit that his entire business philosophy can be distilled to a monad.

Fleer

Mallard slammed his fist down in celebration, feeling victory was at hand. To spite his opponent, he twisted his lips and fleered. The chastising cackles echoed throughout the chamber.

Dissilient

It's a nauseating site, here in the marine mortuary. Right in front of Sean John lay a sliced and dissilient shark stomach, spewing forth all kinds of innards.

Bauble

I've noticed that Wallace has a peculiar habit. He carries with him, at all times, some kind of glittery bauble. Every now and then, he'll remove it from his pocket, initiate some dexterous maneuver in which the bauble is passed back and forth from finger to finger on his left hand, then flicked into the air and caught with his opposite hand. Then, back into the pocket.

Gingham

She had sewed the costume herself. Using up the last of her gingham, she masterfully wove an outfit that will surely win first prize.

Habiliment

Gerald looks around as he steps on the bus. Only a few of his fellow transit riders bat their eyes at him when he steps on. But all of them know. They all see his goofy habiliments, and are inwardly laughing at him and his Captain Crazy's Burgers uniform.

Parri passu

Staring into the endless universe, he knows that we're all dust. He knows that all that he feels doesn't matter. As time passes, existence expands, and his his memories contract. The impact of his loss will diminish with time parri passu, an even relationship.

Serotinal

Always around this time of the year, he feels a certain sadness creep on. It's a serotinal cycle, always coming on just the time that summer hits the hottest days.

Gynarchy

Here on this isolated island, through countless generations of unique social development, a gynarchy has developed. The women run the government, while the men tend to support the households.

Pittance

The criminal partnership went sour as soon as Mallard found out exactly how much they'd been scoring each heist. It turned out that his share of the loot was merely a pittance of the overall score. He deserved more.

Meander

I tell Mariska that we should take our time. Out here in the woods, just her and I walking together, I want to express my feelings for her but I can't just yet. I suggest that we meander through the trails for a while.

Doggerel

He left his writings behind. It's clear that his mind started to skew towards lunacy before he escaped. The pages are full of handwritten doggerel. Ravings of a madman, hardly coherent.

Bedraggle

Tied up and made to watch desecration. Back against the massive tree trunk, arms and body pinned by rope, he watched. He watched as the Holy sacraments were bedraggled by his captor, soiled and muddied.

Viceroy

There was a time in this island nation's history that foreign powers tried to subjugate the natives. This was long before the fierce independent spirit of the people became known globally. Nearly one month after the British installed a viceroy to rule the island, he was found hung in a tree and the boat he came on burned.

Quincunx

Deep in the caverns, Sean John found the formation that logic would dismiss out of existence. Here, so many meters underneath the surface, through passages so narrow a fat man would be stuck, where there was no natural light, where there is no evidence of man ever passing through.

The caverns opened into an enormous chamber, at least 30 feet tall. Positioned on the ground were 5 identical geometric shapes. Massive rocks carved into the holy shape of the island's religion - a cross between a rectangle and a trident. They were arranged with precision in a perfect quincunx - the four corners of the square and one in the middle.

Gibbous

Nighttime on the ocean, and the air was chilly. Sean John floated in small raft, feet dangling off the edge, skimming the water surface. The twinkling night sky was reflected below, one vastness mirroring another. Thousands of bright stars and a gibbous moon, not quite full but nearly.

Od

Steeped in deep mysticism, shrouded in mystery, secluded in hermitage, Shaldridge the Sorcerer is not a man to be joked about. He is a master of all things supernatural, magical, and elemental. It is said that he has developed tools that tap into the od - the very essence of nature.

Lacerate

Sean John stared at the shark's corpse. Mangled, bloodied, and disfigured almost beyond recognition. He cursed Dr. Pantigal. The evil scientist's new weapon lacerated this shark's skin over and over, cutting into the animal dozens of times. It was not a natural death.

Espousal

Ever since the small island nation's espousal of the policies laid out in the Pantigal Doctrine, their economic output has steadily risen each quarter.

Cummerbund

Davis felt stiff and encumbered. It wasn't every day he dressed up fancy. Tuxedo, bowtie, handkerchief... he even had a cummerbund wrapped around his waist. That was a first for him.

Impolotic

Despite the early hour on the alarm clock, Davis made the impolitic decision to stay up late watching movies.

Dither

They chose Sandra as their leader. Not because she was the smartest amongst them, but because she would not dither in the face of danger, would not waver or falter pressure.

Jilt

Barry continued to watch the woman's confessional video, enraptured by the secret recordings.

"It's just fun and games for me. I make the men fall in love with me - surprisingly easy, by the way - and just when they can't stand to go a minute without me, I jilt them."

Helter-skelter

The poison was seeping through Sean John's blood stream. Faltering on his feet, people were starting at him. If he didn't warn Prince Ha'wa'laua about Dr. Pantigal's plan before he went under, the island nation - and every last person living on it - were doomed.

He could feel his thoughts slipping away from him. He grabbed the nearest person walking by him on the street.

"Prince knows soon all die water before next hour! "

It was too late. The poison had hit his brain. Trying to speak, he felt the words slip out of order and end up all helter-skelter as they left his mouth.

Waif

Once revered, the mighty stuffed animal now lies on a mound of dirt. Covered in muck and forgotten, it is now a waif of a shed childhood.

Eyetooth

Jackson has remained the top discus thrower for 3 years straight, but he wasn't always at the top of his game. He had to cut his eyetooth somewhere... And that somewhere was Hallsville, Oklahoma. Jackson looked around at the town of his youth.

Hyperhidrosis

Either Albert was suddenly stricken with a severe case of hyperhidrosis, or his body was betraying his attempts at deceit. The interrogator tossed him to towel to wipe up the sweat.

Bemused

Taylor dragged his feet through the sand, cherishing the feeling of the grains between his toes. It was good to be alive. He wanted to thank Sean John properly, but his savior appeared to be bemused, staring off into the distance, a statue of concentration.

Residuum

His memories are gone. Cast away and decimated by some diabolical demon of the man. All that remains of the mind of the once great prince is some small residuum of recollection - every once in a while back wave of recognition crosses over his eyes when he encounters someone from his past.

Esse

No food for days. Only the bare minimum hydration intake. Sean John floated in the ocean, immersed in thought. His mind free, he was joined with nature. Both a creature of the sea, and a aerial observer. His very esse spanned more than his physical self.

Coaptation

Sean John addressed Sheryl's wound. It was a shallow cut, hardly worth noting. He applied a soothing balm to help speed up the coaptation of the cut.

Dreck

Awful! Terrible! Offensive and talentless! The performance was total dreck!

Additament

Cooling embers. Smoke dissipating. Warmth once provided, now seeping out through cracks in the doors and windows. The life-saving heat dispersing into the universe, drawn toward that place all energy goes to die.

A seed planted, a growth born. One more life sprouts forth into the world. One additament to this crowded world.

Cyclopean

Sean John the shark tamer is dashing, daring, delicate, and dedicated. He is intelligent, innovative, and instructional. He can think quickly and act quicker, planning ahead on the subconscious level. He is loved by most and hated by few. Sean John is many brilliant and capable things, but when he stares at the endless collection of data gathered by his Ocean Research Protection Initiative, he knows it's time to ask for help.

Thus, Sean John relies on the people he trusts. Albert Huffington, the renowned brainiac and leading expert in oceanic studies, is tasked with the duty to sort through the cyclopean collection of data and determine where the new strain of genetically modified poisonous seaweed is headed.

Grammatology

Still sopping wet and leaking away centuries of seawater, Sean John delivered the chest to the museum. Inside this long lost container lay the guidance of the future of this island nation, and fate of its people. But there were pounds of documents to sift through and ancient ciphers to decrypt.

So Sean John was on his way to visit Hollis Vathanamaskang, the leading expert in grammatology in this hemisphere.

Shark contest

NYTimes: Rethinking Tournaments Where Sharks Always Lose
http://nyti.ms/1307vtm

Sidle

Disgusted at this public display of bigotry, and fearing for my safety among such a raucous and agitated crowd, I tried to sneak out. I sidled along the edge of the auditorium, keeping my head down and doing my best to avoid attracting attention.

Quillet

Sean John spoke the password correctly. The false tree bark melted away, and access was granted. Sean John had learned the proper pronunciation years ago, when studying the native language. There was a true subtlety of inflection required to speak it properly - one wrong syllabic emphasis and you insulted the entire heritage of your conversational partner's family. The language was full of quillets that made the learning curve especially harsh.

Clangor

Thanks to Sean John, the people of the village were working together in haste. Their remaining time was short. From miles away, the cacophonous clangor of their machinery and tools could be heard. When Dr Pantigal returned, they would be ready.

Bushwa

I listened to the entire speech. As an expert in the field of theoretical physics, I can confidently advise that the speaker was a phony. His entire premise was bushwa. There was hardly a true statement uttered.

Poetaster

The bathroom wall is indiscriminate - a haven for brilliant lyricists and poetasters alike.

Gobbet

Wrenching forth from within the muck, the witch emerged. Dripping with viscous goo, slathered in filth, she held in her tightly squeezed fist the item that made her descend into the pit. She had, stuck in a gobbet of solid substance, the Gem of the Ages.

Rifacimento

Although the playwright Balda Halbad has written original scripts, he is best known for creating rifacimentos, setting classics of the past into the modern day and adding a political twist.

Sisyphean

Marissa did her best to keep the living room tidy, but with 6 young children running wild in the household, it was a sisyphean task.

Accrete

Stevie knew his homework habits were only making things more difficult. He'd avoid doing any work until the previous few hours before the tasks were due. He lazed around, letting his work load accrete daily, class after class, day after day.

Boniface

The first few days of his stay in this foreign city were isolated and lonely. Joshua wanted to talk to the city inhabitants, but he had no way of approaching them. Lucky for him, he chose the right inn as his temporary residence. The boniface noticed that Joshua wanted to talk to some of the city inhabitants, and offered to invite Joshua out drinking with a group of friends. He even refused to accept Joshua's money if he was unhappy during his stay.

Layette

Teresa kept it in a special place, folded neatly after all these years. It was her way of combating the erosion of time and memory that the biology of our world commands. Even the deepest etchings will fade away. It was a gift from her sister, may she rest in peace. A layette for Albie, when he was still just a tiny baby. He never even got to wear it.

Edacity

In his experiments, he tried to turn the test subject sharks into strictly vegetarian creatures. Sean John knew that success was near when the sharks developed an edacity for seaweed.

Yawp

They all lack facts, experience, and knowledge. The men are angry, however, and anger motivates. As they sit inside the trailer and yawp, little Timmy puts his ear to the door and listens.

Integrant

Stevie, the well mannered altar boy kissed his last days of being a goody-goody goodbye a while ago. The obedient 12 year old boy never would've imagined the scenario he was in today. Now Steven was a man, and an integral part of this bank heist. The rest of the crew was relying on him.

Dandy

We didn't expect to host a party today, but if you and your friends visited our home, it'd be just dandy! We've got wine, liquor, plenty of grill able food. Dandy, I say! It'll be quite swell!

Lyceum

Steven reaches over for his name tag, but he is generally bashful. A group of incoming women, all clad in eyeglasses and cradling books inside their forearms like babies, is already crowding the table. While he wishes he could take advantage of this prime opportunity for interaction with the opposite sex, it's the social paralysis that takes over his body this time. The young student stands in place and looks at the ground, patiently waiting for his turn to approach the table. Welcome to the lyceum. Lectures every 30 minutes.

sprechgesang

The man couldn't sing. He wanted to, desperately. It was the only way to get her attention - the girl with the long, red hair in the revealing red dress. Angel, they called her. Every night, she was announced. Sliding to the grand piano, she perched on the bench and hooked her audience with those large green eyes.

So he became enraptured by her melody, and he needed to get her attention.

He can't sing, but he does have a cool, suave attitude. A simple, observing, one-eyebrow-lift-and-a-smirk kind of guy. So instead of singing, he plays to his strengths, and develops a different kind of act. He'll practice sprechgesang. He'll perform a song in his own cool style, in between talking and singing - a spoken word mash-up.

Muster

Sean John felt defeated. It was because of Dr Pantigal's trickery that he couldn't reveal the truth to this small island village. Without knowing all the facts, these native islanders shunned Sean John and cast him away. Truthfully, Sean John was their only hope for survival.

He was even having a difficult time mustering a crew together for his sea vessel.

Vilify

Albert Huffington lives alone. His home reeks of isolation. Tacked to the recliner chair, peeking at the outside world through one lifted slat in the blinds, he judges. Scowling, he maligns the married couple pushing their baby carriage on the sidewalk. He curses the neighbors for irritating his ears with their leaf blowing. He thinks of ill omens for the boy on the bike.

Albert Huffington is lonely. He doesn't hesitate to vilify the world, to blame everyone else for his own misfortune.

Mickle

if we're going to build the biggest hill on this block, we are going to need mickle more dirt than that!

Dilly

Relieved to be standing on solid ground, supported by 2 wobbly legs, his mind spinning, Terrence could truthfully declare "That was a dilly of a roller-coaster ride!"

Diglossia

Albert had done his research, as usual. The natives of the island had a common cultural heritage, and generally were a homogeneous folk. But some time in the not too distant past, a rift among the inhabitants lead to a state of diglossia with the native language, creating 2 distinct dialects.

Sward

While most backyards in the suburbs consist mostly of manicured green grass with a little bit of concrete for a patio, Jim's place was quite the opposite. His backyard was entirely one massive concrete patch, adorned with a tiny sward juste outside the back door. That way Jim only had too mow a few squarespace feet in grass.

Trousseau

Sean John knew all about the customs of the island nation. Weddings were the grandest events. It was tradition for the mother of the groom to provide the bridal clothing. This bridal dress has cultural and religious symbolism, containing meaningful patterns and material. It is, ideally, the very same dress used by the groom's mother on her wedding day. Thus, it was generally a point of pride for these people to keep this trousseau ironed, starched, sealed in a clothier bag, and locked away in a closet for years.

Trachle

Sean John walked along sandy surfaces daily. The special resistance of beachy sand was no deterrent for him. But for the unlucky elderly woman he was escorting along the shore, it was quite a trachle.

Zither

The musical instrument lay on the table, taunting Sean John. With his mouth sealed by Dr Pantigal's poison, his only chance of making enough noise to attract help wouldn’t be told play the zither as loud as he can. But was the zither booby-trapped? A wire was running from it into the wall, and where it went from there was anybody's guess.

Automaton

Sean John stared at the mangled creature swimming around the tiny tank. Dr Pantigal's research and charts were posted on the wall, spread on the table. This shark was butchered, it's brain replaced. It did nothing but receive and enact orders transmitted by Dr Pantigal. It had been turned into an automaton. It looked like a normal shark, but it had no mind, no free will.

lunker

Little Bryan stared greedily at the pie. It sure was a lunker - it hardly fit into its carrying case, and the baker had to squeeze down the lid, pressing against the fresh, steaming curves of the baked good.

De profundis

David had spent too many hours alone. The tears had long since dried up, and it was only through involuntary biological procedures that he remained a living sac of meat. He could no longer move, could no longer bring himself to expend the energy to leave his bed. Bathed in sweat and sorrow, he existed de profundis.

Wuther

Yurivich walks home, just like he does every day after stepping off the bus. His feet crunch along eternally packed snow, a solitary figure walking across an icy plain. The wind wuthers fiercely, and his black figure pushes against it.

Battology

He tried to motivate himself through a series of optimistic phrases.

You can do it. Nothing it stopping you. You are your only obstacle. One step forward, 1000 miles. You're the best that you've got.

He tried to encourage himself with this in phrases, but after so much repetition, it was merely battology, and he could no longer feel any truth in the message.

Isolato

Drew awkwardly laughed and tried to change the subject. Steven fell silent and took a long swig of his drink. It had been several years since the parties ended for us, and the bond wore away. Now, they were respectable members of society with jobs, families, front lawns. I was still just an errant soul, unchecked. I never felt so much an isolato at that moment.

Mordacious

Ma'laae'wa'wa'laae'wa, the overly sensitive 16 year old prince sneered at the man approaching him. It had been a long day - breakfast was undercooked, his sparring trainer refused to do anything but monotonous drills, the bathing area was almost chilly and bereft of female flesh. On top of that, there seemed to be an overwhelming commotion on his island nation that was distracting everyone's attention.

Sean John the Shark Tamer gave the prince a customary bow. Keeping his voice even, he tried to relay the true gravity of the situation. "your grace. It has been dozens of generations since this island has been placed under a threat such as this. Wa'magom, the Monster of Myth, who spewed forth from the volcanic -"

The prince interrupted, sneering. "Yes, yes, spare me the history lesson. I'm a native of this island, I don't need to be lectured by a foreigner."

Sean John tried to remain calm, but he knew he couldn't. With a mordacious tone, he spat back at the prince. "I care about what happens to you and everyone here just as much as any family member on this island!"

Topos

The literature of the region has its elements of predictability. There's the universal themes : the trickster, the religious man of morals, the greedy man, etc... But in addition to the normal motifs, there is one very unique topos that appears in the culture's stories with such frequency that its significance can not be ignored.

Skeuomorph

The house walls were covered in brick patterning. Though Sheryl would have preferred actual brick, this skeuomorph would be acceptable for her.

Theurgy

It had been one whole month without rain, and the crops were threatened. Depressed citizens shuffled around town, hands clasped, mumbling prayers of rain. They were a group steadfastly  bound in theurgy, and felt that the drought was an indication that their religious devotion habits were not enough to please the deities.

Pasquinade

Sean John the shark tamer was in unfriendly territory. Walking down the village's main road, he passed at least 3 pasquinades publicly posted. The posters depicted him, with an oversized nosed and forehead, wrestling with a cartoonish shark in a questionable way. The caption of the drawing was just as unflattering as it was unimaginative.

"Sean John the shark fucker".

Consortium

Sean John looked around at those around him. A one eyed midget. A peg legged man on stilts. A woman with balloon wings hooked to her body. Several pairs of siamese twins in differing states of attachment. A smattering of self proclaimed amphibious people.

They were an odd lot. This was the consortium that Sean John would lead to thwart Dr. Pantigal's plan.

Motza

Although Stephen hated working in the underwater mineral mines, the pay was astounding. After just one week, he had already made a monza.

Allocthonous

Sean John buttoned up his collar and twisted his neck around to glance at the beautiful native islander, half covered with a light sheet. These people had accepted him as an equal, graced him with all the gifts within their power, and welcomed him everywhere. He did not look forward to sharing the news of his latest research.

The sacred rocks of the island - the foundation of their religious worship and their ancestral pride - were not from this continent. The minerals were allocthonous. They were formed on a continent halfway around the world, not on their homeland. This news would directly contradict their religious myths.

Sean John looked at the woman once more, her long, dark leg dangling. He exited the hut.

Circadian

It was a dangerous mission, requiring foot travel through the night time hours all week. Each man would be battling most just there enemy, but their own natural circadian rhythms- the body's biological imperative to rest when the days is done.

Quacksalver

The inside of the office lay doused in paint of myriad different colors. Pictures in broken frames hung slanted on the wall. Magazines from ages ago rested in shreds on uneventful coffee stables.

Sitting in this waiting room, I began to wonder if this was a real doctor, or just some untrustworthy quacksalver.

Melliferrous

The property was like a winery, but with bee hives. The melliferrous farm had a higher honey output than any other in the country. As I sampled the sweet nectar, I couldn't help but lean over and kiss the most melliferous thing in my life, the woman I'd never want to live without.

Feminacy

She rolled like clouds over the blue sky, a flawless path through evenly rowed crop fields, a perfectly aligned swishing of limbs and hips. It was more than just her innate feminacy that allowed her to so effortlessly perform this poetry in motion, though. Afterwards, she revealed to the visiting children that she practices hours per day, and encouraged anyone who wishes to improve themselves to apply the same strict regimen to their life.

Snafu

Sean John stared at the battleground and wept. What was supposed to be a flawless plan for a bloodless coup had become a scene of death. The whole situation had turned into a tragic and fatal snafu.

Aeolian

The winds kicked up to hazardous speeds. With all the debris swirling around in the vicious air, there is bound to be plenty of aeolian damage discovered tomorrow.

Dais

Sean John was given the seat of honor. From the dais at the front of the banquet room, his high angle afforded him an unobstructed view of all the dining guests in the cavernous hall.
. Maliliwa, the haberdasher whose home lay just at the edge of the tide line that Sean John prevented from encroaching any farther, walked up to praise Sean John. When Maliliwa reached the start of the dais, Sean John got up out of his seat and leapt off the platform to accept the man's visit on level ground.

Logomachy

The members of the governing party couldn't agree on the precise way to respond to the enemy's threats. Whether to choose firm and forceful language, or neutral and conciliatory verbage, the debate was voracious. A logomachy was underway in the town hall.

Sprang

With only 10 seconds left before the detonation, it all came down to this one final toss. Sean John looked into the water and saw Marvin's hunched dorsal fin slice through the surface. The shark broke the surface in a blink, guiding the basketball expertly with its nose, up and into the air. Marvin's body jerked, bounced the ball towards the net. It was a perfect shot. It landed sprang in the middle of the basket. 2 points. Sean John's aquatic accomplices won the game. The bomb was immediately deactivated. The island nation was saved.

Droll

Joseph hit the punchline to his joke. And waited.

Time stood still as he watched the faces of the executives around the board room table. Their faces were scrunching into a canvas of confusion - not the reaction he was going for as the climax to his presentation. He cursed his droll sense of humor. Why couldn't his humor be more universal?

Saccharine

In the year 2029,the population finally get fed up with bad news. All media outlets convert to reporting saccharine stories to keep viewer's spirits up, and the ratings high.

Polliwog

There was only 1 day to prepare the city defenses. Soon, the enemy would arrive in full force. In their haste, the defenders were forced to enlist every man to perform the needed duties. Even the youngest ones, the polliwogs who knew how to swim but nothing of the outside world.

Cull

If the message didn't get delivered to the undersea lab 2 minutes, the entire island nation would be sunk. Sean John motioned to his school of sharks, and didn't hesitate to cull the fastest among them. He called for Nathan.

Hellion

Harrison was the one shark that Sean John could not tame + a frantic hellion that wouldn't respond the same way as any other shark.

Aleatory

Do you realize the string of aleatory events that occur when you give a mouse and cookie? Then he'll want a glass of milk, then he's gonna ask for a mirror to check his milk mustache, etc...

Gander

Even though he promised not to look, and he turned around to face the opposite direction, the urge to steal a gander at the beautiful lady changing clothes across the room was too great.
There was a mirror in the wall she hadn't noticed. He shuffled to the left. He got a niiiice view.

Quoin

Jeffy liked to spend time outside the city walls. He would bring scrolls to read and learn his theorems, sitting against the quoin on the corner of the wall, as far from the gate as possible.

Decamp

2 grueling weeks on the run wear down our wits. Days ,we try to mask our eyes and calm our nerves enough to sleep. Nights ,we pack up and hastily decamp.

Verisimilitude

The couple shouted at each other across the restaurant table. Despite their high volume and weighted words, their interaction felt insincere. It lacked verisimilitude. It felt staged, almost.

I wondered who they were trying to fool with their faux fight antics.

Quell

The doctor explained to him that these pills would end his nightmares. His unconscious morbid nocturnal thoughts were common byproducts of a hurried and stressed lifestyle, the natural cerebral venting of life's irritations.

Davis just hoped he could quell the madness brewing within.

Ingress

Please grant me ingress into the paradisial palace where you spend your days.

Machinate

The two exiled twins live in the far reaches of the desert. They live for revenge, and each day they machinate together, looking towards the day that their perverted version of justice is enacted.

Plethoric

It was a low and sneaky tactic that the Frey family pulled, staging an attack in the middle of a wedding celebration. Crowds of plethoric revelers, filled with booze and delights, could only sluggishly react to the incoming enemy soldiers.

Demimonde

Trashcans overflowed, lining the narrow streets of this crowded, dingy urban residential area. Candidate Pachowski cursed as his brand new shoes landed in a pile of unidentifiable brown muck. It wasn't going to be easy, but he needed the votes from the demimonde if he wanted to win this election.

Idiolect

Steven could always tell when his son had been hanging around the mall too much. He was would start to pick up the idiolect of the vacant suburban teenage types. His vocabulary dropped 20 percent.

Ingratiate

Leaping through the flames, he began to question his vow to stop at nothing to ingratiate himself into the good graces of Lady Miranda.

Splenetic

The boy's grandfather mostly sat in a rocker, pleasantly moving to and fro. When the arthritis kicked in, though, the old man took a more splenetic disposition. His rocking would cease and his face would scowl. It was known to not approach grandfather then.

Swivet

It's the first starring role for the young actress. As the crowd pours in, filling the theater, she paces about backstage in a swivet.

Pharonic

When I become the consultant who helps billionaires spend their money on really cool stuff, I'm going to recommend a pharonic aquarium spanning the entire mansion length, winding under the floor and along the ceiling.

Wrest

It was a sudden and tragic occurrence, and it is so tempting to examine and wrest some type of meaning from it.

Marmoreal

In dreams she saw it. A game played on an endless marmoreal surface.

Primeveral

Every year, when the seasons have shifted and the cold has left us, we conduct the primeveral ritual of seedy rastering.

Furl

Blue skies, steady breezes, and clear sailing met us every day for the past week. As the boat neared the land, Harris carefully furled the sail, and we switched to manual thrust.

It would only be a few hours before the world changed. I said my prayers.

Truant

The past few days have seen no posts on this blog - I am a truant, confessing my failure.

Shilly-shally

Hurry up! We don't have any time for to shilly-shally! You need to remember which path takes us out of this volcano, pronto!

Linchpin

Davis had to be very careful in describing the next segment. This would be the linchpin of the entire argument. If he failed, Sean John would be cast out of society.

Tertiary

Sean John made care not to respond impulsively to threats from the local Ka'Wa'Aila - the youngest of the islands. He knew to plod carefully in any political dealings with the rulers of the Pacific nation. They were all one big family, related in some primary or secondary degree, or a tertiary familial connection at the most.

Sean John thought it best to let his sharks reply.

Rialto

The aisle extended over the hill, flanked on each side by stalls, customers r about the narrow aisle like mildly excited electrons. Oysters steamed in a pot made of bone. Skewered fish rotated over coals. Hand woven baskets displayed proudly the traditional colors of K'Fufu.

A disguised Sean John slunk through the rialto, keeping his eye out for anything unusual.

Panoptic

It's easy to get stuck in the present tense - to focus on the immediate and the now. It's tough to take a metaphorical step back and look at things from the full perspective - fly 20,000 feet in the air and get a panoptic view of your life.

Mazuma

Darin spat in front of the man. "Look, guy, I ain't gonna go anywhere NEAR that place unless you feed me the cheddar"
"Cheddar?"
"cheddar, old man! The cheese! The moolah! The mazuma! The money! Give me that cold hard cash and we'll be gravy, baby. "
" Gravy? "

Leeward

The whole ship was sinking because they didn't believe the captain. The mutinous crew trusted Sally. The captain said to travel leeward. She chose to go windward. The ravenous crew, led by the impudent Sally, hastened in their direction. And now they are all doomed.

Zephyrean

It was her first kite, and he was her first kiss. Both were underneath the lone tree set on the zephyrean plain. She forgot all about her kite as the breeze blew it up, up, up into the branches.

Yare

"This skiff will have to do. The Whiskey Wagon is a lot more yare, but it's ported miles away. I figure if we hop on this little craft now, we just might be able to catch up to Dr. Melphus before he reaches the island.

Varia

We shoveled the remainder of the debris into the chest. Broken dishes, ripped poster remnants, shattered glass chunks, and such varia slid out of our tools and into the capsule.

Tensile

Sean John held the artifact in his hands. It was an unusual material: some strange type of fabric from the native plants. It was tensile. He could stretch it out a bit and extend the detailed patterns.

Satrap

Yes, Sean John may have been victorious against Dr. Melphius, but that does not signal the end of the struggle. The bumbling doctor is nothing more than a satrap put in place by the true controlling powers out there. He was merely a subordinate who was exalted to a transient leadership position as a distraction for Sean John... But what kind of mischief was in the works while Sean John was distracted...?

Recant

They finally did it. They berated me and assailed me. Verbal abuse and psychological torture, and they finally got their way .giving in to their demands, I now recant my statement. Now the public things I am admitting being wrong about this before.

Paraph

Davis peered more closely at the document. It was Sean John's handwriting, there was no doubt about that. Of more interest was the signature at the end of the page. Davis palmed his magnifying glass. Hovered over the final letter of the signature,the swoosh on the cursive 'n'. Hidden in the paraph, that minute flourish of ink, was just the message Davis was looking for.

Obnubilate

Dr. Pantigal greedily eyed his ship's sensor display. The ocean floor was quickly being mapped by his scanning device, and soon his plan of chaos would be ready. The contours solidified, one rocky alcove at a time.

He continued to watch the progress display when something changed. The sensor lost sight of the deep surface. Cursing, Dr Pantigal walked over to the side of the boat to see the waters beneath. Sure enough, it appeared that Sean John had sent a school of sharks to hover below the ship and obnubilate the waters.

Nuque

The air grew thicker. Their passion increased. His hands slowly walked up her back, pressing firmly. Clasping his knuckles together behind her nuque, he pulled her closer.

Mainour

They say they found the man hiding in the bushes, with the mainour laying on the ground a few feet away. He denies stealing the items, and says he was simply taking a nap in the shrubs, claiming to have no knowledge about the discarded stolen goods nearby.

Lollapalooza

Tables were broken into splinters. Chairs strewn about. All kinds of debris littered each room. Stains marked the walls. Some kind of lollapalooza happened here party night.

Kinchin

We gave the leftovers to the little ones with nowhere to go for breakfast - the sad little kinchins living on the streets.

Jacobin

Sean John deployed his most aurally gifted sharks as information gatherers and spies. The jacobins were secretly plotting their next coup attempt on the far end of the island, and no man could sneak through the dense jungle unnoticed.

Gastronomy

Day in, day out,his training continued. Steaming, delicious concoctions. All kinds of sauces. More meat preparation methods than types of cheese from France. And cheese was on his docket too. The bootcamp in gastronomy was intense, thorough,and isolating. It prepared Steve for his life duty - the position in the kitchen. But it didn't prepare him for when she walked through the door.

Irrefrangible

Sean John continued to dictate. "The one irrefrangible rule of shark taming - the advice you must follow above all else - never, never, never approach a shark from behind. You will never gain its respect.

hent

I hent the box with a very tight grip - if the box were to drop, my life would be over.

Atavistic

Sprinting through the woods, leaves blurring by, branches brushing by my face, I pursued. Something deep within myself took over, and I chased my prey. Some atavistic sense bubbled to the top, and I was on the hunt.

Wellaway

Gone! They're all gone! My only companions, vanished from this earth! O, wellaway!

Plotz

Dad is going to plotz when he sees this room service bill!

Word-hoard

Every day, I check for the new item to add to my word-hoard.

I still feel that my word-hoard size peaked when I was in high school. Probably beaches of the constant brain exercising.

Antipathetic

The young student's innovative ideas were directly antipathetic to the teacher's lecture.

Kibitzer

Shut up Marley, we don't want to hear your half baked advice! Nobody here likes a kibitzer.

Gorgonize

As a mother,Alissa remained strict. She could gorgonize her children with just a glance.

en règle

Detective Jones is on thin ice. He does things his own way- whatever it takes to get results. This doesn't sit well with the by-the-book captain - everything must be done en règle in his eyes. or else

Jubilarian

One of the balloons spilt from the group, drifted to the ceiling, popped loudly. Darin made one more incision in the skull. From my perspective, it sure did seem inappropriate to have a whole bunch of bright balloons in the morgue, but 25 years as the lead autopsy examiner changes your perspective, I suppose. Darin became a jubilarian that day, and he could celebrate however he chose.

Shindy

Soon 'nuff, they was all a-gaggle,and ma and pa and uncle Steven went back up front to start a shindy where all the other folk'd see it go down.

Hypnopompic

It was a deluge of inspiration. Puzzle pieces fit together, problems were solved, plans were established...the world was putty. Rolling out of bed, Jules raced to find a pen to record this hypnopompic revelation before the dreamlike clarity melted away.

Vertex

Up,up,up they went - 3 weary travelers and 1 fuzzy bear like creature leading the way. All the way through the clouds, to the vertex of the tallest tree in the world.

eurhythmic

Even though we lost the loot, the very thing we traveled across the world and through the dense jungle to retrieve, it was okay. When I sat down and listened...just stopped walking,stopped rushing,stopped worrying... i could feel the flow of nature. The wind through the leaves,the bird calls patterns, the cautious reptiles streaking through vegetarian, the entire eurhythmic show that was life for every creature.

Pseudoclassic

Gerald has a lofty opinion of his own literature,fancying himself a peer in skill with the historian greats. In reality,his writing fits the very definition of pseudoclassic.

Pseudomorph

the boss was a pseudomorph. if he called you into his office, you didn't know if you'd be hearing a heartfelt congratulations or an icy blast of criticism.

Pseudology

pseudology

The genre of "reality television" is really the proliferation of pseudology.

Pseudonymous

Pseudonymous

Count Zero: a classic cyberpunk novel focusing on the pseudonymous persona of a wanna be hacker.

Aumildar

Aumildar

Jakey had just witnessed the most incredible performance he had ever seen. The infinitely talented Belinda sat alone at the shaky table in the corner. Jakey saw dollar bills in his future. He crossed the smoky bar and approached the table.

"how would you like someone to represent you? I'd like to be your aumildar. "
Belinda looked confused."My what?"
"your aumildar. You know, your manager, your agent, your representative. "

Couthie

Couthie Gerald always choose the same spot to read in the library. The desk in the far corner with 2 layers of graffiti. Over there, it was somehow more calming, more private. There was just something generally more couthie about the nook location.

Violescent

The world will only. The slow, sad sounds. Deep, dark. The sky, violescent.

exordium

Happy new year! January 1: The exordium of 2013, the exordium of self-improving resolutions, and the exordium of a delicious mid day breakfast. b