Gretchen

Cockalorum--Dad

Cockalorum

means

A Little Man With an Unduly High Opinion of Himself

Dad is no Napolean, no cockalorum: he's a big man.

http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words

mellifluous--Mom

mel·lif·lu·ous  (m-lfl-s)

adj.

1. Flowing with sweetness or honey.

2. Smooth and sweet: "polite and cordial, with a mellifluous, well-educated voice" (H.W. Crocker III).


Context
My mellifluous mother did not like the nickname "Sweets;" she preferred the nickname "mel" knowing that it would remind everyone that she is flowing with sweetness and honey in a more subtle way than "Sweets," which is so obvious.

Balanophagy --Ann

Balanophagy

(noun)
means the eating of acorns

Ann gets so hungry after yoga some nights that she resorts to balanophagy; sometimes she wrestles with a squirrel for a really juicy one. True story.

swarthy--Todd and Sister Jen

swarth·y  (swôr)

adj. swarth·i·er, swarth·i·est

Having a dark complexion or color.

Context

Todd's and Sister Jen's children have the swarthy complexion of Todd's Italien ancestors; I don't know where Sister Jen got such a swarthy complexion.

rogue--Sister Jen

rogue  (rg)

n.

1. An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal.

2. One who is playfully mischievous; a scamp.

3. A wandering beggar; a vagrant.

4. A vicious and solitary animal, especially an elephant that has separated itself from its herd.

5. An organism, especially a plant, that shows an undesirable variation from a standard.

adj.

1. Vicious and solitary. Used of an animal, especially an elephant.

2. Large, destructive, and anomalous or unpredictable: a rogue wave; a rogue tornado.

3. Operating outside normal or desirable controls: "How could a single rogue trader bring down an otherwise profitable and well-regarded institution?" (Saul Hansell).


When Sister Jen played basketball and Dad asked her why she didn't go after rebounds, Sister Jen explained that her feet were rogue agents: "I say, 'Go,' but my feet say, 'No.'"

Anthropomorphism--Brother Matt

an·thro·po·mor·phism (nthr-p-môrfzm)

n.

Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

 

Brother Matt, tending toward anthropomorphism in his younger years, said that his shower yelled at him, "You're not dirty enough for a shower, little boy. Get out there and get dirty!"

 

Definition from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Cachinnator--Kristin

Cachinnator (noun) one who laughs too often or too loudly

http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words

Kristin prefers to invite sincere folk rather than cachinators to her parties.