Dictionary exploration highlights obscure vocabulary

A personal column explores the practice of discovering novel words through daily dictionary readings. The author uses the term ‘flong’—historically a printer’s mould or a journalist’s term for non-topical filler—to describe the nature of the piece.

Through random sifting of the Collins English Dictionary, the author highlights various obscure terms, including ‘delope’ (to shoot a pistol above an opponent’s head to end a duel), ‘petalism’ (a form of ancient Syracusan ostracism), ‘stegophile’ (one who loves to climb buildings), and ‘gytrash’ (a ghostly dog).