pavane: (noun) (pronounce: pah-von) a stately dance which involved intricate clothing,
popular in the 16th and 17th Centuries. A modern day version of the pavane is the prom.
peachy: (adj.) splendid, fine, grand, but let’s not overdo it. Golly, going out
and picking fruit sure sounds peachy!
pearlescent: (adj.) having a luster resembling that of mother-of-pearl.
The toothpaste was good to its promise of giving teeth pearlescence, but didn't mention anywhere on the package how truly
goofy you'd look with your teeth being that white.
peccadillo: (noun) sin; transgression; offence. Bob came home to find his girl friend, his
mistress, and his wife discussing all of his peccadilloes.
peckish: (adj.) hungry; crotchety. We were all feeling a
bit peckish, so we drew straws and ate Larry.
peculation: (noun) the unlawful appropriation of public or shared
property, usually by the person entrusted to keep that property public or shared. Certainly. Peculation means
the same thing as stealing from the people who trust you the most, but it just doesn't sound quite so bad.
pedantic: (adj.) hair-splitting; sticking to the rules for
rules’ sake, regardless of how silly those rules may ultimately be. The teacher was being pedantic when she insisted
that the students adhere precisely to the grammar rules.
pederast: (noun) a person who engages in pederasty; usually an older male who engages in sexual
relations with a younger, often minor, male. Well, sir, to be frank, our school has a strict policy against hiring pederasts,
but we'll keep your résumé on file.
pedigaga: (plural noun) terminology created for the sole purpose
of making something sound more important than it really is. When the teacher insisted that she be called a pedagogue,
she was using pedigaga.
peen: (noun) typically the curved end of a hammer. (verb)
to strike with a hammer. Peen him again, Bubba, before he has a chance to get back up. If you're gonna survive
the Zombie Apocalypse, you gots to learn to double tap.
peevish: (adj.)
irritable; crabby; cranky; cross. Don't be so peevish. Just accept that you're a peon and get on with it.
peignoir: (noun) (pronounced: pain-waar) a woman's
light dressing gown or negligee. That's it! I warned you if the dog wore my peignoir one more time, he'd have
to go. To the doghouse! Both of you!
pejorative: (adj.) sneering, sniping, or otherwise derogatory. The bikers’ bar was perhaps
not the best place for Arnold to air his pejorative comments about motorcyclists.
pelage: (noun) (pronounced: pell-age) the fur, hair, or wool of a mammal.
Yes, son, I have lost all of my pelage, and because baldness runs on the mother's side of the family, some day, you will,
too.
pellucid: (adj.) translucently clear; lucid. Her pellucid
dress was quite popular with the boys.
penchant: (adj.) really, really liking something, or a tendency
to do something; or maybe both. He had a penchant for working the crossword every Sunday afternoon.
penitential: (adj.) relating to or expressing penitence; showing penance.
Even the priest thought her penitential keening was a bit over the top.
penultimate: (noun)
the second to the last in a series. I don't know why you're so surprised that I'm leaving. I told you when we
first met that you were my penultimate lover.
penurious: (adj.) extremely poor; poverty-stricken; parsimonious;
mean. I mean, it's dogma, so I believe it, but I still don't see what being penurious has to do with anything.
peonage: (noun) slavery by another name; the act of using peons
as forced labour to pay off a debt or to serve a penal sentence. Well, now. Since you drank from my well, and
you can't pay for that water you just drank – and let me tell you, that water ain't cheap – then that makes you
my peon. So pick up that shovel and get busy working off your peonage. By the way, that air you're breathing ain't
cheap, either.
peradventure: (adv.) perhaps. Peradventure, methinks we should
custom less archaic words when we vociferate.
perambulation: (noun)
patrol; round; beat; watch. I've been making these same perambulations for the last 47 years, with nary a disturbance,
until tonight. I'll have none of it. Now get back in your graves. And don't tarry!
perdition: (noun) in Christian theology, the state of eternal punishment or damnation into which
the sinful are cast after death. Repent, all ye sinners, or perdition awaits for thee!
peregrinate: (verb) (pronounced: pear-ah-grin-ate) to
travel or wander about. We don't so much take a vacation as we peregrinate.
perfidious: (adj.) traitorous, unfaithful, disloyal. Fluffy’s propensity to hang out
with dogs made her seem perfidious to her fellow cats.
perforce: (adv.) inevitably; inescapably; unavoidably; darn it,
it's just gonna happen. Because you are not rich, perforce, your life shall be miserable.
perfunctory: (adj.) carried out with a minimum of thought
or effort. We found the politicians perfunctory remarks to be quite repugnant.
periodicity: (noun) (peer-ee-ah-dis-ity) the tendency to occur at
regular intervals. Once periodicity is discovered, a pattern cannot be far away.
peripatetic: (noun) a follower of Aristotle; a person who wanders
around. The traveling salesman considered himself a peripatetic, even though he hadn’t a clue who Aristotle was.
periwigged: (adj.) periwigs were wigs that were popular with men
in the 17th and 18th centuries, so if you are wearing a periwig, then you're periwigged; it's also come
to mean being excessively adorned; overdressed. The only way we're ever going to make periwigs popular again is to wear
them.
perloo: (noun) a steamed rice dish, often with meat, seafood, or vegetables in a seasoned broth...
you know... pilaf. Clara, put on your best hat! We’re goin’ out for some perloo!
permeate: (verb) to pervade; to spread throughout. The
virus permeated the entire computer network, changing everyone’s emails into broccoli.
pernicious: (adj.) having a harmful effect, but in no particular
hurry to do so. The teacher’s pernicious attitude about education eventually resulted in her students all becoming
arborists.
peroration: (noun) speech; oration; discourse. After listening
to his peroration, we were even more convinced that he was a total idiot.
perpend: (verb) to consider; (noun) a large stone that passes through the
wall. To perpend the gravitas of the situation, we must first admit that there is a very large perpend in our front
room that wasn't there last night.
perquisition: (noun) a thorough inquiry or search. The police
still had no solid evidence, even after their perquisition.
persnickety: (adj.) too concerned with minor details; picky; fussy. The pedantic teacher was
just being persnickety when she measured the margins with a ruler.
perspicacity: (noun) sharpness; discernment; acuity.
Of course, your perspicacity will greatly be appreciated, for we would like to avoid the scandal should the public discern
that the Duke of Cornwall is, in reality, a kangaroo.
perspicuity: (noun) eloquence; fluidity; clarity; lucidity.
Her perspicuity was hampered by their having no idea what “perspicuity” meant.
pertinacious: (adj.) obstinate; persistent; stubborn; unshakeable.
Why are you being so pertinacious? This is a hamburger joint. They don't serve moose. Now you'll just have
to take your moose around back and let her graze.
pestiferous: (adj.) harboring an infection or a disease; being a pest
or a nuisance; annoying. The doctor found the young man’s constant questions about the plague to be rather pestiferous,
until she discovered that he really did have the plague.
pestilential: (adj.) relating to, or tending to cause, infectious disease.
The white supremacist 's words were pestilential, filling those around him with hate.
petrescence: (noun) the process of changing to stone, petrifying.
Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to disturb your petrescence, but the Martins have arrived for cocktails.
pettish: (adj.) childishly bad-tempered behaviour. Stop
being so pettish, Martin. I said, "No," and that settles it.
petulance: (adj.) crabbiness; irritability; bad temper. The
nun’s petulance made us all wonder just what vows she had taken.
phalanx: (noun) group; mass; formation. The phalanx of ants
marched across the counter toward the sugar bowl.
phantasmagoric: (adj.) having a deceptive appearance; dream-like; tripping balls. I don’t
know if it’s me or the drugs, but the entire election process seems a bit phantasmagoric.
phantasmal: (adj.) chimeric; an illusion; a figment of a sick mind; spooky stuff. The phantasmal
image was more a product of gravy than the grave.
philistine: (noun) hostile or indifferent to the arts. When the TV station hired a philistine
to head the art department, the staff knew it was time to update their résumés.
philology: (noun) the branch of knowledge that deals with the structure,
development, and relationships of language. That's Phil, our philologist.
phlegmatic: (adj.) apathetic; indifferent; undemonstrative.
We thought Uncle Adolf was just being phlegmatic, when in reality he had died three months earlier.
phlegm: (noun) mucus; catarrh; rheum. That's right, folks,
your hacking days are over. With Phlegm-o-matic, you can suck that mucus right out. So stop waiting and order
yours today!
phlogiston: (noun) before oxygen was discovered, this was believed to be
the "element" present in anything combustible that allowed it to combust; anything that is found to be false.
So... you're telling me that the Fire God is just another phlogiston?
phrenology: (noun) the study of the size and shape of the skull in
the belief that it meant something. We got the phrenologist's report. He concludes that the two horns growing
out of the front of your head definitely means that you're the Spawn of the Devil. We want you to shampoo with Holy
Water twice a day. If they're not reduced in a week, then we'll have to call in the Priest.
phrontifugic: (adj.) relieving anxiety; getting over one’s cares. Some
people become phrontifugic with Zen, others with beer.
phthisis: (noun) (pronounced: thigh-sis) pulmonary
tuberculosis, or other like-disease. Well, son, you got the phthisis, and if you can't spell that, you can just abbreviate
it to "TB."
phylogenic: (noun) the evolutionary development of a species or traits
within a species. My cat's phylogeny includes tigers, and she never lets me forget it.
physiognomy: (noun) (pronounced fiz-zee-og-na-me) the art of determining character by physical
appearance, especially of the face. Even though we all know that physiognomy is really nothing more than hokey pseudoscience,
at best, I still think he looks shifty.
pibroch: (noun) (pronounced: pee brock) funeral music
played on bagpipes. We always play pibroch at funerals. It makes us think that perhaps dying isn't so bad after
all. At least when you're dead you don't have to listen to the pipes.
picaresque: (adj.) a style of fiction that deals with loveable, but
dishonest and often rowdy heroes. Hans Solo is the perfect example of a picaresque character.
picayune: (noun) (pronounced: pick-ah-yoon) petty;
worthless. Her reasons for not wanting to go out with me were picayune, at best, but she still didn't go out with me.
pickle: (noun) not the condiment you eat with your sandwich,
but a difficult situation; a tight spot; usually in a phrase beginning with "in a." We were in a pickle when
we realized we'd forgotten the various condiments for the picknick.
piebald: (adj.) skewbald; spotted; mottled. That's the dog
that ate my pie, the piebald one.
pièce
de résistance: (noun) (pronounced:
pastry of resistance) masterpiece; magnum opus; gem. And now, the pièce de résistance of tonight's
meal: Roadkill soufflé!
piffle: (noun; int.) nonsense. Oh, piffle. That's exactly what this all is, piffle!
pileated: (adj.) (pronounced: pie-lee-ay-ted) having
a crest that covers the pileum – the part of a bird’s head from the bill to the back of its neck; crested.
Woody Woodpecker is a Pileated Woodpecker, a close cousin to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. If you’re ever in the
woods and you see a really big (bigger than a crow) black and white woodpecker with a really big crest on its head... yup,
that’s a Pileated Woodpecker.
pillion: (noun) a seat for a passenger behind a motorcyclist. If you're going to sit on
the pillion, you'd better wear your casque.
pilotage: (noun) the occupation or action of piloting; a pilot's
fee; piloting a vessel by using ground features along with charts and maps. It may be a Subaru, but that doesn't make
my pilotage any less important.
pinched: (adj.) up-tight, anal (verb) to steal something.
That pinched old man pinched our last bottle of ale!
piquant: (adj.) spicy; tasty; tangy. Variety makes life more piquant.
pique: (verb) to intrigue; to arouse; to get someone’s
interest. (pronounced: peek) The picture on the video box did nothing to pique our interest in the movie.
piscatory: (adj.) depending on fish or fishing. Both the fisherman
and the gulls that followed his boat were piscatory.
piscivorous: (adj.) (pronounced: piss-civ-vor-riss) feeding
on fish. Just because you eat a lot of fish sticks doesn't mean you're piscivorous.
pissant: (noun) insignificant; not important; (obsolete) an ant. If that pissant thinks
he can walk around all whopperjawed, he’s got another think comin’.
pistache: (noun) the tree from which we get pistachio nuts. He used the ash from the pistache
to dye his moustache.
pithy: (adj.) brief, forceful, and terse; generally not a
compliment. We tired in a hurry of her pithy sayings.
pitsaw: (noun) a large, two handled saw used for cutting logs
into planks that requires one person to stand on level ground and the other to stand in a pit. Bringing one beer to
a barbecue is like bringing a pitsaw to a pruning. It just ain't gonna work.
pittance: (noun) trifle; meager amount; jack squat. A pittance
is still a pittance, no matter how many people are getting paid the same.
placatory: (adj.) (pronounced: play-ka-tory) intended
to make someone less angry or hostile; conciliatory; intended to placate. We accidently ran over your husband with the
steamroller. Pity, that. So we offered you what he was worth. It's a quite generous check, if you ask me.
Why, there's a lot you can do with $19.45. But now you're all riled. So there you have it. We tried to be
placatory, and what did it get us.? So do you want the check or not?
plantigrade: (adj.) walking on the soles of the feet, like a human,
or a bear, or my cousin Eddie. You'll never guess what little Chloe did today! She made her first plantigrade
locomotion!
plashy: (adj.) abounding with pools or puddles. After the
rain, the world is all plashy.
plausible: (adj.) seemingly possible
or conceivable; having the appearance of truth or reason. It is plausible that politicians really care about their constituents, which is really hard to say without laughing.
pleach: (verb) to interlace the branches of a tree. We
tried to pleach the hawthorn, but that was just painful, so we pleached a peach instead.
plebian: (noun) (pronounced: pla-be-an) a commoner,
especially in ancient Rome. I think you'll just love the neighborhood. The neighbors are mostly plebians, but
they're real friendly.
plenary: (adj.) unqualified; absolute. Martin assumed plenary control of the support group
for overly-assertive people.
plenipotentiary: (noun) all powerful; supreme; absolute. I am the plenipotentiary
of this house! Well... if it's alright with you, sweetheart.
plenteous: (adj.) bountiful; abundant; copious. The
seemingly plenteous income had not compensated for taxation, but the government do take a bite.
plentitude: (adj.) an ample amount, bunches, a lot. In an election year, there is a plentitude
of political experts, half of whom are bound to be wrong.
pleonastic: (adj.) redundant; tautologic; the needless and unnecessary use of
words; redundant. Every year, at our annual awards and accolades ceremony, we give the award for the most superfluously redundant, tautologic,
and otherwise pleonastic person for the previous year. It’s quite an honor.
plethora: (noun) an overabundance; surfeit; superfluity.
The plethora of cats in the house, plus her insistence that they all spoke Latin, left us to concur that she was truly a crazy
cat lady.
plinth: (noun) pedestal; stand; support. Dude, I found
your cat. He's up on the plinth, and everybody's bowing down to him. Ya know, I'm just sayin', but having him
fixed is probably going to come back and haunt you.
plonker: (noun) a stupid person; a moron. Don't be such a plonker and vaccinate
your child, for crying out loud!
plottingly: (adv.) to behave in a plotting manor; conspiratorially; planning. We plottingly
studied the convenience store so we could figure out the best time to rob it, while the police were plottingly watching us,
figuring out the best time to arrest us.
plucky: (adj.) brave; courageous; spirited. The plucky duck was tired of running.
Hunters be damned! He was delicious.
plumbeous: (adj.) of the dull gray colour of lead. The Resplendent
Wokka Bird, said to be the most beautiful bird in its mating plumage, spends the rest of year quite plumbeous.
plurality: (noun) the act of being plural; in politics and such, having more votes than your opponent,
but not having the majority of votes (which is only possible if there are more than two candidates). It's not good enough
to have a plurality of electoral votes; in order to win you must have a majority.
plutocrat: (noun) magnate; tycoon; bigshot. Bob was just a
satrap on earth, but on Pluto he was a plutocrat.
poignant: (adj.) affecting; touching; moving. Her poignant
remark brought comfort to the widow.
point
blimfark: (noun) in a movie, the point where a car's wheels or a
wagon's spokes appear to be spinning backwards; in life, the point where you realize all hope is lost. (This word was
originally created by comedian Rich Hall as a Sniglet, a word made up to describe something for which no dictionary word exists.)
"Folks, this is your captain, just wanting you to know that we've reached point blimfark, and we'll be landing sooner
than expected."
polemic: (adj.) outspoken; bold; impassioned. The politicians'
polemic prattle inspired us all to stay at home on election day.
politburo: (noun) the principle policy making body of any given communist party. Yes, we
are all communists, and we are planning a party, but we don't need to form a politburo to decide what snacks and drinks we're
going to have.
politicize: (verb) to make something not normally political, such as comfortable shoes, political.
How can you politicize the truth?
polity: (noun) (pronounced: paul-ah-tee) an organized
society; a state that has a definite political identity; a form or process of a civil government. Calling yourself a
polity just does not work. To be an organized society, you really need to have more than one person.
poltroon: (noun) not just a coward, but an utter coward.
All poltroons will be shot! You've been warned.
pompitous: (adj.) splendor, magnificence, suave pageantry;
a word credited to Steve Miller (in his song “The Joker,” but probably borrowed by him from the Medallions 1954
song “The Letter"); like most words, they had to start somewhere – it just depends whether they catch on.
The pompitous of the evening lay before us.
pomposity: (noun) self-importance; the act of being pompous; arrogance.
Cheryl's unapologetic pomposity got her thrown off the pom pom squad.
poncy: (adj.) pretentious; affected; showy; exaggerated.
He's a rather poncy fellow, thinking people care if he has an ostentatious vocabulary.
ponder: (verb) to wonder; to think about; consider.
One who thinks deeply is a ponderer.
ponderment: (noun) the act of pondering; reflection; thought.
How Ruth Ann squeezed into her dresses was a ponderment to all the boys.
poniard: (noun) (pronounced: pon-yard) a small, slim dagger, traditionally worn by
the upper-class. Don't worry! If they're armed, I have my poniard.
porpententous: (adj.) pompous; self-important; bombastic; done in a manor
so as to impress. Wouldn't having an unporpententous president be nice?
portend: (verb) to give a sign or warning that something really
bad is going to happen. The polls portend that the president will be re-elected.
portmanteau: (noun) two words combined to make one. The sitcom
had been replaced by an infomercial, so we decided to brave the smog and go out for brunch, but only after giving the cat
a good scritch behind her ears, and promising not to use any more portmanteaux.
poseur: (noun) (pronounced: pose-air) one who pretends
they are something that they are not; a show-off; exhibitionist; poser. That dude is such a poser that he calls himself
a "poseur."
postilion: (noun) the person who rides the leading left hand horse
of a team or a pair of horses, especially if there is no coachman. It was inevitable that the postilion and the coachman
would come to blows over who was really guiding the coach.
postulant: (noun) someone seeking to enter a religious order; a request or a demand. As long
as you're a postulant, you can't make any postulants. Just do as you're told.
posy: (noun) a small
bunch of flowers or a single flower; nosegay; a brief motto or inscription; poetry. Know my son: There is no profit
in posy. Hell, you can’t even give poetry away.
potch: (non-count noun) a type of rough opal without colour,
and therefore not worth selling; any worthless item. (verb) to thrust; to trample. Me? I'm here because
we robbed this dude's house. There was supposed be all this loot, just waiting to be taken, but all we got was potch...
and caught.
pox: (noun) any
of many viral diseases, such as measles, that create puss filled pimples and leave pockmarks upon healing. "A pox
upon me," you say? I'm already covered with a pox! How could it get worse?
prænomen: (noun) (pronounced: pre-no-men, and you can just
use "ae" instead of "æ," but "æ" is a lot of fun) a first or personal name,
especially in ancient Rome. Wilson is my prænomen. It's also my last name: Wilson Wilson.
And that also makes it a patronymic. Of course, none of that keeps it from being an awful name. But so is my lot
in life.
pratt: (noun) derived from the word “prattle,” an
insult for a person who blathers on incessantly or behaves in a child-like manner; something to call somebody you simply don’t
like.. Don’t be such a pratt, Melvin!
prattle: (verb) to chatter; to blather; to gibber. LeRoy?
He'd prattle on all evening given the chance.
precipitous: (adj.) impulsive; rash; hurried. The cat dashed about the room precipitously,
chasing her imaginary friend.
preconcert: (verb) to arrange in advance. You will need to
preconcert the luggage if you want it to fit in the trunk when we go on vacation.
predacity: (noun) to be predatory. My cat's predacity is well
known to the birds in the neighborhood.
predicate: (verb) founded or based on something else.
If your conclusion is predicated on a falsehood, then it, too, is wrong.
predilection: (noun) fondness; liking; penchant. Henry?
Naw, he ain’t no drunk. He just has a predilection for cheap wine.
prefiguration: (noun) something that is imagined or pictured beforehand; something that is foreseen
or prognosticated. The prefiguration of Uncle Carl during the seance would've been more startling had not Uncle Carl
been alive and had he not been returning from the kitchen with a beer.
preponderant: (adj.) superiour in number, importance, or influence. The voters who were truly
sick of the incumbent were preponderant in the election.
preprandial: (adj.) (pronounced: pre-pran-dee-ul) done
or taken before dinner or lunch. We always have a preprandial tipple. Care to join us?
prerogative: (noun) priveledge; right; choice. As master
of the house, it was his prerogative to bathe in the kitchen sink.
presage: (verb) an indication or warning of a future occurrence;
an ill omen, a presentiment. The crow presaged the death of the old woman.
presbytery: (noun) the collective church elders and ministers, especially
when they act as a governing body. Wilfred Gumbolt, because of your refusal to have nothing to do with the church, the
presbytery has hereby sentenced you to excommunication.
prescience: (noun) (pronounced: press – see –
ince, not pre – science) forethought; prudence; an ability to see into the future, sort of. Her prescience to
take 99 instead of I-5 saved them at least three minutes in getting to the airport.
preternatural: (adj.) beyond that which is natural or normal.
When the cat broke into a song-and-dance routine, we didn’t know whether it was some phantasmagoric preternatural occurrence,
or whether Fluffy just has some nice moves.
prevaricator: (noun) (pronounced: pre-var-ah-cay-tor) a
person who speaks so as to avoid the precise truth; a quibbler; an equivocator; a liar. No. Understand that we
don't want you to lie. If you are going to be the President's spokesperson you must be a prevaricator. You need
to be able to prevaricate. The only thing worse than the truth is telling the truth.
prickle: (verb) to experience a tingling sensation, especially
of the skin, as a result of a strong emotion. When the lunch ladies said there would be no dessert, the students began
to prickle.
prig: (noun) someone who shows exaggerated propriety or conformity,
especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner; a prude; a killjoy. Carl found Mary Ann's priggish attitude toward
sex to be a bit put-offish, especially since they were on their honeymoon.
prima facie: (adj.) (pronounced:
pry-mah fay-she) something that is accepted as correct until otherwise proven wrong. His prima facie argument,
that tigers are just as loving as house cats, was proven wrong when he was eaten.
privity: (noun) a relation between two parties that is recognized by law,
such as marriage, blood, or legal contract. And so, by the powers vested in me, I announce you a privity.
privy: (adj.) sharing in knowledge; (noun) a toilet. While
sitting in the privy he became privy to their plans.
probity: (noun) honesty; integrity; uprightness; rectitude; principle.
If you haven't shown any probity in your behaviour up until now… it's probably too late.
proboscis: (noun) (pronounced: pro-boss-sis) the long, mobile nose of mammals that
have long, mobile noses, like a tapir's or an elephant's; in insects, such as moths – but not ants – a long flexible
sucking appendage; nose; snout. I'm serious, dude. Either leave me alone or I'm going to punch you right in the
proboscis.
proclivity: (noun) penchant; appetite; taste. Her proclivity
to marry swindlers was probably why she had a penchant for having her bank account cleaned out.
procumbent: (adj.) lying face down. After Carl had been procumbent for over an hour, we began to
suspect that he might be dead.
prodigious: (adv.) impressively great in size; enormous.
Her ignorance was displayed prodigiously during the debate.
profanation: (noun) blasphemy; disrespect; sacrilege; violation. Hearing profanations during
Mass wasn't that strange, but we never expected to hear them from the priest.
profligacy: (noun) licentiousness; extravagance; wastefulness.
Yes, our profligacy was a lot of fun, especially the fur-lined Rolls Royce... but now we're broke.
profligate: (noun) (pronounced: prof-la-gate) a licentious,
dissolute person. We were warned to avoid the profligates that hung around the bus station.
profundity: (noun) depth; wisdom; intensity. We were all amazed
by her profundity when she announced that water was wet.
proliferate: (verb) to increase rapidly in numbers; to multiply.
The proliferation of the invasive species caused the animals of the forest to loathe the humans.
prolix: (adj.) wordy; verbose; long-winded; redundant; flowery;
rambling; overly extensive wordage; drawn out; garrulous; chatty; loquacious; effusive; demonstrative; vociferous; talkative;
prolonged; protracted; expanded; lengthened; superfluous; extra; excessive; not required; surplus; unneeded; unnecessary;
and uncalled for. He was prolix.
promptitude: (noun) the quality or habit of being prompt. Howard always
arrived with promptitude, even though most of us preferred that he never arrived at all.
pronk: (verb) to leap in the air with arched back and stiff
legs, such as an antelope might do when threatened or just showing off, or a cat might do when startled. You can pronk
all you want, but I'm still not going home with you.
propensity: (noun) an inclination or a natural tendency to
behave a certain way. My cat has a propensity to catch birds.
propinquity: (noun) proximity; the state of being close to somebody
or something; kinship. Long road trips are often the cause of propinquity, but not in the good way.
propitiate: (verb) (pronounced: pro-pish-ee-ate) to win or regain favour of someone
or something (such as a god) by doing something they find pleasurable. Whereas Lorraine might find it propitious if
you were to apologize to her for seeing all those other women, if you really want to propitiate the entire problem, then you
might consider not seeing all those other women.
propitious: (adj.) favourably inclined or disposed.
He knew that the chances of being invited to breakfast were propitious if he first were invited up for a nightcap.
proselytize: (verb) to preach; to try to convert (see:
corrective attentiveness). The lady saw every opportunity as a chance to proselytize, while everybody she met saw it
as an opportunity to run away.
prothalamion:
(noun) (pronounced: pro-tha-lay-mion) a poem or song celebrating an upcoming wedding. When Venessa,
the bride-to-be, broke down crying in the middle of her prothalamion and then jumped out of the window, it somewhat put a
sour note on the entire evening. Thankfully, though, she was on the first floor, so the only thing that got hurt was
the azalea bush she landed on.
prothonotary: (noun) a chief clerk in some courts of law; a species
of warbler. Without the prothonotary, this place wouldn't be running smoothly at all. I have no idea how he does.
I mean... he's a bird.
protrusible:
(adj.) capable of being protruded
or extended, such as the inner mouth of an Alien. Well, yes, I suppose your middle finger technically is protrusible,
but that doesn't mean you need to protrude it all the time, especially when passing a policeman.
provenance: (noun) the origin of something; the beginning of existence;
the earliest known record. We trace our family's provenance all the way back to 1972. We could go back further
than that, but why bother?
provender: (noun) (pronounced: pra-ven-der) animal fodder.
It is your duty to provide provender to the provinces.
proviso: (noun) (pronounced: pro-vie-so) a condition attached to an agreement.
Though there was a proviso in the prenuptial agreement that Clark could have one extra-marital affair a year, there was also
a proviso that Margaret could have the Guido Brothers tie Clark to cement blocks and drop him into the Winesap Lake if he
did. All told, it worked out just fine.
psalmody: (noun) the singing of psalms, or other sacred canticles,
especially in public. Aye, my child, the Lord does find psalmody to be pleasing, but He would find it even more pleasing
if you were in tune.
pseudospeciation: (adjective) When fellow humans are considered
a different species than you, and, really, since they are not the same species as you, what’s so wrong with killing
them? The process of pseudospeciation has allowed many a person to justify genocide. (And remember: it’s
e before u unless after q)
pshaw: (interjection) used to express irritation, disproval,
contempt, or disbelief. Pshaw! There is no way I'm getting down int that pit with that saw.
psychosassic: (adj.) the creation of one's own word specifically so
that person can deny that it means anything; to claim special abilities by specifically claiming that you don't have those
abilities. I categorically deny that I am psychosassic, even though I'm not sure what categories there might be to deny,
and why I would need to deny them even if there were, or I was, or any combination that might make sense.
publican: (noun) a person who owns or runs a bar; a tax collector
in ancient Rome. If Bob, who is a publican, lost his job and were rehired, would he be a re-publican?
puce: (noun) either
a flea or a colour, or the colour of a flea; however, what colour is it? It can either be a purplish colour or a greenish
colour. The flea’s decision to theme the wedding in puce caused a lot of confusion.
puerile: (adj.) childish; infantile; foolish. She may be
only three, but that's no reason for her to act so puerile.
puissance: (noun) (pronounced pwes-ance) great power, influence,
or power. Her puissance was limited to her bailiwick.
pulchritude: (adj.) (pronounced: polk-ra-tude) beauty. Most folks don't use pulchritude
to describe their favourite hog, but one look in Emma's eyes... and there ain't no denying her pulchritudinous.
pule: (verb) to cry querulously or weakly. The puling
kitten let it be known that she wanted her mother.
pullulating: (adj.) (pronounced: pull-u-lay-ting) very crowded and lively; teeming.
The mall was pullulating with Groundhog's Day shoppers.
punctilio: (noun) a petty
formality or fine point of etiquette. You may call it a punctilio if you wish, but nevertheless, proper attire, including
trousers, is required at our establishment.
punctilious: (adj.) assiduous; scrupulous; meticulous; thorough.
Her punctilious packing caused us to miss our plane.
punitive: (adj.) disciplinary; castigatory; corrective. The
plaintiff wanted to sue for punitive damages once she found out what punitive meant.
punky: (adj.) run down; tired; worn out. After finals,
we were all feeling punky.
pupper: (noun) a young dog. Yup. That's my pupper.
And that's my kitter.
purblind: (adj.) dimwitted. Ronald was a bit purblind, thinking
that the cat's reaction to his petting her meant that she actually liked him.
purling: (adj.) the motion of a small stream among obstructions;
flowing with a murmuring sound. At night, in our tent, the purling of the stream put us to sleep.
purloin: (verb) to steal; to pilfer; to rip off. He was
purported to have purloined the purblind pupper.
purport: (noun) importance; significance; meaning. I'll
tell you what the purport of their firing bullets at us, you moron. We're under attack!
purveyor: (noun) a person who sells or deals in particular goods.
Calling yourself a purveyor in meth doesn't make your profession any less despicable.
pusillanimous: (adj.) (pronounced: pew-sa-lan-ah-mous) a contemptible
lack of courage; lily-livered; spineless; craven. For your pusillanimous acts in the face of the enemy, we award you the Jason McCord metal of dishonour. Wear it proudly.
pussyfoot: (verb) to act in an unnecessarily cautious way; to act in an annoyingly noncommittal
sort of way. You guys go on ahead. I'm going to stay here and pussyfoot for a while longer.
putative: (adj.) assumed; supposed; alleged; reputed. The
Martimo Brothers' putative ties to the Mob were never denied by either of them.
put-offish: (adj.) lacking cordiality; unfriendly; unapproachable.
Don't be so put-offish. Open the door and let the grandchildren in.
putrefy: (verb) to rot; to decay; to be really nasty. A little
pepper, some salt, and ketchup will compensate for most putrefaction.
putrescent: (adj.) rotting; decaying; really, really nasty.
In 2037, René Putre broke away from the famed Channel Company where he had been a perfumer for 17 years in order to market what some said was
the “most remarkable scent ever,” a perfume René simply called “Putre Scent.” It was
a dismal failure.
putsch: (noun) coup; uprising; insurrection; revolt. After
the pooch putsch at the pet store, all the cats quickly and quietly left town.
putz: (noun) a worthless or stupid individual; a schmuck.
(verb) to engage in worthless or inconsequential behaviour. The putz was just putzing around.
puzzlement: (noun)
a feeling of confusion through lack of understanding. Oh, Sensei, I think I finally understand. The true puzzlement
is not the sound of one hand clapping. It's why we've spent all this time thinking about such nonsense.
pyrrhic: (adj.) (pronounced: peer-ick) a victory won
at too high a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor; yeah, you won, but it might as well been a loss in the long run.
Bob was successful in getting Greta to have sex with him, but it was a pyrrhic victory at best, for Bob realized that now
she would never go away.
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