English vocabulary words can provide good fodder for games. None of us know what a myriad of words mean, and often have never heard of them. 

Let’s take a vocabulary test this week. Don’t panic. You probably have never heard of these words. Guess what they may mean, and we will see how smart we are. I will give hints.

These English words were once used on a daily basis somewhere in the English-speaking world, (but not often, I bet) and are not profession-oriented. They might be Latin-originated, and this may help your guessing. 

Regarding scoring: If you get all right, you are lying. If you get 5 or 6 right, you are peeking. If you get 1-4 right, especially after reading the paragraph at the end, then you are honest and very smart.

1. INSPISSATE: It is an action word, a verb. It means:

a) To spit into a spittoon or comparable object. b) To hesitate during a difficult confrontation. c) To thicken, especially a soup, by evaporation.

2. INSOLATION: a person, place or thing, a noun

a) The padding between the walls, keeping the building warm or cool. b) The inner padding of a rabbit’s foot. c) Exposure to the rays or sun. A substitute for the word ‘sunbathing’

3. DETERRATION: a noun

a) to be falling apart, collapse or failure. b) The discovery of an underlying object by the removal of the earth surrounding it. c) holding back, stalling. Not proceeding forward in decision.

4. OCHLOPHOBIA: a noun 

a) Fear of snakes, spiders, and skunks. b) Obsessive fear of crowds. c) Fear of going blind

5. SAPID:  adjective     

a) Flavorsome, lively, interesting. b) Boring, dull, unopinionated. c) weak color, prone to ugly

6. BELLIBONE: a noun 

a) Undernourished. b) A swelling of the big toe. c) Excelling in beauty and goodness.

7. ULULATION: a noun  

a) A switch in the music scale from a major to a minor key. b) a type of umbrella. c) a howling or wailing.

HERE’S SOME HELP:

The mother heard definite loud ululation coming from her daughter’s bedroom as she (the mother) was busy impissating at the kitchen stove. The light was coming in the open window, beckoning her to spend some time in insolation instead of indulging in such meager chores. She wanted to do anything but this; maybe even take a trowel and carry on some active deterration in her flower bed. But, no, now she instead needed to go see what was wrong with her daughter. Her youngest was a sapid girl, very bellibone, and not prone to ochlophobia. So why the ululation? Obviously, the girl was frustrated and just needed some amusement. So her mother suggested she call some friends and invite them over for soup. 

Did that help? Here’s the answers.  1.c   2.c  3.b   4.b  5.a  6. c   7.c

How did I score? I am ashamed to tell you!                                      

Judi Tabler lives in Pawnee County and is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune. She can be reached at juditabler@gmail.com or juditabler@awomansview.