Try This Word Quiz!

Says Heidi on Project Runway, “As you know in fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day… you’re out.” This fickle axiom also applies to words; one day they’re in, and the next day, they’re out of style. I experienced this firsthand after using the word “thongs” to point out a cute pair of poolside sandals. “What?” screeched the sassy lassie, “those are flip-flops, not underwear.” When did those flimsy summer sandals morph into skimpy panties? Fie! It was unpretty getting dressed down by a cheeky youngster and yet I find myself remembering to call them by their new name.

It’s not exactly a new name, but a friend gave me a new word to describe my approach to the world: Equipoise. As I’m both visual and word-oriented, it’s the perfect characterization of my 50-50 split on most everything.

We make our living using illustrations and words, and our Photoblog is comprised of both images and text. Knowing this, a kindred spirit brought a book of unusual words to me at the booth last Saturday. What a great present. I was about to show it to my Holiday Market neighbor, when he popped his head in our doorway and said, “Here’s a book I thought you might enjoy flipping through.” It was all about the history behind some of our common phrases, such as keeping a stiff upper lip (has to do with maintaining facial control so one’s mustache whiskers don’t betray a quivering lip). We laughed realizing each was holding a book about words the other might like. He suggested inventing a new word to mean what just happened and devised “lexo-telephathy.”

In love with words, images and history, I am a candidate for time-travel. Until I can teleport myself back in time to various cultures, I must satisfy my curiosity by taking magic carpet rides around the globe through books and television epics. Currently immersed in the medieval world created by Ken Follett in Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, and Showtime’s The Tudors, I am learning how many of the ideas we take for granted were inspired. Lest I suffer from a mild case of limbeck, it was serendipitous that the seed for this week’s blog germinated from outdated, archaic and not oft-used words. Limbeck describes that pesky condition of wearing yourself out trying to come up with new ideas.

While obambulating (wandering around), we shot some photos that we think are ostrobogulous (bizarre, unusual or interesting). To make things more ostrobogulous, I invite you to take our word quiz. Throughout the next few paragraphs, I will introduce a few new old words and attempt to work them into a sentence describing the photographs.

In spite of my best efforts, some of you will be surprised to learn that yes, the text and pictures have a relationship. We try to tell a story with the photos alone, arranging them according to subject, color, texture or pattern, yet we also take the time to write something that incorporates the images. Must I spell it out? The photos and words go together. Equipoise, remember? (Here is the perfect place to insert my weekly rant. You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them and then using the back arrow to return to the blog.)

After reading the clues to these old-fangled words, you’ll find the definitions at the bottom of the page. They will not be in any order, in fact, I have mixed them up and placed them willy-nilly so as not to give the answers away.

Giving myself mogigraphia (writer’s cramp) trying to figure a way to work myomancy into this quiz, unfortunately neither of us have taken any photos illustrating divination by the movement of mice. Oh well.

Ready? The first photo contains a gleed. On a hot day, the H2O dispenser in the second frame would come in handy for all you aquabibs. Because of the graffiti, I’m throwing this word in for free. Did you know that Frankenfood is food that contains genetically altered ingredients? Forsooth!

With no particular locution in mind for #3, I couldn’t ignore the chance to show a matching hydrating source with its companion stencil. When I googled “why did Johnny cash go to prison,” online resources stated that he never did, except for an overnight stay at a jail here and there. Apparently “the man in black” just had a bad boy image, which segues nicely into #4. Don’t you think the footpad in the orange ski mask looks like he’s about to barla-fumble?

Speaking of masks, the boy-man in #5 has infucated quite effectively to create his own.

Number 6 is a portrait of an abnormous gamp while 7 is quite flosculous. Photo 8 symbolizes meliturgy and 9 is a bit icterical. 10 and 12 are studies in bloncket and in 11, Groom caught a flaffer in mid-act. Last but not least, lucky number 13 is simply titled Velleity.

Here are the definitions, so have fun matching them to the photos.

A. refers to birds, to flutter around

B. a mere wish

C. an outlaw who preys on pedestrians

D. flower or flowery

E. honey making or bee keeping

F. misshapen

G. tinged with yellow



H. refers to a color that’s gray or bluish-gray

I. a beam of light

J. call for a time-out while playing

K. to drink water

L. umbrella

M. to use make-up to paint your face