Special Sub-Topic: Is that really a word? Click Here To Play: Is that really a word?

Taxiarch

Ancient Greek brigade commander. There has to be a word for the Head of the Internal Revenue Service... but this isn't it!

Pearmain

Type of apple. Actually it DOES come from 'par main', but it IS a type of apple, best known in the Worcester Pearmain variety. Confusing.

Kleptograph

Device for photographing people without their knowledge. There's a lot of kleptography going on nowadays with all this CCTV stuff for security! The (s) on math(s) is 'cos in the UK we say maths and in America they don't.

Twankay

A type of green Chinese tea. The pantomime dame character Widow Twankay (in Aladdin) probably gets her name from the tea which is named after a Chinese river. Tunku is a Malay title.

Macrogyne

A large female ant. It comes from Greek for large female, but applies only to the ant.

Vespiary

A nest of wasps. Sounds like breviary, doesn't it? Motor scooters - Vespas: Italian for wasps. (The other main scooter was the Lambretta - known to motor BIKE riders as Lamb Fritters!)

Ingustable

Tasteless. Windproof was a bit way out, really! Able to be digested - that's digestable.

Erglewinder

Doesn't exist. The erglewinder is a completely imaginary device of totally unknown (if any) function. (Thanks to one of the Braithwaite Twins at MTS for this one.)

Cupidity

Greed. From Latin 'cupidus' - desirous. No further comment!

Fictile

Capable of being moulded. Often refers to things being made by a potter (no, not that one!). Fiction is invention, and frequently changing mind is fickle.

Moslings

Little bits of leather left when a skin is dressed. One of my favourite words. (Sad, isn't it?) The young of the mongoose is - a young mongoose, I suppose. The others are Muscovites, of course. But you knew that, didn't you!

Pilgarlick

A bald man. Don't call your teacher or boss this - he may know it! I thought the salt lick one was good - you probably didn't.

Dittography

Unintentional repetition of words. It applies to copying manuscripts, so it doesn't apply, I say, it doesn't apply to certain characters on the television. I don't watch it, so I wouldn't know about them, really....

Distrix

Split ends. A medical term for the splitting of the ends of hair. Don't use it as an excuse for staying off school or work. Strix is a genus of owls, but I don't think there are any double sized ones. Not normally, anyway. The plural of district? What are YOU doing in here?

Inhaust

The opposite of exhaust. Oh, dear, there's taxes again! I bet you thought (at least at first) that this was one of the non-existent ones! I mean, in-horsed - stable? Imperial Geman officials had much longer titles, too. It really does mean 'drawing in of air', which is opposite to 'pushing out air', isn't it? Hope you enjoyed these unlikely and very hard to use words! Only one non-existent one this time....