1. exophthalmic

\ek-so-THAL-mik

having prominent eyeballs

 

Duck and Fat Cow had never noticed Goat being quite so exophthalmic. Then they realized he was dead and slightly bloated.

 

 

2. nauseous

\ˈnȯ-shəs, ˈnȯ-zē-əs\

causing nausea or disgust

 

It wasn’t the smell so much as the prospect of giving Pig the tragic news about Goat that was making Fat Cow nauseous as she lumbered across the pasture.

 

 

3. pavonine

[pav-uh-nine]

of, relating to, or resembling the peacock.

 

Pig knew he looked good in mud and when he saw Fat Cow approaching he emerged from the slop with a pavonine air.

 

 

4. pernicious

\pər-NI-shəs\

highly injurious or destructive

 

A bulging udder on top of her pernicious mission caused Fat Cow to slow as she approached the muddy Pig.

 

 

5. jeremiad

\ˌjer-ə-ˈMY - ed

a lamenting and denunciatory complaint

 

The prolonged jeremiad from behind the barn made Arnold wonder if that goat was pestering the pig again.

 

 

6. quaesitum

\kwee-SY-dum

that which is sought for; an object of search; the answer to a problem

 

Norm was already poking the carcass with a boot toe as Arnold approached; the quaesitum of a dead goat bound to fill his day with another distraction he didn’t need.

 

7. villain

\ˈvi-lən\

a deliberate scoundrel or criminal

 

“Coyote” Norm said, naming the obvious villain.

 

 

8. ululate

[uhl-yuh-leyt]

to howl, as a dog or a wolf; hoot, as an owl.

 

Never having heard a pig ululate before, Arnold squinted toward the barn and said, “What the hell is that?”

 

 

9. insouciant

In-SOOS-ee-ent

\marked by blithe unconcern – casual

 

Through it all Goose stood insouciant as if a major character was found dead in the opening scene every year.

 

 

10. gamut

\ˈga-mət\

a complete extent or range -- the whole series of recognized musical notes

 

After introducing the gamut of barnyard animals all agreed the story should move on now.

 

11. muumuu

\ˈmü-ˌmü\

a loose often long dress having bright colors and patterns and adapted from the dresses originally distributed by missionaries to the native women of Hawaii

 

Their six month affair was over, but watching Beverly tend bar in her paisley muumuu gave the Professor a pre ventrical fibrulation known as a pitter-patting heart.

 

 

12. aught

\ˈȯt, ˈät\

a quantity of no importance.

 

The Professor attempted to identify the emotions he felt, but came up with aught --zero, zilch, zip, zippo.

 

 

13. vicissitudinous

\Vi-sis-si-TEWD-in-us

a variation in circumstances or fortune at different times in your life. Mutability in life or nature.

 

The vicissitudinous qualities of love made it impossible for Beverly to smile as she handed the Professor his wine and popcorn.

 

14. worrisome

\-səm\

causing distress or worry

 

A ladybug, belly-up in the chardonnay, was worrisome.

 

 

15. hollandaise

\ˌhä-lən-ˈdāz\

a rich sauce made basically of butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice or vinegar

 

The Professor cleared his throat to speak but brought up only more of his breakfast. Hollandaise, he thought, cursing Benedict and the eggs he rode in on.

 

16. immigrate

\ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt\

to enter and usually become established; especially to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

 

People who immigrate to Vermont for the lifestyle annoyed Beverly. The Professor, making no effort to fit in, was more interesting.

 

 

17. hue

\ˈhyü\

color

 

He loved the comforting hue of the bar in the diminishing light of happy hour.

 

18. ecesis

\ISS-is-sis \ i-SEE-sis \ ick-EE-sis

immigrant plant’s successful establishment as a species in a new environment.

 

Beverly’s ecisis in Vermont could not change the closely guarded secret of her New Hampshire birth certificate.

 

19. corroborate

\kə-ˈrä-bə-ˌrāt\

to support with evidence or authority make more certain

 

The Professor could not corroborate his claim that the ladybug had landed in his drink before it was served.

 

20. lacertilian

\lay-sur-teel-yen

of or relating to the lacertilia, or the lizard.

 

“Marty. I’m in real estate.” The man down the bar answered Beverly’s question with a lacertilian grin.

 

21. biennial

\(ˌ)bī-ˈe-nē-əl\

occurring every two years

 

Because of family risk factors, Beverly’s imminent biennial colonoscopy was more on her mind than Marty’s banter.

 

 

22. Concatenate

\con-CAT-en-ate

combine two strings to form a single one – to add by linking so as to form a chain or series.

 

The moderator attempted to concatenate the random storylines by having Norm drive by the tavern with a dead goat hanging out the back of his pick-up.

 

 

23. amoral

\(ˌ)ā-ˈmȯr-əl, (ˌ)a-, -ˈmär-\

being neither moral nor immoral; specifically lying outside the sphere to which moral judgments apply

 

If you called him amoral he would punch you in the face, but tossing a dead goat into the landfill didn’t bother Norm one way or another.

 

 

24. piezometer

pee-uh-ZOM-uh-ter

pressure-measuring instrument

 

The posthumous bleating as the goat’s carcass bounced down the bank served as a sort of piezometer on the extent of the bloating.

 

25. karaoke

\ˌker-ē-ˈō-kē, ˌka-rē- also kə-ˈrō-kē, ˌkä-rä-ˈō-(ˌ)kā\

a device that plays instrumental accompaniments for a selection of songs to which the user sings along and that records the user's singing with the music

 

The sound of the escaping gases reminded Norm it was karaoke night at the tavern.

 

26. surveillance

\sər-ˈvā-lən(t)s also -ˈvāl-yən(t)s or -ˈvā-ən(t)s\

close watch kept over someone or something (as by a detective)

 

Unbeknownst to one another, both Arnold and Duck were keeping the barnyard under surveillance.

 

27. mnemonic

\ni-ˈmä-nik\

assisting or intended to assist memory;

 

That Sarah Palin is a genius, thought Gail. Using her hand once again as a mnemonic device she wrote; grass seed, fertilizer, drill baby drill.

 

28. piccolo

\ˈpi-kə-ˌlō\

a small flute; pitched an octave above the standard flute.

 

After two meager attempts, the piccolo went back in the box. A pity, thought Duck, I don’t have lips.

 

 

29. beleaguer

\bi-ˈlē-gər, bē-\

trouble, harass

 

Gail would beleaguer the long suffering Buster one more time to clean the gutters.

 

30. staccato

\stə-ˈkä-(ˌ)tō\

cut short or apart in performing

 

Staccato bursts of three shots each told Coyote that Arnold was sighting his .223 semi-auto. He thinks I killed the goat, he thought, now wishing he had.

 

 

31. firnification

[feer-nuh-fi-key-shuhn]

the process by which snow changes into neve. [NEEV] (Neve is the upper part of a glacier where the snow turns to ice.)

 

Marty the realtor witnessed the continued firnification of Beverly as the evening progressed.

 

32. claque

[klak]

a group of persons hired to applaud an act or performer

 

Appearing to chuckle at anything he said Duck liked to give his more inspired talks to the claque of hens inside the chickenwire.

 

33. synchronous

\ˈsiŋ-krə-nəs, ˈsin-\

happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time

 

Fat Cow’s emergence from the barn was synchronous with Pig’s entry.

 

 

34. vengeance

[ven-juhns]

infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person; violent revenge

 

“Vengeance shall be mine,” snorted Pig, but something in the oath rang hollow to Fat Cow.

 

 

35. Weimaraner

\ˌvī-mə-ˈrä-nər, ˌwī-; ˈvī-mə-ˌ, ˈwī-\

any of a breed of large light gray usually short-haired pointers of German origin

 

Needing to lay low for a day or two, Coyote headed west toward Elsa, that cute little weimaraner on Putney Mtn. Road.

 

 

36. powwow

\ˈpau̇-ˌwau̇\

an American Indian social gathering or fair usually including competitive dancing

 

Fat Cow, Duck, Goose, and two nattering chickens held an informal powwow in the dooryard.

 

37. prerogative

\pri-ˈrä-gə-tiv\

an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege

 

It was Arnold’s prerogative to chase the animals away from the house, but he was too busy cleaning his rifle to bother right now.

 

38. tergiversate

[TUR-ji-ver-seyt]

to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.

 

Duck was clear with his suspicions about Pig while Fat Cow continued to tergiversate. The chickens and the goose were no help at all.

 

39. subaqueous

[suhb-ey-kwee-uhs, -ak-wee-]

existing or situated under water; underwater.

 

Another wet summer like the last, and Arnold was in danger of becoming subaqueous on the farm’s mortgage.

40. accommodate

\ə-ˈkä-mə-ˌdāt\

to make fit, suitable, or congruous

 

The animals moved as one to accommodate Norm and the truck coming into the dooryard.

 

 

41. souvenir

\ˈsü-və-ˌnir, ˌsü-və-ˈ\

something that serves as a reminder

 

Goat’s collar and bell – a grim souvenir - hung from the rearview mirror.

 

 

42. ecchymosis

[ek-uh-moh-sis]

a discoloration due to extravasation of blood, as in a bruise.

 

The ecchymosis on her knees was an alarming testimony to the love Gail had for her perennial beds.

 

43. jackknife

[jak-nahyf]

a large pocketknife.

 

Beverly’s jackknife was the handiest but probably not the most sanitary choice of tool to slice the limes.

 

44. desuetude

[des-wi-tood]

the state of being no longer used or practiced

 

The Professor’s chess board had sat desuetude since Rakesh returned to Mumbai last summer.

 

45. privilege

\ˈpriv-lij, ˈpri-və-\

a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor

 

It had been the Professor’s privilege to share those long afternoon chess matches with his good friend.

 

 

46. vacuum

\ˈva-(ˌ)kyüm, -kyəm also -kyü-əm\

emptiness of space

 

Pig stared into the vacuum of Fat Cow’s eyes and said, “Do you want to make a deal?”

 

 

47. misspell

\ˌmis-ˈspel\

to spell incorrectly

 

To misspell the word misspell at a spelling competition would be a flat nasty way to lose.

 

48. braggadocio

\ˌbra-gə-ˈdō-sē-ˌō, -shē-, -chē-, -(ˌ)shō, -(ˌ)chō\

empty boasting

 

Gloating over the proper spelling of the word misspell is nothing more than braggadocio.

 

49. balalaika

\ˌba-lə-ˈlī-kə\

a usually 3-stringed instrument of Russian origin with a triangular body played by plucking or strumming

 

The Delta Blues and the balalaika were not meant for each other, but somehow the Professor made it happen.

 

50. noticeable

\ˈnō-tə-sə-bəl\

worthy of notice

 

Marty the Realtor’s five drinks were noticeable both on his face and in the crooked path taken back from the men’s room.

 

51. tarragon

\ˈter-ə-ˌgän, ˈta-rə- also -gən\

a small widely cultivated perennial artemisia having aromatic narrow usually entire leaves

 

Buster caught a whiff of fresh tarragon when he put the foot of his ladder down in the flower bed, making him want his supper even more.

 

52. ghoul

\ˈgül\

a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses

 

Appearing more ghoul than swine, Pig went back to the barn without shaking the dried mud from his hide.

 

53. onomatopoeia

\ˌah-noh-mah-toe-PEE-uh

the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.

 

Beverly lit another cigarette, unaware that her customers with a flare for onomatopoeia referred to her as ‘Wheezer’.

 

 

54. schadenfreude

\ˈshä-dən-ˌfrȯi-də\

enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others

 

The Goose was such an idiot. Duck reveled in shadenfreude every time the bigger bird got tangled in electric fence wire.

 

 

55. camphor

\ˈkam(p)-fər\

a tough gummy volatile aromatic crystalline compound obtained from the wood and bark of the camphor tree and used as a liniment and mild topical analgesic in medicine

 

“It is a balm for my grief. A camphor for my pain”, Pig said dramatically of the mud coating while Fat Cow pretended to listen.

 

 

56. macrame \ˈma-krə-ˌmā\

Function noun

a coarse lace or fringe made by knotting threads or cords in a geometrical pattern

 

Goose appeared skirted in macramé by the time he rolled up in all the wire and staggered back to the barn.

 

 

57. sarsaparilla

\ˌsas-pə-ˈri-lə, ˌsärs-, -ˈre-; ˌsa-sə-, ˌsär-sə-\

a sweetened carbonated beverage flavored with sassafras and oil distilled from a European birch

 

“I told you it wasn’t sarsaparilla,” laughed Arnold, watching Norm spit half of the Everclear over the porch railing.

 

58. opossum

\(ə-)ˈpä-səm\

any of a family of American marsupials that usually have a pointed snout and prehensile tail;

 

The tail was chewy but Coyote otherwise enjoyed his opossum dinner.

 

 

59. homburg

\ˈhäm-ˌbərg\

a man's felt hat with a stiff curled brim and a high crown creased lengthwise

 

Fat Cow helped Goose out of his tangled wire and to the delight of everyone now wore it like a homburg.

 

 

60. allotropy

al-LOT-tro-py

the phenomenon of an element existing in two or more physical forms.

 

The allotropy of good mud is what made life worth living for Pig. That and the sweet musk of Fat Cow.

 

 

61. belladonna

\ˌbe-lə-ˈdä-nə\

an Old World poisonous plant of the nightshade family called also deadly nightshade

 

Why, asked Duck, would Pig have a stash of belladonna behind his water trough?

 

 

62. wainscot

\ˈwān-skət, -ˌskōt, -ˌskät\

a usually paneled wooden lining of an interior wall

 

Sensing that Coyote was nowhere around tonight, Arnold set the rifle on the cap above the front room wainscot.

63. dachshund

\ˈdäks-ˌhu̇nt, -ˌhu̇nd; ˈdäk-sənt; especially British ˈdak-sənd\

any of a breed of long-bodied, short-legged dogs of German origin that occur in short-haired, long-haired, and wirehaired varieties

 

Too rich for eating, too nervous for friendship, Coyote ignored the dachshund along Canoe Brook Road.

 

 

64. camouflage

\ˈka-mə-ˌfläzh, -ˌfläj\

the disguising especially of military equipment or installations with paint, nets, or foliage; also the disguise so applied

 

Sunglasses made a poor camouflage of the fact that Marty the Realtor was drunk and had no business signing up for karaoke.

 

65. rhinoceros

\rī-ˈnäs-rəs, rə-, -ˈnä-sə-\

any of a family of large heavyset herbivorous perissodactyl mammals of Africa and Asia

 

Fat Cow and Pig took up most of the stall, but the largest presence was the invisible rhinoceros that only Duck would dare to mention.

 

66. neurasthenic

[noor-uhs-then-ik]

pertaining to or suffering from neurasthenia, or chronic fatigue.

 

Stress had a neurasthenic effect on Pig and he collapsed into the straw with a long groan.

 

 

67. graffiti

\grə-ˈfē-(ˌ)tē, gra-, grä-\

Usually unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface.

 

“For a good time, call Beverly” read the graffiti right in front of the Professor’s nose as he stood at the urinal.

 

68. narcissistic

\ˌnär-sə-ˈsis-tik\

characteristic of those having an inflated idea of their own importance

 

Narcissistic thinking being the main side-effect of alcohol, karaoke night managed to turn nice girls into divas, ordinary men to jerk-offs.

69. sthenic

[sthen-ik]

sturdy; heavily and strongly built. Indicative of strength and vigor

 

Pig watched Fat Cow standing before him sthenic and stearn. Intimidating, but kind of a turn-on too.

 

70. bureaucracy

\byu̇-ˈrä-krə-sē, byə-, byər-ˈä-\

a body of nonelective government officials

 

The barnyard bureaucracy consisted mainly of Duck, a natural leader; Fat Cow the gentle enforcer; and Goose because he was slightly smarter than the chickens.

 

 

71. axunge

[Ax"unge]

Fat; grease; especially the fat of pigs or geese;

 

Had Fat Cow wanted to she could have turned both Pig and Goose into axunge, but she held her temper for now.

 

 

72. censer

\ˈsen(t)-sər\

a vessel for burning incense;

 

Beverly dropped another butt into the beer bottle which smoldered like a censer in the dim light of the store room.

 

73. ipecac

\ˈi-pi-ˌkak\

an emetic and expectorant drug that contains emetine and is prepared from ipecac especially as a syrup for use in treating accidental poisoning

 

It may as well have been ipecac judging from the reaction Marty the Realtor had to the fried oyster special.

 

74. buffalo

\ˈbə-fə-ˌlō\

any of several wild bovids

 

Fat Cow finally spoke, “Don’t make me go all buffalo on you, Pig. Admit what you did.”

75. umlaut

\ˈüm-ˌlau̇t, ˈu̇m-\

a diacritical mark ¨ placed over a vowel to indicate a more central or front articulation

 

Pig’s tiny eyes hung like an umlaut over the ‘O’ of his startled mouth.

 

 

76. separate

\ˈse-p(ə-)ˌrāt\

to set or keep apart disconnect, sever

 

The Professor never could separate what he was feeling from what he was thinking.

 

 

77. pastime

\ˈpas-ˌtīm\

something that amuses and serves to make time pass agreeably diversion

 

Farting and scratching was no pastime, Norm would be the first to admit, but it did pass the time.

 

 

78. salaam

\sə-ˈläm\

an obeisance performed by bowing very low and placing the right palm on the forehead

 

The Professor appeared to salaam before stepping to the microphone, but he was merely wiping the sweat from his brow.

 

79. perennial

\pə-ˈre-nē-əl\

present at all seasons of the year

 

Love came and went with the sun, thought the Professor, but longing – longing was perennial.

 

 

80. quisling

\ˈkwiz-liŋg\

Traitor . Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling died in 1945

 

When the bobolink, a notorious farmland quisling appeared, Pig knew the gig was up.

81. aeronomy

/ɛəˈrɒnəmi/

the study of chemical and physical phenomena in the upper atmosphere.

 

Aeronomy might have sorted out the hormones and noxious gases in the Tavern that night. People were certainly high enough to merit the study.

 

82. exhilarate

\ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrāt\

1        to make cheerful and excited

 

Nothing could exhilarate Beverly like a man able to sing in a minor key.

 

 

83. fusillade

\ˈfyü-sə-ˌläd, -ˌlād, ˌfyü-sə-ˈ, -zə-\

a number of shots fired simultaneously or in rapid succession

 

Arnold’s fusillade of shots dropped Pig with his jaws still clamped around Fat Cow’s brisket.

 

84. zeugma

[zoog-muh]

the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words when it is appropriate to only one of them or is appropriate to each but in a different way, as in to wage war and peace or On his fishing trip, he caught three trout and a cold.

 

The tragic zeugma was that pig had killed his best friend, his chances with Fat Cow, and himself.

 

85. taphephobia

[taf-uh-foh-bee-uh]

an abnormal fear of being buried alive.

 

Taphephobia was unusual in pigs, but his dying thought was ,”Be sure I’m dead. That’s all I ask. Be sure I’m dead.”

 

86. Vellicate

[vel-i-keyt]

to pluck; twitch, pinch.

 

Duck used his blunt beak to vellicate Pig’s carcass then announced, “Dead as a fence post.”

 

87. schnauzer

\ˈshnau̇-zər, ˈshnau̇t-sər\

a dog of any of three breeds that originated in Germany and are characterized by a wiry coat, long head, pointed ears, heavy eyebrows, and long hair on the muzzle

 

What’s with all these Kraut dogs? Wondered Coyote, eyeing the schnauzer lying on the porch next to Elsa.

 

88. pneumatic

\nu̇-ˈma-tik, nyu̇-\

of, relating to, or using gas

 

The pneumatic hissing from the freshly tapped keg under the bar made a poor accompaniment to the Professor’s rendition of Sting’s Fields of Gold.

 

89. vexillology

[vek-suh-lol-uh-jee]

the study of flags.

 

In a rare exercise of vexillology Buster wondered out loud why Gail put up the porch banner with the beaver on it every year.

 

 

90. ameliorate

\ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt, -ˈmē-lē-ə-\

to make better or more tolerable

 

Arnold wrapped the wound and patted Fat Cow’s muzzle to ameliorate the trauma, but he could not help the pain she felt in her heart.

 

91. philately

\fə-ˈla-tə-lē\

stamp collecting

 

Philately, Norm thought. Farting, scratching and philately. That is a pastime.

 

92. tchotchke

\ˈchäch-kə, ˈtsäts-\

knickknack,

 

The Professor held his Tavern coaster tchotchke as if it were the Golden Globe Award. It was the biggest thing he’d ever won except for once again, the heart of Beverly.

 

93. boudoir

\ˈbü-ˌdwär, ˈbu̇-, ˌbü-ˈ, ˌbu̇-ˈ\

a woman's dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room

 

After her shift ended, Beverly received the Professor in the store room – a crude boudoir, but suitable to the purpose at hand

 

94. Vaccary

[Vac"ca*ry],

A cow house, dairy house, or cow pasture.

 

Led to the vaccary with another soft pat to her side, Fat Cow thought , what a long, strange day it had been.

 

95. machicolation

[muh-chik-uh-ley-shuhn]

an opening in the floor between the corbels of a projecting gallery or parapet, as on a wall or in the vault of a passage, through which missiles, molten lead, etc., might be cast upon an enemy beneath.

 

Goose stared down at Duck through the machicolation in the hayloft floor.

 

96. mayonnaise

\ˈmā-ə-ˌnāz, ˌmā-ə-ˈ\

a dressing made of egg yolks, vegetable oils, and vinegar or lemon juice

 

Beverly leaned against a case of mayonnaise and whispered in a gravelly voice, “Close the door, Einstein. And lock it.”

 

97. xerostomia

[zeer-uh-stoh-mee-uh]

dryness of the mouth caused by diminished function of the salivary glands due to aging, disease, drug reaction, etc.

 

Xerostomia came at the most inconvenient times, thought the Professor as his lips separated with an audible pop.

 

98. repertoire

\ˈre-pə(r)-ˌtwär\

a list or supply of dramas, operas, pieces, or parts that a company or person is prepared to perform

 

Disloyalty, yes; skullduggery, sometimes; but murder was simply not in Goose’s repertoire of character flaws.

 

99. pronunciation

\prə-ˌnən(t)-sē-ˈā-shən also ÷-ˌnau̇n(t)-\

the act or manner of pronouncing something

 

The moderator called attention away from his poor pronunciation skills by constructing juvenile, often crude passages.

 

 

100. poinsettia

\pȯin-ˈse-tē-ə, ÷pȯint-, ÷-ˈse-tə\

A showy Mexican and Central American plant.

 

Buster didn’t know a poinsettia from a pitchfork, but he did whatever Gail wanted done around the house.

 

101. crescendo

\krə-ˈshen-(ˌ)dō\

a gradual increase; specifically a gradual increase in volume of a musical passage

 

Gail’s riding tractor produced a deafening crescendo every time she passed between the house and garage.

 

 

102. cummerbund

\ˈkə-mər-ˌbənd, ˈkəm-bər-\

a broad waistband usually worn in place of a vest with men's dress clothes

 

Either his belly was bigger or the cummerbund had shrunk, but the moderator opted to wear the vest this year.

 

 

103. maraca

\mə-ˈrä-kə, -ˈra-\

a rattle usually made from a gourd that is used as a percussion instrument

 

Throw a couple stones in there and Goose’s head would make a passable maraca, thought Duck.

 

104. conscientious

\ˌkän(t)-shē-ˈen(t)-shəs\

governed by or conforming to the dictates of conscience: scrupulous

 

Conscientious as always, Buster kicked mulch into the holes left by the ladder in Gail’s flower beds.

 

105. Samizdat

\sahm-eez-dot

A system in the USSR by which government-suppressed literature was clandestinely printed and distributed; also : such literature

 

Duck knew that lacking the means to produce printed pamphlets or the capacity for language at all, barnyard samizdat was out of the question.

 

106. allot

\ə-ˈlät\

to assign as a share or portion

 

Beverly and the Professor would allot 10 more minutes for Marty the Realtor to leave, then they would begin turning off the lights.

 

107. zucchini

\zu̇-ˈkē-nē\

a smooth cylindrical usually dark green summer squash

 

Why, thought Buster, would she plant 6 rows of zucchini every year when 3 would be 2 too many.

 

108. illuminati

\i-ˌlü-mə-ˈnä-tē\

persons who are or who claim to be unusually enlightened

 

It’s unusual for ducks and cows to be the illuminati in any particular group.

 

109. succotash

\ˈsə-kə-ˌtash\

lima or shell beans and kernels of green corn cooked together

 

Last season’s succotash cold from the jar, and meatloaf for dinner. God, Buster thought, I love my wife.

 

110. paparazzo

\ˌpä-pə-ˈrät-(ˌ)sō\

a freelance photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities for the purpose of taking candid photographs

 

You’d think that Marty the Realtor was a paparazzo by the way the Professor and Beverly acted to conceal their being together.

 

111. cucurbit

[kyoo-kur-bit]

a gourd.

 

The dried cucurbit in the table’s centerpiece was decorated with a hand painted picture of a Mexican in a sombrero. Buster had no idea where it came from.

 

112. slumgullion

[sluhm-guhl-yuhn]

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

 

The pig was shot up pretty bad, but there’d be plenty of slumgullion for Arnold and Norm through the summer.

 

113. alleviate

\ə-ˈlē-vē-ˌāt\

relieve, lessen

 

Fat Cow tried to alleviate his shock and grief with some light yoga, which was awkward in the cramped space.

 

114. chauvinism

\ˈshō-və-ˌni-zəm\

an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex

 

Whatever the opposite of chauvinism is, that’s what the Professor was feeling on his way across the parking lot to Beverly’s waiting car.

 

 

115. daffodil

\ˈda-fə-ˌdil\

any of various perennial bulbous herbs of the amaryllis family;

 

The 800 daffodil bulbs about broke his back last September, but Buster had to now admit it was worth it.

 

 

116. fennec

\ˈfe-nik\

a small pale-fawn with large ears that inhabits the deserts of northern Africa and Arabia

 

Norm had never seen a fennec, or kissed a man, or likely ever would.

 

117. etymology

\-jē\

the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language.

 

The etymology of the word etymology comes from Middle English; etymologia, and ultimately from the Greek etymon + logia – in case you’re wondering.

 

118. capricious

\kə-ˈpri-shəs, -ˈprē-\

characterized by a sudden impulsive apparently unmotivated change of mind.

 

To call the chickens capricious would be to presume an actual mind at work.

 

119. forsythia

\fər-ˈsi-thē-ə, chiefly British -ˈsī-\

any of a genus of ornamental shrubs of the olive family with opposite leaves and yellow bell-shaped flowers appearing before the leaves in early spring

 

The forsythia was Gail’s favorite – flashy and low maintenance, like herself.

 

 

120. bungalow

\ˈbəŋ-gə-ˌlō\

a quite solidly constructed house for permanent residence that is usually one but sometimes one and a half stories high.

 

The Professor’s bungalow was a good house, but never a home until tonight.

 

121. illth

[ill-th]

a term and concept used by John Ruskin as the reverse of wealth in the sense of ‘well-being’.

 

Fat Cow’s illth gradually subsided during savasana.

 

122. salmonella

\ˌsal-mə-ˈne-lə\

a genus of enterobacteria that are pathogenic for humans and other warm-blooded animals and cause food poisoning, gastrointestinal inflammation, typhoid fever, or septicemia

 

I really should stop eating road kill, thought Coyote, feeling the familiar come on of salmonella.

 

123. philhellenism

\(ˌ)fil-ˈhe-ˌlēn izm\

admiring Greece or the Greeks

 

The Professor’s philhellenism was evident in his decorating scheme, but Beverly seemed to only have noticed the flat screen TV so far.

 

 

124. belligerent

\-rənt\

inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness

 

Uncharacteristically belligerent, but finally fed up, Duck gave Goose a boot off the edge of the loft.

 

 

125. visceral

\ˈvi-sə-rəl, ˈvis-rəl\

dealing with crude or elemental emotions

 

Buster had a visceral hatred for Dancing with the Stars and left Gail alone in the parlor.

 

 

 

 

 

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