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CACAFUEGO [kar-kar-FWAY-go] - braggart; volatile person prone to outburst [From Spanish, literally one who shits fire, from cagar to defecate + fuego fire.] Gordon Ramsay in the Hell's Kitchen series is a classic cacafuego.
YEALM - to prepare straw for thatching; a straw bundle ready for the cottage roof [Old English - also yelm - via gelm, or handful.] Thatchers must tamp each yealm tightly to keep a cottage rainproof.
DOLCE FAR NIENTE [doll-CHAY fah nee-ENT-ay] - the pleasure of doing nothing [Literal translation of Italian] Leisure allows for the option of active recreation, or dolce far niente.
GISH GALLOP - rhetorical device where a person swamps their opponent in uncited evidence with no regard for veracity. [Coined by anthropologist Eugenie Scott after US creationist Duane Gish] President You-Know-Who was a virtuoso of the Gish gallop.
HELLSCAPE - any infernal environment, typically the result of disaster or devastation. [Hell + scape] As global crises multiply, from climate shifts to the Crimean conflict, the Oxford Dictionary chose to register hellscape as a key intake for 2023.
ELOZABLE [eh-LOH-zah-behl] - susceptible to flattery [From French eloge - praise or eulogy] Sales staff across the industry can spot an elozable customer.
ABJAD - any writing system - such as Arabic - where only consonants, or consonantal phonemes, are depicted, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by readers. [The word is based on the Arabic alphabet's first four letters, corresponding to a, b, j and d]. PRN, perhaps, in the abjad mode, may denote APRON, PERONI or PARANOIA.
SCORP - woodworking tool used for roughing out hollows in such items as bowls and chairs. [Etymology uncertain. Perhaps an allusion to a scorpion's upright tail.] Bush furniture artisans are scorp-reliant.
OVCHARKA [ov-CHAR-kah] - massive Russian sheepdog, weighing up to 70kg, used as guard dog for livestock and property, as well as bear-hunting [Lit. Russian: shepherd dog] With thick fur, barrel frame and powerful jaw, the Caucasian ovcharka might well be mistaken for a bear.
UTAH TEAPOT - virtual ceramic vessel helping to gauge a computer program's 3D fidelity; a Newell teapot [After Utah Uni, 1975, where Martin Newell - a computer graphics researcher - selected the utensil for its curved base and sheen.] Look twice, and you may discern a Utah teapot in many 3-D programs as a coder's in-joke.
AUXESIS [og-ZEE-sis] - rhetorical phrase of mounting intensity; hyperbole; overstatement [From Greek auxesis (growth), via auxein, to increase] To call a political opponent as "inexperienced, ill-suited, inept and irresponsible" is an example of auxesis - and alliteration.
CLINQUANT - flashy; tinsel-like; yellow copper [French, clinquer to clink, from Dutch klinken, of imitative origin - making 'clinquant' the protoype of bling] Fashion catwalks are currently scintillating with a run of clinquant creations.
STEGOPHILE [steg-OFF-fill-ee] - the climbing of buildings as a pastime [From stegos, Greek for roof, plus philos, love] A stegophile, also known as a stegophilist, will often observe their stegophily after hours, and under the radar.
RAGE-FARM - to publish false or misleading material as a means of cultivating uproar [Neologism, as listed in the Oxford Dictionaries new intake] Extreme members of the commentariat, on the left or right, are hard-wired to rage-farm.
GAINCOPE - to meet or intercept via a short-cut [From Middle English - geyne (against), plus copen, meaning to strike] "Quick - let's gaincope the fugitives at the pass!"
NOVERCAL - stepmotherly [From Latin, noverca] Too many fairy tales attribute apathy and malice as being novercal traits. (Stand up for stepmums!)
DOPP KIT - American equivalent of a sponge/toilet bag. [Named after Charles Doppelt, a German leather-smith who migrated to the US, developing a leather bag for toiletries.] A cultural euphemism of sorts, the Dopp kit erases the toilet bag's ick factor.
SCORIGAMI - unique scoreline in a competition's history. [Statistical concept devised by NFL fan and amateur historian, Jon Bois.] As field goals dominate golden-point contests in NRL, the scorigami is proliferating.
MISHPOCHA [mish-PAH-hah] - one's extended family; the entire clan via blood and marriage [Hebrew for clan] Passover in the Jewish faith often entails the extended mishpocha around one extended table.
OBREPTION - the act of obtaining something via falsehood [From Latin obreptere - to creep up on] A close cousin of obreption is subreption, being the act of attaining advantage via the concealment of facts.
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