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in Bits and pieces, Did you know?, Humour, Reading, Slang, Words, Writing
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The 100 Funniest Words in English


Abibliophobia	The fear of running out of reading material.
Absquatulate	To leave or abscond with something.
Allegator	Some who alleges.
Anencephalous	Lacking a brain.
Argle-bargle	A loud row or quarrel.
Batrachomyomachy	Making a mountain out of a molehill.
Billingsgate	Loud, raucous profanity.
Bloviate	To speak pompously or brag.
Blunderbuss	A gun with a flared muzzle or disorganized activity.
Borborygm	A rumbling of the stomach.
Boustrophedon	A back and forth pattern.
Bowyang	A strap that holds the pants legs in place.
Brouhaha	An uproar.
Bumbershoot	An umbrella.
Callipygian	Having an attractive rear end or nice buns.
Canoodle	To hug and kiss.
Cantankerous	Testy, grumpy.
Catercornered	Diagonal(ly).
Cockalorum	A small, haughty man.
Cockamamie	Absurd, outlandish.
Codswallop	Nonsense, balderdash.
Collop	A slice of meat or fold of flab.
Collywobbles	Butterflies in the stomach.
Comeuppance	Just reward, just deserts.
Crapulence	Discomfort from eating or drinking too much.
Crudivore	An eater of raw food.
Discombobulate	To confuse.
Donnybrook	An melee, a riot.
Doozy	Something really great.
Dudgeon	A bad mood, a huff.
Ecdysiast	An exotic dancer, a stripper.
Eructation	A burp, belch.
Fard	Face-paint, makeup.
Fartlek	An athletic training regime.
Fatuous	Unconsciously foolish.
Filibuster	Refusal to give up the floor in a debate to prevent a vote.
Firkin	A quarter barrel or small cask.
Flibbertigibbet	Nonsense, balderdash.
Flummox	To exasperate.
Folderol	Nonsense.
Formication	The sense of ants crawling on your skin.
Fuddy-duddy	An old-fashioned, mild-mannered person.
Furbelow	A fringe or ruffle.
Furphy	A portable water-container.
Gaberlunzie	A wandering beggar.
Gardyloo!	A warning shouted before throwing water from above.
Gastromancy	Telling fortune from the rumblings of the stomach.
Gazump	To buy something already promised to someone else.
Gobbledygook	Nonsense, balderdash.
Gobemouche	A highly gullible person.
Godwottery	Nonsense, balderdash.
Gongoozle	To stare at, kibitz.
Gonzo	Far-out journalism.
Goombah	An older friend who protects you.
Hemidemisemiquaver	A musical timing of 1/64.
Hobbledehoy	An awkward or ill-mannered young boy.
Hocus-pocus	Deceitful sleight of hand.
Hoosegow	A jail or prison.
Hootenanny	A country or folk music get-together.
Jackanapes	A rapscallion, hooligan.
Kerfuffle	Nonsense, balderdash.
Klutz	An awkward, stupid person.
La-di-da	An interjection indicating that something is pretentious.
Lagopodous	Like a rabbit’s foot.
Lickety-split	As fast as possible.
Lickspittle	A servile person, a toady.
Logorrhea	Loquaciousness, talkativeness.
Lollygag	To move slowly, fall behind.
Malarkey	Nonsense, balderdash.
Maverick	A loner, someone outside the box.
Mollycoddle	To treat too leniently.
Mugwump	An independent politician who does not follow any party.
Mumpsimus	An outdated and unreasonable position on an issue.
Namby-pamby	Weak, with no backbone.
Nincompoop	A foolish person.
Oocephalus	An egghead.
Ornery	Mean, nasty, grumpy.
Pandiculation	A full body stretch.
Panjandrum	Someone who thinks himself high and mighty.
Pettifogger	A person who tries to befuddle others with his speech.
Pratfall	A fall on one’s rear.
Quean	A disreputable woman.
Rambunctious	Aggressive, hard to control.
Ranivorous	Frog-eating
Rigmarole	Nonsense, unnecessary complexity.
Shenanigan	A prank, mischief.
Sialoquent	Spitting while speaking.
Skedaddle	To hurry somewhere.
Skullduggery	No good, underhanded dealing.
Slangwhanger	A loud abusive speaker or obnoxious writer.
Smellfungus	A perpetual pessimist.
Snickersnee	A long knife.
Snollygoster	A person who can’t be trusted.
Snool	A servile person.
Tatterdemalion	A child in rags.
Troglodyte	Someone or something that lives in a cave.
Turdiform	Having the form of a lark.
Unremacadamized	Having not been repaved with macadam.
Vomitory	An exit or outlet.
Wabbit	Exhausted, tired, worn out.
Widdershins	In a contrary or counterclockwise direction.
Yahoo	A rube, a country bumpkin.
@	The “at” sign.

Source

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February 19, 2015

in General Learning, Words, Writing
4 Comments

Top 10 Charming Words for Nasty People

#1: Ruffian

Definition:

a brutal person; bully Read More…

December 4, 2014

in Did you know?, General Learning, Words, Writing
2 Comments

9 Novel English neologisms

Nerd

[nurd]

nerd-155841_640

The slang term nerd means an intelligent but single-minded person, obsessed with a certain hobby or pursuit, e.g. a computer nerd. But the word that has been the bane of so many elementary schoolers’ existence was actually invented by their king: none other than Dr. Seuss himself! The word first appeared in print in Seuss’ 1950 picture book, If I Ran the Zoo, though Seuss’ “nerd” is a small animal from the land of Ka-Troo, not a pale kid with glasses taped together.

Yahoo

[yah-hoo, yey-, yah-hoo]

The origin of this word may add some unexpected irony to the well-known internet browser. Originally coined by Jonathan Swift in his 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels, Yahoo refers to the brutish race of homo sapiens ruled by the Houyhnhnm, a noble race of speaking horses. Swift’s Yahoos display all of the vices of humanity with none of the virtues, thus it makes sense that the word has come to mean “a coarse or brutish person.” If you say “yahoo” loud enough you might be moved to experience our next neologism.

Chortle

[chawr-tl]

happy-286152_640

Lewis Carroll coined this funny term for a gleeful chuckle in his 1872 novel, Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In the novel, the word appears in a verse poem titled “The Jabberwocky,” in which Alice finds a book that can only be read using a mirror. The old man in the poem “chortles in his joy” when his son beheads the terrible monster. Today the word is widely thought to be a combination of “chuckle” and “snort.”

Quark

[kwawrk, kwahrk]

A quark can be any group of elementary particles that combine to become a subatomic particle such a neutron or proton. In other words, quarks are some of the smallest building blocks of an atom. In 1964 the U.S. physicist Murray Gell-Mann named the particle after a word he found in James Joyce’s novel, Finnegan’s Wake. Joyce’s quotation reads, “Three quarks for Muster Mark,” with “quark” referring to the cry of the seagull.

Utopia

[yoo-toh-pee-uh]

utopia

Utopia is the title of Sir Thomas More’s whimsical and satirical book written in 1516. More envisions a perfect society situated on an island that he names Utopia. Developing the word from the Greek topos for “place,” More chose the prefix ou- or u- meaning “not” or “no.” Thus the name Utopia quite literally means no place at all. Even though More might have his reservations about the achievability of a perfect world, our next neologism might be the closest thing to a perfect sound.

Tintinnabulation

[tin-ti-nab-yuh–ley-shuhn]

learn English

The American poet and author Edgar Allen Poe coined this onomatopoetic word in his 1849 poem “The Bells.” The poem was published shortly after Poe’s death, and though the four sections of the piece become progressively darker as Poe describes four different types of bells, tintinnabulation characterizes the joyous sound of silver sleigh bells, foretelling “a world of merriment.” The word is derived from the Latin tinnire meaning “to ring” combined with the instrumental suffix “bulum.”

Grok

[grok]

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Do you feel like nobody groks you? Don’t worry, Robert A. Heinlein does. In his 1961 best-selling science fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, Heinlein coined the term to mean an understanding so thorough that “the observer becomes a part of the observed–to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience.” But in common usage the term means to communicate sympathetically or to “drink in” understanding. If you’re reading this slideshow off a screen, you’ll definitely grok our next neologism.

Cyberspace

[sahy-ber-speys]

syberspace

Though you might not want to build a house there, anyone with a computer has a stake in cyberspace. Coined by the science fiction writer William Gibson, cyberspace first appeared in a 1982 short story. The word combines the terms “cybernetics” (the use of mechanical and electronic systems to replace human function) and “space” (an area or realm). Together they form “cyberspace,” the realm of electronic communication or virtual reality. If you’ve ever thought “virtual reality” was a bit of an oxymoron, you might be familiar with our final neologism.

Catch-22

[kach-twen-tee-too]

catch 22

“The deal sounds great, but what’s the catch?” Have you heard something like this? Then you’d better hope the catch isn’t a Catch-22. The phrase represents a frustrating situation in which one is trapped by contradictory regulations or conditions. Catch-22 is the title and central problem of Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel, and in Heller’s context the catch represents a simultaneously dangerous and idiotic military regulation that maddens the poor characters tangled in his Catch-22.

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December 1, 2014

in Words, Writing
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8 Tantalizing Terms for Eating

Gobble

[gob–uhl]

There are many different ways to partake in a meal: if your appetite is slight, then you might peck and nibble, but if you’re famished, you’re more likely to gobble. This word, which means both “to eat hastily” and “to make the throaty cry of a male turkey,” is thought to be a formation from the word gob, which is slang for mouth. Both definitions could be fun to try out at the dinner table.

Devour

[dih-vou–uhr, –vou-er]

Another term for the ravenous, the word devour conjures a beastly manner of eating. The word is often invoked to express a degree of barbarous consumption, as in this passage from Robinson Crusoe about men so hungry they’d lost command of themselves: “The poor Creatures rather devour’d than eat it.”

Scarf

[skahrf]

More than a festive fashion accessory, scarf can also mean “to eat, especially voraciously“. It’s often paired with a helping word, such as up or down, and implies a rapid or frenzied feeding. Those who scarf up their meals are often the first ones at the table to finish, and, as a result, the first ones to nap.

Grub

[gruhb]

One of the more versatile words on this list when it comes to discussing cuisine, grub can be used to refer to food itself, to the supplying of food, and to the eating of food. Needless to say, it’s a handy word to have in your back pocket at a family meal. But beware: in its noun form, this wily word can also mean “a dull, plodding person“, or the “sluggish larva, as of a scarab beetle“. Use this term wisely at the dinner table.

Chow Down

[chou]

Associated more with meals of substance than snacks, the phrase chow down incorporates the word chow, which was perhaps brought to us from the Chinese pidgin English word chow-chow meaning “food.”

Gorge

[gawrj]

This word, which comes to us from the Old French verb gorger, means both “to eat greedily” and “to stuff with food.” In its noun form, gorge can refer to a gluttonous meal or the throat. So remember: the next time you gorge on a gorge, be sure to wash it down with water; we wouldn’t want anything to get stuck in your gorge.

Nosh

[nosh]

Unlike devour and gorge, this word for eating implies a lighter and more casual consumption. Nosh means “to snack or eat between meals” or “to snack on.” It came to English from the Yiddish nashn meaning “to nibble”.

Gormandize

[v. gawr-muhn-dahyz]

Those who gormandize at the dining table eat in a particularly greedy or ravenous manner. The word comes to us from the Middle French gourmand, meaning “glutton.” In English, the noun gourmand has the slightly less pejorative sense of “a person who is fond of good eating, often indiscriminately and to excess.”

SOURCE

November 17, 2014

in Words, Writing
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“Many took issue with [Kristen] Stewart’s rather cavalier use of the term [“rape”], even if it was used in a metaphorical sense…” – Michael Jordan, BlackBook, June 4, 2010

#1: Demure

Long and exotic words (like defenestration or sesquipedalian) are often more fascinating than useful. By comparison, this list offers words that can enrich a conversation without sounding ridiculous.

Definition:

not attracting or demanding a lot of attention; not showy or flashy; quiet and polite

Words It Might Replace:

modest; unassuming; shy; coy

Example:

“As William and Kate sang prayers from the specially designed hymn sheets, the two sisters looked on unassumingly. But despite their demure appearance, rumours even began to surface today that one of the women was a secret ‘ninja nun’ intended to protect the Royal couple by pouncing on any intruders.” – Daily Mail, May 1, 2011

6 incredibly useful spelling rules from childhood

In English, there are words that sound the same but are spelled differently (such as “their,” “they’re,” and “there”); words with letters that have nothing to do with how the word is pronounced (“brought,” “although”); words that contain silent letters (“gnat,” “pneumonia”); and words that simply don’t follow any spelling rules.

Let’s revisit those spelling rules we learned long ago and the words that break those rules.

1. “I before E except after C or when sounded as A as in neighbor and weigh”

Words that break this rule:

ancient
species
science
sufficient
society
either
foreign
leisure
protein

2. “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking?” (Meaning when there are two vowels in a row, the first usually has a long sound and the second is silent.)

Words that break this rule:

said
through
leather
early
piece
build
guide
shoes
does
guest
break

3. Final silent E makes the vowel say its name (such as “rat,” “rate,” “hid,” “hide”)

Words that break this rule:

have
done
lose
where

4. Plural nouns—add an “s” or an “es”

Words that break this rule:

goose/geese
man/men
mouse/mice
tooth/teeth
alumnus/alumni
series
deer
sheep
species

5. If a word ends with an “ick” sound, spell it “ick” if it has one syllable (“trick”) and “ic” if it has two or more syllables (“sarcastic”)

Words that break this rule:

candlestick
seasick
nitpick

6. “A” versus “an”—if the first letter is a vowel use “an”; if the first letter is a consonant, use “a.”

Words that break this rule:

an honest
an honorable
a unicorn
a united front
a urologist
a onetime

Readers, any other rule-breaking words to share?

Laura Hale Brockway is an Austin-based writer and editor. Read more of her work at Impertinent Remarks.

SOURCE

November 6, 2014

in Words, Writing
15 Comments

18 Common Words That You Should Replace in Your Writing

It’s a familiar scene: you’re slumped over your keyboard or notebook, obsessing over your character. While we tend to agonize over everything from structure to backstory, it’s important to weigh how you write something too. A perfectly constructed world is flat on the page if you use feeble, common words. When you’re finished constructing your perfectly balanced world, do your writing a favor and take another pass to weed out these 18 haggard words.

Good

High on any list of most used English words is “good.” While this word may appear to be the perfect adjective for nearly anything, that is precisely what makes it so vague. Try getting more specific. If something’s going well, try “superb,” “outstanding” or “exceptional.”

New

Another of the common words in English is “new.” “New” is an adjective that doesn’t always set off alarm bells, so it can be easy to forget about. Give your writing more punch by ditching “new” and using something like “latest” or “recent” instead.

Long

Much like “new,” “long” is spent, yet it doesn’t always register as such while you’re writing. Instead of this cliché phrase, try describing exactly how long it is: “extended,” “lingering” or “endless,” for example.

Old

“Old” is certainly one of those common words that means more to readers if you’re specific about how old a subject is. Is it “ancient,” “fossilized,” “decaying” or “decrepit”?

Right

“Right” is also among the common words that tends to slip through our writer filters. If somebody is correct, you could also say “exact” or “precise.” Don’t let habit words like “right” dampen your writing.

Different

Here’s another adjective that falls a bit flat for readers, but can also easily be improved by getting more specific. Saying something is “odd” or “uncommon” is very different than saying it is “exotic” or “striking.”

Small

“Small” is another adjective that is too generic for writing as good as yours. Use “microscopic,” “miniature” or “tiny” instead. Even using “cramped” or “compact” is more descriptive for your audience.

Large

Just like relying too much on “small,” we tend to describe large things as, well, “large.” Specificity is a big help with this one too: could your subject be “substantial,” “immense,” “enormous” or “massive”?

Whenever we describe something coming “next,” we run the risk of losing our readers. Good options to make your reading more powerful include “upcoming,” “following” or “closer.”

Young

Another case of being too generic is what makes “young” a problematic adjective. If you want your writing to be more captivating, try switching “young” out for “youthful,” “naive” or “budding.”

Never

“Never” is also among common words to use sparingly. Not only is it a common, stale descriptor, it’s also usually incorrect. For something to never happen, even one instance makes this word inaccurate. Try “rarely,” “scarcely” or “occasionally” instead.

Things

“Things” is another repeat offender when it comes to worn out words. Another word where specificity is the key, try replacing “things” with “belongings,” “property” or “tools.”

All

Just like “never,” “all” is an encompassing, absolute term. Not only is “all” unoriginal, it’s not usually factual. Try using “each” and “copious” instead.

Feel

“Feel” is also in the company of common English words. Try using “sense,” or “discern” instead. You can also move your sentence into a more active tense: “I feel hungry” could become “I’m famished,” for example.

Seem

“Seem” is bad habit word we are all guilty of using. Regardless of how well you think your sentence is constructed, try switching “seem” out for “shows signs of.” “Comes across as” is another good option to give your writing more power.

Almost

Another easy adjective to let slip by, “almost” is a wasted opportunity to engage your readers. “Almost” is more interesting if you say “practically,” “nearly” or “verging on” instead.

Just

“Just making” it or “just barely” affording something isn’t very descriptive. To truly grab a reader, we must do better. Try “narrowly,” “simply” or “hardly” to give your phrasing more weight.

Went

Last but not least, avoid using the common word “went” to describe your subject. “Went” is a word that lacks traction. Try using “chose,” “decided on” or “rambled” to truly grab your readers.

SOURCE

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October 30, 2014

in Bits and pieces, Did you know?, Resources, Words
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10 Ways to Improve Your SCRABBLE Game

#1: QI

Definition:

: the vital force that in Chinese thought is inherent in all things (plural: QIS)

About the Word:

Devoted SCRABBLE players use the dictionary as their arsenal. Every variation of a word – plural forms, alternate spellings – can be used to gain the edge in competition.

Although it’s most commonly spelled CHI in standard usage, the variant form QI is the single most-played word in SCRABBLE tournaments, according to game records of the North American SCRABBLE Players Association (NASPA).

#2: ZA

Definition:

: pizza (plural: ZAS)

About the Word:

ZA (often styled in print as ‘za) is a slang shortening of the word pizza. You may be surprised at the slang found on the tournament SCRABBLE board: BRO, HOMEY, and YO are all accepted words.

ZA is the most played word containing the letter Z (and the only playable two-letter word with the letter Z) in tournament SCRABBLE play.

Incidentally, .za is the country code for South Africa (Zuid-Afrika is Dutch for “South Africa”), but abbreviations and codes are not acceptable on the SCRABBLE board

#3: Phoney

About the Word:

You probably associate bluffing with poker, but it is just as much a part of serious SCRABBLE play. Tournament players will often make up words that look legitimate to the untrained eye – fake compounds like OUTMANAGE, or plausible misspellings like EJECTER.

The choice to play a phoney is a strategic one. (And note: the spelling of the SCRABBLE-specific noun is not the usual phony.) If your opponent doesn’t challenge you, your bluff can earn you points and strengthen your position. If you lose a challenge, you lose your turn.

“People win games by taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. Knowing the idiosyncrasies of our language is a huge advantage over those who do not,” says SCRABBLE champ Chris Cree.

#4: RETINAS

Definition:

: plural of RETINA, a membrane of the eye

About the Word:

a letter that can be played at the front or the back of another word to form a new word; also : the word formed by such an action

SCRABBLE players don’t limit themselves to adding S to the end of a word. A single letter can make for surprising changes in the meaning or sound of a word. G can be hooked to the back of ASPIRIN to form ASPIRING and P can be hooked to the front of IRATE to form PIRATE.

Members of the NASPA Facebook community shared some of their favorite hooks:

F-UTILITY
FLAMING-O
I-SLANDER
S-WORDPLAY
DEADLINES-S

#8: GYOZA

Definition:

: a stuffed and fried pocket of dough (plural: GYOZAS)

About the Word:

Many culinary words from around the world are acceptable in SCRABBLE play. The Japanese GYOZA, with the ten-point Z, is particularly valuable.

Other useful terms include: SUSHI, PONZU, YAKITORI, SOJU, MOJITO, BURRITO, KNAIDEL, CAPRESE, and POUTINE.

#9: Bingo

About the Word:

A SCRABBLE play that uses all seven tiles is also known as a bingo. Tournament SCRABBLE players count on bingos in every game, because laying down a seven-tile word earns a “bingo” bonus of 50 points.

Players building up their SCRABBLE skills might memorize the six-letter bingo stems that can create the most bingos. For instance, the letters AEINST can be used to create 70 different bingos with 23 different seventh letters.

And count yourself extremely lucky if you start a game with MUZJIKS. This word (definition: Russian peasants) is the highest scoring opening word possible—128 points, when played without any blanks.

#10: AMIGO

Definition:

: a friend (plural: AMIGOS)

About the Word:

While it’s true that the category of “foreign words” is not acceptable in SCRABBLE tournament play, words of foreign origin that are widely used in English are.

In addition to AMIGO, the OSPD includes: AMIGA, AMI, AMIE, ADIOS, ADIEU (plurals: ADIEUS, ADIEUX), and SAYONARA.

Special thanks to Chris Cree and John Chew of North American SCRABBLE Players Association for their guidance and suggestions for this list.

SOURCE

October 27, 2014

in Did you know?, Words
4 Comments

7 Band Names Defined: Go Gaga for Nirvana

http://i.cdn.turner.com

Gaga

[gah-gah]

Few of us have avoided getting one of Lady Gaga’s catchy pop songs stuck in our heads, but the origin of her name is harder to find. The artist gleaned the name from a Queen song, but the word gaga entered the English lexicon in the early 1900s as a term for “crazy” or “silly.” Though its origin is unknown, it may come from the French imitative gaga meaning “senile” or “foolish.” Today the word is most commonly used in the sense of deep infatuation, where going gaga for something is the same thing at “mooning over” it.

http://s.hswstatic.com

Nirvana

[nir-vah-nuh, –van–uh, ner-]

This 1990s grunge rock band happens to be named for the least grungy of all Buddhist states of being. In Buddhism, nirvana is the ethereal plane of enlightenment, reached when a soul has gained enough wisdom to free itself from the cycle of reincarnation. The word comes from the Sanskrit nir meaning “out” and vati meaning “it blows.” Thus nirvana literally translates to “a blowing out,” as in a candle.

http://minnibellsnow.deviantart.com/

Styx

[stiks]

This American prog-rock band sailed through the ’70s and ’80s with hits like “Mr. Roboto” and “Come Sail Away,” but if they were sailing on the mythical river Styx, they would have to be dead. In classical Greek mythology Styx is a river in the underworld over which the souls of the dead are ferried. The word is a cognate of the Greek stygos meaning “hatred” and stygnos meaning “gloomy.”

http://pedagogiasmusicais.blogspot.com

Eurythmics

[yoo–rith-miks, yuh-]

The Eurythmics are a British pop/rock duo best known for their 1983 album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). But even the mellifluous voice of Annie Lennox isn’t as lulling as the art for which the band is named. Eurhythmics is the art of interpreting musical rhythms through one’s body. It was invented by Swiss composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze to express the “symmetry and spirit” of music. Similarly, if something is eurhythmic, it is harmonious, or pleasing to the ear.

wikimedia.org

Muse

[myooz]

In classical mythology the muses were goddesses with the power to inspire poets, artists, and apparently a loud English rock band of the early aughts. Most Greek and Roman epics begin with an “invocation to the muse,” e.g. “Sing oh muse of the rage of Achilles…” the first lines of Homer’s Iliad. From the Greek mousa, the word entered Middle English in the 1300s. Today to muse on a subject is “to meditate” or think on it deeply.

http://healthy-ojas.com

REM

[rem]

REM stands for rapid eye movement, or “the rapidly shifting, continuous movements of the eyes beneath closed lids during the stage of sleep characterized by dreaming.” There are many theories about the function of REM sleep: Some scientists think memories are consolidated during the cycle; others say REM sleep is important to brain development, but surely both hypotheses can be applied to the rock band from Athens, Georgia.

http://olive-drab.com

Wilco

[wil-koh]

This military slang term is a portmanteau abbreviation of will co(mply). The word emerged during World War II as a sign that a radio message just received (roger) will be complied with (wilco). It’s a nicely ironic name for the Chicago alternative rock band fronted by singer Jeff Tweedy who has done anything but comply.

SOURCE

October 6, 2014

in Did you know?, Words, Writing
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113 words for different things one could eat

These words generally end in “phagous“, from the Greek phagein, or “vorous“, from Latin vorare, both verbs meaning “to eat“. Which suffix you want to use depends on whether you feel like having souvlaki or spaghetti.

Word	Definition
allotriophagy	craving for strange foods
androphagy	cannibalism
anthropophaginian	cannibal
anthropophagous	(again) eating humans
aphagia	inability to eat or swallow
apivorous	eating bees
arachnivorous	feeding on spiders
autocoprophagy	eating one’s own feces
autophagy	feeding on body’s own tissues
baccivorous	eating berries
batrachivorous	frog-eating
bibliophagist	one who devours books, literally or figuratively
calcivorous	feeding on or living in limestone
cardophagus	donkey; something that eats thistles
carnivorous	eating flesh
carpophagous	fruit-eating
cepivorous	onion-eating
chthonophagia	eating dirt
comburivorous	consuming by fire
coprophagous	eating feces
creatophagous	carnivorous; flesh-eating
creophagous	flesh-eating; carnivorous
detritivore	animal that eats decomposing organic matter
dysphagia	pathological difficulty in swallowing
endophagy	cannibalism within a tribe; eating away from within
entomophagous	eating insects
equivorous	consuming horseflesh
exophagy	cannibalism outside one’s own group
foliophagous	eating leaves; eating folios of books
formivorous	eating ants
fructivorous	feeding on fruit
frugivorous	eating fruit
fucivorous	eating seaweed
galactophagist	milk drinker
gamophagia	destruction of one gamete by another
geophagy	practice of feeding on soil; dirt-eating
glossophagine	eating using the tongue
graminivorous	feeding on grass or cereals
granivorous	feeding on seeds
gumnivorous	feeding on tree saps
herbivorous	eating only plant matter
hippophagy	feeding on horses
homnivorous	eating humans
hylophagous	eating wood
hyperphagia	eating too much
ichthyophagous	fish-eating
insectivorous	eating insects
kreatophagia	eating of raw meat
larvivorous	feeding on larvae
lignivorous	feeding on wood
limivorous	eating mud
lithophagous	stone-swallowing; rock-boring; eating rock
lotophagous	feeding on lotuses; indolent; lazy; dreamy
mallophagous	eating wool or fleece
meconophagist	consumer of opium or heroin
meliphagous	feeding upon honey
mellivorous	honey-eating
merdivorous	dung-eating
microphagous	feeding on small creatures or plants
monophagous	feeding on only one type of food
mucivorous	feeding on plant juices
mycophagous	eating fungus
myristicivorous	feeding upon nutmegs
myrmecophagous	feeding on ants
necrophagous	feeding on the dead
nectarivorous	feeding on nectar
nucivorous	nut-eating
omnivorous	eating anything; eating both plant and animal matter
omophagy	eating of raw flesh as a ritual observance
onychophagist	nail-biter
ophiophagous	eating snakes
oryzivorous	rice-eating
ossivorous	feeding on bones
ostreophagous	oyster-eating
ovivorous	eating eggs
ovivorous	eating sheep
paedophage	eater of children
pagophagia	eating trays of ice to help offset iron deficiency
panivorous	bread-eating
pantophagy	omnivorousness
phthirophagous	lice-eating
phyllophagous	leaf-eating
phytivorous	feeding on plants
phytophagous	feeding on vegetable matter
piscivorous	fish-eating
placentophagy	eating of the placenta
plantivorous	plant-eating
plasmophagous	consuming plasma
poephagous	eating grass or herbs; herbivorous
poltophagy	prolonged chewing of food
polyphagous	eating many types of food
psomophagy	swallowing food without thorough chewing
radicivorous	eating roots
ranivorous	eating frogs
rhizophagous	root-eating
rhypophagy	eating filth
sanguivorous	blood-drinking
saprophagous	feeding on decaying material
sarcophagous	feeding on flesh; carnivorous
saurophagous	eating lizards
scatophagous	dung-eating
seminivorous	seed-eating
stercovorous	feeding on dung or excrement
thalerophagous	feeding on fresh vegetable matter
theophagy	sacramental consumption of a god
toxicophagous	eating poison
toxiphagous	poison-eating
univorous	living on only one host or source of food
vegetivorous	eating vegetables
vermivorous	eating worms
xerophagy	eating of dry food; fast of dry food in the week preceding Easter
xylophagous	wood-eating
zoophagy	eating animals