fabulist: (noun) a liar, especially one who creates elaborate stories.
Oh, please. Call me a fabulist. I find it much more urbane than "liar."
facinorous: (adj.) atrociously wicked; infamous. Why vote for
a candidate who is just a little bit bad when you can vote for somebody who personifies being facinorous?
fain: (adv.) gladly; willingly. I would fain your assiduity
if your intentions were not connubial.
fait accompli: (noun) (pronounced: fed-ah-com-play)
something that has already happened or been decided on before those who it affects hears about it, leaving them no choice
but to accept it. The company's suggestion to layoff half its workforce was fait accompli, given that the layoff notices
were already in the mail.
fantoccini: (noun) a puppet show using puppets
operated by strings or other mechanical devices. When it came to fantoccini, Jim Henson was a genius.
farinaceous: (adj.) consisting of, or containing starch. Your
shirt is quite farinaceous. Unfortunately, your moral character is not.
farrago: (noun) (pronounced: fur-ah-go) a confused mixture. Upon
picking the children up from daycare, the nightly farrago began.
fastidious: (adj.) fussy; finicky; persnickety. The
cat’s fastidiousness toward her meals became ridiculous when she insisted upon having a napkin.
fatuous: (adj.) idiotic, silly, meaningless. Everything the candidate said came out sounding
rather fatuous.
fealty: (noun) (pronounced: feel-tee) a feudal tenant's sworn loyalty to a lord;
a formal acknowledgement of one's loyalty. It's a really swell club. We have a clubhouse, and secret passwords,
and all sorts of fun stuff to do, and you can be a member, too, if you pass the initiation and then swear your fealty to Bobbie;
he's our leader.
feck: (noun) (from the Scottish word for "effect")
efficacy; force; value. My cat has more feck than your dog.
feckless: (adj.) spineless; incompetent; weak. We didn’t
realize how feckless the president really was until he had already been elected.
feculent: (adj.) shitty. A feculent odour wafted from the kitchen, so we decided to get
takeout.
fecund: (adj.) productive; proficient; fruitful. Because
the land was fecund, we relished in the bounty of the harvest.
feign: (verb) to pretend; to fake. We tried to feign interest
in the presentation, but one by one we all fell asleep.
feint: (noun) a ploy; maneuver; gambit; trick. Go down
field, do a little feint, then I'll throw you the ball, immediately after which you'll be flattened by that really big guy
over there.
felicitous: (adj.) very well suited; pleasant; delightful. We
all found it felicitous that we were met with such felicity on our first day in prison. What a swell bunch of guys.
ferruginous: (adj.) reddish
brown; rust coloured. Naw! This is a good car. See? That ain't rust. That's just it's colour.
See? It's ferruginous.
ferule: (noun) a ruler especially designed to punish children
with. That's enough, Bobby! Now, I've warned you about picking on people younger and weaker than you, so now it's
time that I did the same thing to you, only this time, with my ferule!
fervid: (adj.) fervent; ardent; impassioned; vehement, especially
to an excessive degree. Your fervid denial of the charges, especially considering that you weren't even a suspect, makes
you seem guilty as hell.
fess
point: (noun) The center of
a shield. No, I don't think it's a good idea to use a bull's eye as the fess point on my shield.
fey: (adj.) giving an impression of vague unworldliness; having
supernatural powers; being clairvoyant. When she predicted that Bob would forget the anchovies, we suspected that Tina
might be fey.
fickle: (adj.) likely to change because of caprice, irresolute.
The fickle young man could never decide which social engagement he wanted to attend, much less which young lady he would take,
so he ended up spending a quiet evening alone.
fiddly: (adj.) complicated or detailed; awkward or hard to use.
We found the instructions for putting together the cupboard to be rather fiddly.
filch: (verb) to take; to steal, especially something of little
value. Larry always thought he was being funny when he filched the pens at the bank, until he became just another caitiff
caught on CCTV.
filial: (adj.) (pronounced: fill-ee-ul) familial;
loving; devoted. It's hard to be filial while having a mistress.
fillip: (noun) impetus; stimulus; boost. We had to fill
up the car for the fillip to finish our journey.
fimbrillate: (adj.) usually a biological term, but it doesn't always
have to be, it means to be bordered with fringe. I like fimbrillating all my pillows. I don't think they look
any better that way. I just like saying "fimbrillate."
fishmonger: (noun) one who sells fish. Let's go to the Pike
Place Market and see the fishmonger.
fissility: (adj.) the quality of being fissile; being able to be split or divided. It's science,
Bob, and the only way we're ever going to know the fissility of the facility is if we blow it apart.
flabbergast: (verb) to astonish, flummox. We were flabbergasted
by her flummery.
flabbergastedness: (noun) the state of being flabbergasted. Darren's
flabbergastedness was quite obvious after finding out his girlfriend was leaving him for his now former best friend.
flack: (noun) a publicity agent; one paid to represent the interests
of another. Our flack has been given flak every since she sold her soul to the devil. But she did get a fair price.
flagellation: (noun) whipping; flogging; beating. Hey!
I have an idea. Instead of our furgling, why don't you flagellate yourself. It'll be fun... at least for me.
flageolet: (noun)
(pronounced: fla-gah-let) a small, flute like instrument similar to a recorder; a penny whistle. And after
dinner, we have a very special treat. The twins will preform the entirety of Handel's Messiah on their flageolets
– all three hours!
flammulated: (adj.) having flame-shaped markings; used more often in reference to the plumage of
certain birds, such as the Flammulated Owl. I was thinking about making my car flammulated, but when I realized how
expensive it would be to paint it that way, I just set it on fire instead.
flapdoodle: (noun) nonsense. Let’s turn on the news for our
daily flapdoodle.
fleaches: (plural noun) large, fluffy snowflakes. When the
fleaches began to fall, we had hopes of a snow day.
fleech: (verb) to speak flatteringly; to coax. Do you think
you can fleech your mother to let us go out and play in the fleaches?
flense: (verb) to strip the skin and fat off of a carcass, usually
a whale. Once the flapdoodle was flensed from his testimony, it became obvious how little of the truth she was really
telling.
fletcher: (noun) somebody who makes and sells arrows for a living.
I’m sorry, son, but just because your name is Fletcher doesn’t mean you’re qualified to be a fletcher...
a lower case fletcher. Being born a Fletcher is all the qualifications you need to be an upper case Fletcher.
flibbertigibbet: (noun) a flighty, frivolous, or excessively talkative
person. All the boys agreed that Clarissa was exceedingly cute, but those who actually went out with her agreed that
she was nothing more than a flibbertigibbet.
flimflam: (verb) to swindle somebody, especially with a confidence
game. After sending the money to the Nigerian prince and never hearing from him again, my mother-in-law realized that
she had been flimflammed.
flip
your lid: (also: flip your
wig) (verb) to suddenly lose control or become angry, or both. (This phrase has nothing to do with British royalty
wearing wigs. It originated in the mid-twentieth century and refers to a boiling pot pushing its lid off.) Don't
flip your lid, man. I didn't dent your new car too badly.
flitch: (noun) a slab of uncured bacon; a slab of wood; somebody
not willing to stand up for themselves. If we had a flitch, we could've started a fire, and then we could've cooked
the flitch, but Carl, like usual, flitched out on us again.
floe: (noun) a sheet of floating ice. Flo rode the floe
as it flowed through the slough.
flollop: (verb) the flip-flopping movement of a mattress as it
moves itself through the swamps on Sqornshellous Zeta. Zem happily flolloped his way across the stagnant water.
florid: (adj.) ornate; elaborate; baroque. We all agreed
that Henry's car was truly florid after all his hard work. However, it still didn't run.
floriferous: (adj.) (pronounced: flo-rif-fer-ous) bearing
flowers; blooming freely. It's why I like flowers... because they're so floriferous. It's kinda like why I like
water because it's so wet.
flotsam: (noun) (flot = float) the debris of a ship or its
cargo that is still floating, but was not intentionally thrown overboard, which really only matters if you are trying to salvage
any of it under maritime law. If the jetsam is washed back out to sea, does it become flotsam again?
flounce: (verb) prance; storm; stomp; strut. Sir, your flouncing
about doesn't change a thing. You still must wait for your turn.
fluke: (noun) coincidence; happenstance; also an intestinal
worm; also the tail of a whale. It was just a fluke that there was a fluke on the whale’s fluke.
flummery: (noun) nonsense; empty compliments; also, a jellied sweet
porridge once popular in England. She was flummoxed by the flummery about her flummery.
flummox: (verb) stump, baffle, flabbergast. We flummoxed
the lummox.
flurrying: (present progressive verb) to lightly snow. Even
though it had been flurrying all day, there was no accumulation, much to the children's chagrin.
flustration: (noun) a portmanteau of "frustration" and "flustered."
Myrna's flustration was evident as she tried to think up a sentence that used the word "flustration."
flyblown: (adj.) not pure; trite; hackneyed. Your article on fly eggs in the souffle was
just more of your flyblown drivel. Now get out there and do some real reporting, or you're fired!
foghat: (noun) a hat one wears in the fog (There are
many who argue that this is not a proper word; obviously, they are wrong.) I'm not sure why I need a hat for the fog,
but it's foggy, so I'd better wear my foghat.
foible: (noun) weakness; fault; shortcoming; idiosyncrasy. We'll lure the Reptilian Overlords out in the sunshine. That's their foible. Then we can pelt
them with rocks and chase them off... either that or they'll kill us all with their death ray.
foison: (noun) abundance, plenty. Sooth, we are blessed
with foison, but not coherency.
foist: (verb) to push something unwelcome or unnecessary onto
someone. The salesman tried to foist insurance into the deal.
folderol: (noun) a useless ornament or accessory; nonsense; hogwash;
hooey; malarkey. It's not that it's not a nice hood ornament, Bubba... it's just that a hood ornament on your tractor
is just folderol.
foment: (verb) to stimulate; to provoke; to encourage; to increase.
Nothing foments trust in your neighbors more than bars on your windows.
foof: (verb) to blow out a breath in exasperation. (noun)
an exasperated breath. We knew his mother was losing patience when she began foofing.
foolscap: (noun) a standardized sheet of paper, around 13 X 8 inches.
Hey, you moron, hand me the foolscap, and then take off that silly hat.
fop: (noun) a man who is excessively concerned about his appearance;
dandy. If you spend more than 15 seconds picking out a hat to go fishing in, you might be a fop.
foppery: (adj.) foolishness. Enough of this foppery! We need to
be serious here! We need to show some decorum.
forb: (noun) a herbaceous flowering plant other than grass; a plant (such as clover) that
doesn't have woody growth above the ground (such as a tree). Your shamrocks look lovely mixed in with the other forbs.
forthcomingness: (noun) the state of being forthcoming; approachability;
sociability. Bob's forthcomingness made him popular with everybody... except Larry.
fortnight:
(noun) two weeks. They look happy now, but I don't give their marriage more than a fortnight.
fortuitous: (adj.) unexpected good fortune; accidental.
It was fortuitous that the mattress truck was parked in the alley way when Gene fell off the roof.
foulard: (noun) a soft, lightweight, usually patterned material
often worn as trim. You fool! There’s no point in wearing foulard if nobody can see it.
fracas: (noun) quarrel; brawl; mêlée. Because
of her rodomontade, a fracas broke out amongst the girls.
fractious: (adj.) irritable; peevish; restless; awkward. If
you think the teachers are all fractious, you ought to hang out with the administrators.
frangible: (adj.) fragile; brittle. Hallmark Valentine’s Day
Card Reject: Be careful with my heart; it’s frangible.
frank: (verb) to mark a piece of mail indicating that the sender
has the right to free mailing; to mark a letter showing postage is paid. Frankly, Frank, I can't see that your letter
has been franked.
fraught: (adj) filled with or likely to result in something undesirable;
causing anxiety or stress. We were fraught with thought of what we ought not do.
frenetically: (adv.) anxiously; worriedly; frantically; madly.
Larry frenetically searched for his car keys, while Melissa frenetically searched for his car.
friability: (noun) the ability to be easily crumbled or pulverized.
My cat is too friable to be picking fights with the neighbor's cat, but she does anyway.
fricative: (noun) the type of consonant sound found in the letters
p, t, k, b, d, g. Oh, ignore Barney. He's only speaking in fricatives this week.
frippery: (noun) titbit; treat; luxury. Oh, no, my dear.
A fur coat is not a frippery; it is a necessity, especially if you are a mink.
frisson: (noun) a sudden feeling of excitement; a thrill.
Prepare yourself for a frisson, my dear. I'm brushing my teeth!
frogged: (adj.) having an ornamental braid or fastener.
Me? I'm in the donjon because the queen asked to be frogged. Imagine my surprise when I realized she wanted her
ceremonial braid. Imagine her surprise. Imagine the frog's surprise.
Frou Frou: (proper noun) primarily a term used in drama; all that
extra stuff you really don’t need, but it looks nice just the same. Gramma’s house was filled with over
eighty years of Frou Frou.
frowsy: (adj.) scruffy; disheveled; unkempt; slatternly. The
frowsy old man was looking quite frumpish.
fructify: (verb) to bear fruit; to multiply. Go forth and
fructify.
fructuous: (adj.) fruitful. Our trip to the farmers' market
was quite fructuous.
frumpish: (adj.) dowdy; drab; unattractive. Why is it that
every nun I’ve ever met has a certain frumpishness about her?
fuddled:
(adj.) vague; confused; muddled; stupefied. Don't just stand there looking all fuddled because you got a confusing
text message. At least get out of the middle of the street.
fuddy-duddy: (adj.) stick-in-the-mud; old fashioned; fussy. You
brought firecrackers? Don't be so fuddy-duddy. Use the nitroglycerin.
fugalump: (noun) the grand total; everything necessary, though not
always in a coherent order. Just put the whole fugalump in the back of the pickup and we’ll sort it out back at
the ranch.
fulminate: (verb) to express vehement protest. The angry
mob was fulminating over the latest pay raise the politicians voted for themselves.
fulsome: (adj.) flattering; immoderate; excessive; effusive.
That's a rather fulsome dress, Ms. Abragail, but there is nothing in the law that says our firm must accommodate your hoops.
fulvous: (adj.) reddish yellow; tawny. We really like your
book, Ms. Jackson, but we all agree that Fulvous Scrawny Lion is just not a catchy enough title.
functionary: (noun) official; bureaucrat; lackey. Oh, you misunderstand. Just because
I'm a Level Three Functionary doesn't mean I know what's going on, or that I would know what to do even if I did. The
person you want to talk to is Larry, the janitor.
fungoid: (adj.) having to do with a fungus. And while you're
at it, toss some of those fungoids on the pizza, too.
funicular: (noun) a cable railway ascending a mountain. It
was fun to ride the funicular up the mountain.
funkify: (verb) to fortify with funkiness; to overflow with funk.
Though many people objected to the funkification of "The National Anthem," everybody agreed that it was definitely
easier, and a lot more fun, to sing along with.
funky: (adj.) modern and stylish in an unconventional way; having funk. That was some
funky action those righteous dudes were trying to lay on us.
furgle: (verb) to have sex. Oh! You want to furgle!
I thought you said, "Fargle." No.
furtively: (adv) stealthily; slyly; cautiously. His
furtive glances at her paper were pointless, since he was copying from someone who knew even less than he did.
fusillade: (noun) a quick succession of shots all fired at the same location. The fusillade of
insults as he entered the room reaffirmed to Carl that becoming a teacher was a bad idea.
fussbudget: (noun) fusspot; worrywart; nag; Lucy VanPelt. Oh, don't be such a fussbudget.
What's the worse that can happen if the gas ignites?
fusspot: (noun) a fussy person; a worrywart. Oh, don't be such a fusspot and
just enjoy the cacophonous chaos of the grandchildren.
fustian: (adj.) pompous or pretentious speech or writing. The
President's speeches are anything but fustian, though many of us wish they were.
futz: (verb) (also: putz) to waste time; to aimlessly
busy oneself. Naw, we don’t actually want to accomplish anything. We’re just futzing around.
