New Word #44: Recently Learned

Image by Kristine Lejniece from Pixabay

bubba: used as an affectionate form of address to a brother. (North America)
From annzimmerman’s post here.
This is the first time I encounter this word–it is so endearing.

cassowary: a very large flightless bird related to the emu
From Iseult Murphy’s post here.
Love large flightless bird. They look so eccentric and usually run very fast. I wonder if peacock belongs to the flightless bird group. In the zoo where I saw them, they never fly.

noggin: a person’s head
From Terveen Gill’s post here.
What a lovely word this is.

marionette: a puppet worked from above by strings attached to its limbs.
petrichor: a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
From Jonicaggiano’s post here.
I have always loved that smell of moistly dirt after a rainstorm, and now I know–petrichor.

ambivert: a person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features.
From Girl With Ink’s post here.
What a lovely word.

inimical: tending to obstruct or harm; hostile
dessicate: to dry up; to preserve (a food) by drying
From Pooja’s post here.

hoofer: (slang) a professional dancer, esp a tap-dancer.
From Bonnywood’s post here.

gaslighting: manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.
comportment: behavior; bearing.
sashay: walk in an ostentatious yet casual manner, typically with exaggerated movements of the hips and shoulders.
smoke and mirrors: the obscuring or embellishing of the truth of a situation with misleading or irrelevant information.
From Bonnywood’s post here.
There are many words for political and psychological manipulation like gaslighting and “smoke and mirrors”. They are being used daily in the media to influence people’s views. I often wonder if I have been gaslighted or influenced by somebody’s “smoke and mirrors”.

doppelganger: an apparition or double of a living person.
From Island Traveler’s post here.
I once watched a documentary about people who look like Hollywood stars. They dress up like the famous characters of the popular movies and go to events or parties to pretend to be the star. They can make a living out of this. I often wonder if there’s a word to describe such a person.

swoon: faint from extreme emotion.
From Sarika’s post here, a poem about life and love and moon.

bibliophile: a person who collects or has a great love of books.
From Bluebird Of Bitterness’s post here.