Each week I pull 10 words from the vast ocean of vocabulary and share them for our mutual edification.
Dandle - To move (a small child) up and down on the knees or in the arms in a playful way: "Somebody who was dandled on Queen Victoria's knee must appear an old fogy” ( Edward, Duke of Windsor). To pamper or pet. To play or trifle with; put off with cajolery or trifling excuses; wheedle; cajole. To defer or protract by trifles.
Repartee- A swift, witty reply. Conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts. Adroitness and cleverness in reply. A repartee is a witty and good-humored answer to a remark of similar character, and is meant to surpass the latter in wittiness. A retort is a keen, prompt answer.
Waggish - Characteristic of or resembling a wag; jocular or witty. Like a wag; abounding in sportive or jocular tricks, antics, sayings, etc.; roguish in merriment or good humor; frolicsome. Humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner - 'a waggish riposte'.
Prevaricate - To stray from or evade the truth; equivocate. To deviate; swerve from the normal or proper course; stray. To swerve from the truth; act or speak evasively; quibble. In law: To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying the object which it is professed to promote. To betray the cause of a client, and by collusion assist his opponent.
Brown-out - A reduction or cutback in electric power, especially as a result of a shortage, a mechanical failure, or overuse by consumers. A sustained period of low alternating current line voltage When demand for electricty exceeds the available supply, a brownout occurs.
Prostrate - To put or throw flat with the face down, as in submission or adoration: "He did not simply sit and meditate, he also knelt down, sometimes even prostrated himself” ( Iris Murdoch).
Baleful - Portending evil; ominous. Harmful or malignant in intent or effect. Full of hurtful or malign influence; destructive; pernicious; noxious; direful; deadly: as, “baleful breath,” Full of grief or sorrow; woeful; sad.
Repudiate - to reject as having no authority or binding force: torepudiate a claim. To cast off or disown: to repudiate a son. To reject with disapproval or condemnation: to repudiate anew doctrine.
Fulsome - The state or quality of being fulsome or showing overdone and insincere flatter, characterized by abundance. buttery: unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech; "buttery praise"; "gave him a fulsome introduction"; "an oily sycophantic press agent"; "oleaginous hypocrisy"; "smarmy self-importance"; "the unctuous Uriah Heep"; "soapy compliments."
Garrulous - Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative. Talkative; prating; loquacious; specifically, given to talking much and with much minuteness and repetition of unimportant or trivial details.
(Definitions sourced from various reputable online dictionaries, usually in association with wordnik.com)
