April 26 Word of the Day: Blatteration
A
Glossary of Domestic Sounds
whirligig
a
toy which children spin round
“the
remote jumps streams, a whirligig in their hands”
volant
flying;
passing through the air
“invisible
messages in good faith and bad arrive volant with pings in the phone”
tink
to
make a sharp shrill noise
“the
kettle’s boiling tinked”
sternutation
the
act of sneezing
“the
cat betrayed its whereabouts with a bout of sternutation”
rodomontade
to
brag thrasonically; to boast like Rodomonte
“all
morning talkback radio rodomontaded”
larum
1
alarm; noise noting danger 2 an instrument that makes a noise at a certain hour
“wake-up
larum a rooster, sleepy-bye larum ambient chimes”
ignivomous
vomiting
fire
“the
new ignivomous stove lights automatically”
gleek
musick;
or musician
“the
needle drops into the groove unstopping sleek gleek”
1
the act of flowing 2 the matter that flows 3 [In mathematicks] The arithmetick
or analysis of infinitely small variable quantities; or it is the method of
finding an infinite small or infinitely small quantity, which, being taken an
infinite number of times, becomes equal to a quantity given. Harris.
“a
washing-machine, that by fluvial fluxion flushes out infinite fluxion fragments”
eructation
the
act of belching
“the
station wagon let out a series of eructations”
dyspnoea
a
difficulty of breathing; straitness of breath
“the
dyspnoea of the emptying plughole”
blatteration
noise;
senseless roar
“the
blatteration of lawnmowers every Saturday”
[Selections
from Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of 1755]
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