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'Almond-For-A-Parrot' Day: Obsolete Words

Almond-for-a-Parrot (c1529): noun. Some trifle to amuse a silly person. Here's some forgotten words you may still find useful, at least as a trifle for silly amusement.


Although there is a tiny bit of overlap in the word collections below, each list also adds to the variety.

20 “Forgotten” Words That Should Be Brought Back - Ex: Ultracrepidarianism: noun. The habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one’s knowledge.
15 Obsolete Words We Should Still Be Using - Ex: Apricity: noun. The warmth of the sun in winter.
10 Obsolete Words that have no Place in the Past - Ex: Blatteroon: noun. A senseless babbler or boaster.
24 Old English Words You Should Start Using Again - Ex: Quagswag: verb. To shake something backwards and forwards.
Can you guess the meaning of these 20th-century slang terms no one uses anymore? - Hint: "Blanket" was another word for sandwich in the 1950s.
Monsterful - This is my current favorite obsolete word. According to the Oxford English Dictionary - Monsterful (c1460): adjective. Marvellous, extraordinary.

Finally, for those of you who really love weird and obsolete words (like me), here's some free resources you can explore to your hearts content. These are also great resources for writers!

International House of Logorrhea - Free online dictionary of 17,000 weird and unusual English words, ranging from merely uncommon words to the rarest of the rare words.
1811 Dictionary in the Vulgar Tongue - Words in common everyday usage among the non-elite (hence, vulgar) folks. Searchable.
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words & Phrases - This is the actual, real Roget's Thesaurus from 1911; far superior to most of the contemporary so-called "thesaurus" online tools. Searchable.
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