Whimsical Words

  • absquatulate: to flee, abscond
  • abstemious: restrained in consumption of food and alcohol
  • balderdash: nonsense
  • ballyhoo: commotion, hype
  • bindle stiff: hobo
  • bodacious: remarkable, voluptuous
  • borborygmus: sound of intestinal gas
  • cahoots (in the expression “in cahoots with”): scheming
  • callipygian: possessing a shapely derriere
  • cantankerous: irritating, difficult
  • carbuncle: pustule
  • caterwaul: to wail or protest noisily
  • cattywampus: in disarray
  • cockamamie (also cockamamie): ridiculous
  • comeuppance: just deserts
  • concupiscent: possessed of erotic desire
  • copacetic (also copasetic, copesetic): satisfactory
  • curmudgeon: ill-tempered (and often old) person
  • debauchery: sensual gratification
  • doohickey: gadget or attachment
  • effluvium: unpleasant smell
  • factotum: all-around servant or attendant
  • farrago: confused mixture
  • festoon: to decorate; dangling decorative chains
  • finagle: to trick
  • fisticuffs: fighting with fists
  • flabbergasted: dumbfounded
  • flagitious: villainous
  • flibbertigibbet: flighty person
  • flummoxed: confused
  • foible: fault
  • folderol: nonsense
  • foofaraw: flash, frills
  • fusty: moldy, musty, old-fashioned
  • gallimaufry: mixture, jumble
  • gallivant: to jaunt or carouse
  • gobbledygook: nonsense, indecipherable writing
  • haberdasher: men’s clothier; provider of sundries
  • harridan: shrewish woman
  • higgledy-piggledy: in a disorganized or confused manner
  • high jinks (also hijinks): boisterous antics
  • hodgepodge: mixture, jumble
  • hokum: nonsense
  • hoodwink: to deceive
  • hoosegow: jail
  • hornswoggle: to dupe or hoax
  • hortatory: advisory
  • hullabaloo: uproar
  • ignoramus: dunce
  • imbroglio: confused predicament
  • jackanapes: impudent or mischievous person
  • jiggery-pokery: deceit
  • kerfuffle: disturbance
  • lackadaisical: bereft of energy or enthusiasm
  • loggerheads (in the expression “at loggerheads”): quarrelsome
  • lollygag: to meander, delay
  • loquacious: talkative
  • louche: disreputable
  • lugubrious: mournful, dismal
  • malarkey (also malarky): nonsense
  • maleficence: evil
  • mendacious: deceptive
  • oaf: clumsy or stupid person
  • obfuscate: confuse, obscure
  • obloquy: condemning or abusive language, or the state of being subject to such
  • obsequious: flattering
  • orotund: sonorous, or pompous
  • osculate: to kiss
  • paroxysm: convulsion or outburst
  • peccadillo: minor offense
  • periwinkle: light purplish blue; creeping plant; aquatic snail
  • perspicacious: astute
  • pettifogger: quibbler; disreputable lawyer
  • poltroon: cowardly, coward
  • prognosticate: to predict
  • pusillanimous: cowardly
  • raffish: vulgar
  • ragamuffin: dirty, disheveled person
  • rambunctious: unruly
  • resplendent: brilliantly glowing
  • ribaldry: crude or coarse behavior
  • rigmarole (also rigamarole): confused talk; complicated procedure
  • ruckus: disturbance
  • scalawag: scamp
  • scofflaw: lawbreaker
  • shenanigans: tricks or mischief
  • skedaddle: flee
  • skulduggery: devious behavior
  • spiffy: stylish
  • squelch: to suppress or silence; act of silencing; sucking sound
  • subterfuge: deception, or deceptive ploy
  • supercilious: haughty
  • swashbuckler: cocky adventurer; story about the same
  • sylph: lithe woman
  • tatterdemalion: raggedly dressed person; looking disreputable or decayed
  • termagant: shrewish woman
  • whirligig: whirling toy; merry-go-round; dizzying course of events
  • widdershins (also withershins): counterclockwise, contrary
  • willy-nilly: by force, haphazardly

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