Words of the Moment: Mountebank, Wowser, Yclept

A three-fer fer yer yap-holes!
Love the first two, don't think I'll ever find a use for the third (esp. since I'd never remember how to say it!)


mountebank n.

1. A hawker of quack medicines who attracts customers with stories, jokes, or tricks.
2. A flamboyant charlatan.

[Italian montambanco, from the phrase monta im banco, one gets up onto the bench]

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wowser, n. (Australia & New Zealand)

A person regarded as obnoxiously puritanical.

[Possibly from dialectal wow, to howl, complain, of imitative origin.]

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yclept, v.

A past participle of clepe.

[Middle English icleped, from Old English geclepod, past participle of gecleopian, to call : ge-, verb pref.; see kom in Indo-European Roots + cleopian, to call.]