OLIVARY

adj. shaped like an olive

found: looking up the name 'olivia' (I have a habit of looking up acquaintances names as a means of learning new words. Don't worry Olivia, I'm not a crazed stalker.)

also: OLIVINE sounds more like an adjective, but it's actually a mineral. OLIVINIC would be the adj. form of it.

VIZSLA

n. pl. -S a Hungarian breed of dog

found: while trying to learn some new vi- words (v & i are two of my least favorite letters)

also: SILVA is the best possible anagram from this

notes: my other two least favorite letters are c & u.

ELHI

adj. pertaining to school grades 1 through 12

found: not sure... I think I was looking up a word that started with e-l-i-?

also: anagram of HEIL

notes: this has to be one of the more bizarre short words I've come across... especially since it isn't foreign (I would have guessed it was a Hebrew term for something). my guess: it combines the words elementary and high (school)... wait, I just googled it. Yep, I'm right.

IMPRESA

02.07.08 04:25 PM

n. a type of emblem

found: while following a Subaru Impreza.

also: can be spelled IMPRESE; plus IMPREST is a valid word.

notes: I just made some pear ginger sunflower muffins. mmm. but on a more related note, the closest SCRABBLE word to Subaru is SUBAH or SUBARID.

FUGU

02.07.08 11:24 PM

n. pl. -S a toxin-containing fish

found: delivering mail to a business called fugu group, inc.

also: reminds me of another fish-related word I've come across- ZANDER

notes: when I asked the business owner if there was meaning behind the business name, he said, 'well, it's a type of sushi'. was that supposed to answer my question?

FUGGY

02.02.08 11:45 PM

adj. stuffy and odorous

found: also in the book on CD 'Closed Circle' by Robert Goddard. (see SHIRTY) I'm telling you, these British novels are a goldmine.

also: root word is FUG. As often is the case with strange words, I like to see what other 'rhyming words' are out there. BUGGY, MUGGY, PUGGY, and VUGGY all pass the test.

notes: speaking of rhyming, my kids are in the habit of showing their rhyming skills- for example, we'll past a stoplight and they'll declare 'stoplight, boplight, koplight!' Haven't quite grasped the concept that the words rhymed are supposed to be real ones. Though if they'd said 'buggy, fuggy, vuggy' a few months ago, I would have given them the same (falsely) knowing parental smile.

DAIKON

02.01.08 11:44 PM

n. a Japanese radish

found: at a discount produce store.. went to three different grocery places to try and save money. Probably made up the difference in gas.