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LAITANCE - white film that forms on the surface of drying concrete, usually as a result of too much water in the mix [From French, lait (or milk), plus -ance] Love-struck teens committing their adoration to fresh concrete will know laitance well.
LAHAR - lava-triggered landslide [From Javanese, lava] Heavy rainfall after a volcanic eruption can conspire to cause a perilous lahar.
QUISHING - modern scam where criminals embed malign links into QR codes, or overlaying the actual code with a false copy [Fusion of QR code and phishing] Quishing can strike in menus, signs, parking meters and venues.
BOSBERAAD - meeting of political leaders, typically in a remote location, that seeks to break a deadlock [From Afrikaans, literally 'bush council']. Camp David in Maryland's mountains offers something of a bosberaad.
CULM - the hollow, jointed stem of grass [From Latin culmus stalk] In botany, the culm sits between the 'crown' of roots and the plant's upper collar.
KILIKITI - Samoan variation of cricke played with triangular bats, large teams, and sustained singing and dancing [Samoan transliteration of 'cricket'] Made of pandanus, the kilikiti bat resembles the lapalapa - or Samoan war club.
VESPERTILIAN - bat-like [From Latin, vespertilio, meaning bat, via vesper - or evening] When fighting crime, Bruce Wayne turns vespertilian.
OROPESA - a torpedo-like body, towed by a minesweeper, in order to keep the sweeping cable at determined depth and position relative to the vessel [Named after British steam trawler on which it was developed, HMS Oropesa]
SHREKKING - dating someone of lesser style or looks in order to gain the relationship's upper hand, or earn greater care and atterntion [Modern slang from Princess Fiona befriending Shrek the ogre] Another name for shrekking is 'dating down'.
RACAHOUT [rack-a-HOOT] - north African dessert similar to chocolate, prepared as either a drink or meal, blending roasted acorns, sugar and cocoa [From French via Arabic raqut - oak] Noshing in Khartoum, you can have racahout with fruit.
BIRL - to ply your guests with alcohol [From Old English byrelian; related to byrele cup-bearer] Continuous toasts by the milestone birthday-host can be a ploy to birl.
MONTARIA - one-log canoe of Brazil [From Portuguese montar - to mount or ride] Adroit Amazonians can bang up a river-ready montaria across a long Monday.
POWIN - peacock symbol used in heraldry [From Middle French poun via Latin pavo - peacock]
SWAZZLE [rhymes with 'nozzle'] a voice distorter used among puppeteers [From German schwätzen" - to chatter] The classic swazzle entails two curved metal plates around a cotton reed, and bound by thread.
TRAPUNTO - style of quilt with padded (or partly padded) surface [From Italian trapungere to embroider, via Latin pungere to prick] If not warmer, the trapunto quilt is certainly more stylish in profile.
RISTRA - string of dried chillis often used as decoration [Old Spanish riestra (or riesta), linked to Latin's restis - rope.] No Mexican restaurant worth its chicken salt would lack a ristra.
MARRICKVILLE PAUSE - the enforced lull in a Marrickville local's talk to wait for a low-flying plane to pass [Modern Sydney coinage] The 1994 arrival of Sydney Airport's third runway has increase the need for the Marrickville pause.
CROZE - barrel's groove near either end of a stave in which the barrelhead is placed [From Middle French crues cavity; akin to Old Provençal croza cave] A qualified cooper could chisel a croze in their sleep.
KALAMDAN - ornate pen box [From Persian qalam - pen - plus dan, container] Your zip-up pencil case of primary school is a Koran scholar's kalamdan.
GROUND MAIL - burial fee [From Old English grund + Old English māl - agreement, pay] If death and taxes are certain, then so too is ground mail - the cost of dying.
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