n. – admiration of a particular part of someone’s body

bibble

v. – to drink often; to eat and/or drink noisily

cabotage

n. – coastal navigation; the exclusive right of a country to control the air traffic within its borders

NOT: v. – to sabotage with cabbage and/or Vermont Cabot Cheese

doodle sack

n. – old English word for bagpipe

erinaceous

adj. – of, pertaining to, or resembling a hedgehog

Although she won’t know what it means, never, ever tell your date Erin that she is “looking quite erinaceous this evening.”

firman

n. – in Turkey and some other Oriental countries, a decree or mandate issued by the sovereign

gabelle

n. – a tax on salt

halfpace

n. – a platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight

impignorate

v. – to pawn or mortgage something

NOT: v. – to impregnate a pig

jentacular

adj. – pertaining to breakfast

kakorrhaphiophobia

n. – fear of failure

This is the last word that someone with kakorrhaphiophobia would want to encounter in a spelling bee.

lamprophony

n. – loudness and clarity of enunciation

macrosmatic

adj. – having a good sense of smell

nudiustertian

n. – the day before yesterday

NOT: n. – a martian nudist

oxter

n. – outdated word meaning “armpit”

NOT: n. – a creature that is half ox, half otter

pauciloquent

adj. – uttering few words; brief in speech

If you had to figure out how to use this word in context, you probably wouldn’t say much either.

quire

n. – two dozen sheets of paper

ratoon

n. – small shoot growing from the root of a plant

NOT: n. – the offspring of interbreeding rats and raccoons

salopettes

n. – high-waisted skiing pants with shoulder straps

tittynope

n. – a small quantity of something left over

Undoubtedly the biggest eyebrow-raiser on this list!

ulotrichous

adj. – having wooly or crispy hair

First time you’ve heard this word? It’s probably a good indication that you don’t have wooly or crispy hair. Or that you do, and nobody uses this word anymore.

valetudinarian

n. – a sickly or weak person, especially one who is constantly and morbidly concerned with his or her health

Think – “the valedictorian of hypochondriacs”

winklepicker

n. – style of shoe or boot in the 1950s with a sharp and long pointed toe

A close second to “tittynope” in the eyebrow-raiser category

xertz

v. – to gulp down quickly and greedily

yarborough

n. – hand of cards containing no card above a nine

zoanthropy

n. – delusion of a person who believes himself changed into an animal