Most rare words
agastopia
n. – admiration of a particular part of someone’s body
bibble
v. – to drink often; to eat and/or drink noisily
cabotage
n. – coastal navigation; the exclusive right of a country to control the air traffic within its borders
NOT: v. – to sabotage with cabbage and/or Vermont Cabot Cheese
doodle sack
n. – old English word for bagpipe
erinaceous
adj. – of, pertaining to, or resembling a hedgehog
Although she won’t know what it means, never, ever tell your date Erin that she is “looking quite erinaceous this evening.”
firman
n. – in Turkey and some other Oriental countries, a decree or mandate issued by the sovereign
gabelle
n. – a tax on salt
halfpace
n. – a platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight
impignorate
v. – to pawn or mortgage something
NOT: v. – to impregnate a pig
jentacular
adj. – pertaining to breakfast
kakorrhaphiophobia
n. – fear of failure
This is the last word that someone with kakorrhaphiophobia would want to encounter in a spelling bee.
lamprophony
n. – loudness and clarity of enunciation
macrosmatic
adj. – having a good sense of smell
nudiustertian
n. – the day before yesterday
NOT: n. – a martian nudist
oxter
n. – outdated word meaning “armpit”
NOT: n. – a creature that is half ox, half otter
pauciloquent
adj. – uttering few words; brief in speech
If you had to figure out how to use this word in context, you probably wouldn’t say much either.
quire
n. – two dozen sheets of paper
ratoon
n. – small shoot growing from the root of a plant
NOT: n. – the offspring of interbreeding rats and raccoons
salopettes
n. – high-waisted skiing pants with shoulder straps
tittynope
n. – a small quantity of something left over
Undoubtedly the biggest eyebrow-raiser on this list!
ulotrichous
adj. – having wooly or crispy hair
First time you’ve heard this word? It’s probably a good indication that you don’t have wooly or crispy hair. Or that you do, and nobody uses this word anymore.
valetudinarian
n. – a sickly or weak person, especially one who is constantly and morbidly concerned with his or her health
Think – “the valedictorian of hypochondriacs”
winklepicker
n. – style of shoe or boot in the 1950s with a sharp and long pointed toe
A close second to “tittynope” in the eyebrow-raiser category
xertz
v. – to gulp down quickly and greedily
yarborough
n. – hand of cards containing no card above a nine
zoanthropy
n. – delusion of a person who believes himself changed into an animal
How about...
crobqxian
