Cockalorum --Dad

Cockalorum means    A Little Man With an Unduly High Opinion of Himself Dad likes to say, "It's hard to soar with the eagles when you're surrounded by turkeys," so you might think he's a cockalorum, but he's just funny; besides, he's not a little man. Thanks to http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words

Anathema--Mom

a·nath·e·ma (-nth-m)

n. pl. a·nath·e·mas

1. A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.

2. A vehement denunciation; a curse: "the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).

3. One that is cursed or damned.

4. One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: "Essentialisma belief in natural, immutable sex differencesis anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a 'social construct'" (Wendy Kaminer).

 

Snakes, especially poisonous ones, are Mom's anathemas.

Ambisinistrous--Ann

* am·bi·sin·is·ter

   /ˌæmbɪˈsɪnəstər/ Show Spelled[am-bi-sin-uh-ster] 

adjective

clumsy or unskillful with both hands.

*http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ambisinister, but the Urban dictionary disagrees and defines it "Both left handed; dominant left, but uses right hand for particular tasks. Contrary to notion that it means bad with both hands.

Ann, who is left-handed, opposes the more common definition of ambisinister and appreciates urban dictionary's more politically correct respect for south paws.


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

torpor--Todd

tor·por  (tôrpr)

n.

1. A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility.

2. Lethargy; apathy. See Synonyms at lethargy.

3. The dormant, inactive state of a hibernating or estivating animal


post·pran·di·al  (pst-prnd-l)

adj.

Following a meal, especially dinner: took a postprandial walk through the woods.

In order to avoid postprandial torpor, Todd doesn't eat before he exercises.

Bromopnea--Sister Jen

Bromopnea means

Bad Breath

Sister Jen will tolerate bromopnea in neither her family nor her pets.

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

Bicrural --Ranger and Rosie

Bicrural  means two-legged

Though they are dogs, both Ranger and Rosie think they're bicrural: Ranger, a golden retriever who's too good for the doggie door, stands on his hind legs
 to open the family room doors with his paw; Rosie, a giant Burmese Mountain Dog who likes to waltz, puts her front paws on Ann's shoulders and counts aloud: onetwothree, onetwothree....

 Thanks for the word to http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words

postprandial--Todd/s birthday word

post·pran·di·al  (pst-prnd-l)

adj.

Following a meal, especially dinner: "took a postprandial walk through the woods.zzzz'

In order to avoid postprandial torpor, Todd doesn't eat before he exercises.

sophomoric--Isabella

soph·o·mor·ic  (sf-môrk, -mr-)

adj.

1. Of or characteristic of a sophomore.

2. Exhibiting great immaturity and lack of judgment: sophomoric behavior.

Though Isabella is a sophomore in high school, she has never been sophomoric.

peripatetic--Jack and Dad

per·i·pa·tet·ic  (pr-p-ttk)

adj.

1. Walking about or from place to place; traveling on foot.

2. Peripatetic Of or relating to the philosophy or teaching methods of Aristotle, who conducted discussions while walking about in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.

n.

1. One who walks from place to place; an itinerant.

2. Peripatetic A follower of the philosophy of Aristotle; an Aristotelian

Jack will go to Paris and London with his peripatetic grandpa this summer and will no doubt revel in grandpa's teaching methods.

Bellicose--Sam

bel·li·cose (bl-ks)

adj.

Warlike or hostile in manner or temperament. Synonym belligerent.

 

Sam can tell you that having a bellicose nature is not helpful on the tennis court where more gentlemanly and ladylike manners are more appropriate.

Cimicine--Willie

Cimicine

means

Smelling Like Bugs

Willie takes his showers so he's not cimicine.
http://www.factacular.com/subjects/Interesting_Words

anachronism--Hayden

a·nach·ro·nism  (-nkr-nzm)

n.

1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order.

2. One that is out of its proper or chronological order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time: "A new age had plainly dawned, an age that made the institution of a segregated picnic seem an anachronism" (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.)


Context
Hayden pointed out that having a digital clock in a play about his ancestor, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, a geologist who lived in the 19th century, was anachronistic.