WoW: Telluric
TELLURIC - of planet earth; terrestrial [From Latin - tellus (earth) - via French, tellurique] Maybe the reason Martians are so reluctant to visit is linked to their telluric misgivings, understandably.
WoW: Buhurt
BUHURT - modern version of mediaeval combat involving full armour, umpires and blunt weaponry [Via Old French, béhourd: joust or tournament] Australian buhurt warriors 'joust' above their weight, many winning medals at the 2025 World Cup in Hungary.
WoW: Rabona
RABONA - a trick kick in soccer where the player's kicking leg is crossed behind the back of the standing leg. [From Spanish, to play hooky] Designed to confuse defenders, the rabona was popularised by Argentinian striker Ricardo Infante in 1948
WoW: Scytale
SCYTALE – a wooden cylinder used in cryptology by Ancient Spartans. [From Greek, skutálē - club or baton] Warriors like King Leonidas would wrap parchment around one scytale - among many different sizes - to inscribe his code.
WoW: Derecho
DERECHO – windstorm typified by strong, direct winds - as opposed to the cyclical nature of tornadoes [From Spanish, straight] Had Dorothy's farmhouse been caught by a derecho, she could have missed Oz for Cincinnati.
WoW: Jarovise
JAROVISE - to expose germinating seeds to low temperatures [Backformation of jarovisation, from Russian yarovizátsiya, via yarov - the convert into springtime, or vernalise] Northern European farmers may need to jarovise certain crops to trigger growth]
WoW: Monastery
MONASTERY - a basic two-step, bending your knees with each foot tap, and turning your knee inward, similar to a chicken dance but with a bouncier feel; also a mono. [After former St Louis venue, Club Monastery] Beyond the monk's retreat, can you conjure a monastery clue with the dance as your destination?
WoW: Dwale
DWALE - another name for belladonna - or deadly nightshade - used in calibrated doses as a pre-ether anaesthetic (or poison!) [From Middle English meaning stupor, via Old Norse dvala - sleep] To prep for surgery, mediaeval patients would inhale a wad of dwale.
WoW: Uranomania
URANOMANIA - delusion that one is a god [From Greek urano- (heavens) + -mania (fixation)] Some world leaders live with uranomania.
WoW: Digital asbestos
DIGITAL ASBESTOS - irretractable effects and consequence of AI within human learning and communication [Modern slang] ChatGPT, Google Overview and other active bots are deepening the potential crisis of digital asbestos.
WoW: Scagliola
SCAGLIOLA [skall-LOLL-yee-ah] - composite of glue, pigments and plaster of Paris used to mimic marble or other stone. [From Italian scaglia, or chips] Scagliola is a crafty masonic means of achieving budgetary grandeur.
WoW: Marwat
MARWAT - traditional Arnhem Land paintbrush derived from human hair [From marawat in the local language, literally 'hair of the head'] The marwat is a single stick with hair strands secured by vegetable fibre or short twig.
WoW: Rochambeau
ROCHAMBEAU [roh-SHAM-boh] - alternative name for rock-paper-scissors [Named after French officer Count Rochambeau who allegedly played the game during the American Revolutionary War] In Japan, Rochambeau offers the options of slug, frog and snake
WoW: Serotiny
SEROTINY [sair-ROT-uh-nee] seed dispersal typically triggered by fire or dramatic temperature shift [From Latin, serotinus coming late, linked to sero, late - a cousin of soiree] Global warming has meddled with a forest's serotiny.
WoW: Prandicle
PRANDICLE - light meal; snack [Via Latin prandium (luncheon) + -culum (-cule)] Your mid-afternoon cuppa and cake can now be called a prandicle.
WoW: Kinbaku
KINBAKU - Japanese style of bondage involving intricate ropework [Literally "tight binding" in Japanese.] For an elegant-poetic depiction of kinbaku, watch the closing scenes of No Cure For Love, the duet sung by Rowena Wise and Didirri.
WoW: Pugachev’s cobra
PUGACHEV'S COBRA - aerobatic manoeuvre where a jet lifts its nose at moderate speed, momentarily stalling the craft. [Named after Viktor Pugachev, a Soviet pilot to popularise the move] In Sweden, Pugachev's cobra is dubbed a "kort parad" - or short parry
WoW: Chousingha
CHOUSINGHA - the four-horned antelope of India. [From Hindi, literally 'four horns'] Barely bigger than a greyhound, and just as light, the chousinga ranks among Asia's smallest bovids.
WoW: Panchreston
PANCHRESTON [pan-KREST-on] - an oversimplistic thesis seeking to cover all possible variations [From Greek: panchrestos, meaning 'good for all work', from pan-plus chrestos: useful] More pejorative than praiseworthy, the panchreston is usually so broad as to be useless.
WoW: Rumspringa
RUMSPRINGA - period among some Amish people where a teen must choose between baptism or leaving the community [Via Pennsylvanian German, where "rumspringe" means to leap about.] For most Amish teens, the rumspringa dilemma equates to veneration versus wild oats propagation.
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