History
Buildings
KA Worldwide
Library Resource Centre
Kilmarnock & UK News
Famous Former Pupils
Health & Fitness
Leisure & Lifestyle
Contact
Today's Weather
School Calendar

heuchter-teuchter

(pronounced hooch-ter-chooCH-ter)

 (adjective) a (usually derogatory) description of Scottish folk and  country dance music

 History:   C20th, uncertain. Possibly onomatopoeic, or derived from teuchter,  a mildly derogatory name for a Highlander

 Example: “Every time I turn on the radio it’s that heuchter-teuchter  rubbish”         

discombobulate

 (verb) (Mainly US and Canadian) To throw into confusion, or wreck  plans

 History: C20th, uncertain, perhaps derived from discompose or  discomfit

 Example: “Mr Reid discombobulated the whole class by asking them to  sit facing the back of the room”

blether

 1 - (verb chiefly Scots) To speak foolishly

 2 - (noun) Foolish talk, nonsense

 3 - (noun) Harmless talk, gossip

 4 - (noun) A person who blethers
 
 History: C15th, from old Norse blathra, from blathr,  meaning foolish 

 Example: “Mrs Dunsmuir liked nothing better than a good blether  round  the tea-urn in the staff-room.”

pettifogger

 1 - (noun) a lawyer of inferior status who conducts unimportant cases,  especially one who is unscrupulous or resorts to trickery
 2 - (noun) any person who quibbles or fusses over details
 
 History: C16th, from petty, meaning trivial (from the French petit), and  Fugger, a C15th-C16th German family of financiers

 Example: “Mr King was accused of being a pettifogger when he insisted  that all the books in his library were labelled in exactly the same way”

brouhaha

 1 - (noun) excited public interest, the clamour attending some  sensational event, or a hullabaloo
 2  -(noun) an episode involving excitement, turmoil, confusion, etc,  especially over a minor or trivial case
 
 History:  C16th, French, from exclamations made by characters  representing the devil in French drama

 Example: “There was a bit of a brouhaha over Mushy’s speech at Burns  Night: especially when he accused Fraser of not wearing the kilt in the  traditional style!”                                 

skinnymalink 

 (noun) (scots)  a very thin person, all skin-and-bones, or an  emaciated creature
 
 History: C18th, from skinny, meaning very thin, and hlekkr, c14th  Scandanavian, meaning connected or tied                 

truculent

1. (adjective)   defiantly aggressive, sullen, or obstreperous
2. (adjective)   (archaic) savage, fierce, or harsh

 History: from C16th, from Latin truculentus, from trux, meaning fierce     

onomatopoeia

 (noun) the formation of words whose sound is imitative of the sound  of the noise or action designated, such as hiss, buzz, bang, splat, etc.

 History:(1-6): from C16th , originally from Greek onoma, meaning  name, and poiein, to make             

punch

1. (verb)       to strike blows (at), especially with a closed fist
2. (verb)       (American) to herd or drive cattle
3. (noun)      a blow with the fist
4. (noun)      telling force, point, or vigour
5. (noun)      a tool or machine for piercing holes
6. (noun)      any or various tools used to knock a rivet, etc, out of a hole
7. (noun)      any mixed drink, usually hot, alcoholic, and spiced
8. (noun)      the main character in a traditional children’s puppet show 

History:(1-6): from c17th middle English pounce or punson, meaning pointed tool (7): from c17th Hindi pānch, meaning five (the drink originally contained five ingredients (8): The figure of Punch derives from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinella, which was Anglicized to Punchinello.        

triskaidekaphobia

 (noun)  an abnormal fear of the number thirteen

 History: 20th century, from Greek triskaideka, meaning thirteen, and  Greek phobos, fear                                                                           

extrapolate

1. (verb)  in Maths, to estimate (a value or measurement) beyond the values already known, by the extension of a curve       
2. (verb) to infer something not known by using, but not strictly deducing from, known facts          

History:19th century, from extra, Latin meaning more, and polate, from Latin polire, to polish

NB: Compare with interpolate, which has several meanings, including “to estimate (a value or measurement) between values already known”

zany

1. (adjective)           comical in an endearing way: imaginatively funny or comical, especially in behaviour      
2. (noun)          a clown or buffoon, especially one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect                                                                          
3. (noun)          a ludicrous or foolish person        

scaremonger

 (noun)  a person who delights in spreading rumour or disaster

 History: (scare) - 12th century, from old Norse skirra, related to           Norwegian skjerra & Swedish dialect skjarra, meaning to           frighten
          (monger) – from old English mangere, ultimately from Latin           mango, meaning to trade or deal

exponentially

[adv] - in an exponential manner  (informal - very rapidly)                  

exponential

1. [adj] Of or relating to an exponent                                            
2. Mathematics a. Containing, involving, or expressed as an exponent.
b. Expressed in terms of a designated power of e, the base of natural logarithms