Lucid Logophile!

I've learned a new word!

According to an article in the paper yesterday about the facial fungus of Bob Ainsworth [Defence Secretary]

"In practical terms, a moustache is no more than an eyebrow for the mouth; a hispid strip to frame the face and keep out the dust."

"What's hispid?" I asked Bob. And he didn't know either [which surprised me, he knows thousands of obscure words]

The dictionary says "Covered with stiff or rough hairs; bristly"

So this is my new word for the week - and I am trying hard to work it into conversation. Which is not easy!

Then we got into discussing other words ending in ...pid

We quickly thought of stupid, torpid, limpid, rapid, vapid, tepid, Cupid, lipid and insipid [ as well as cuspid and bicuspid]

... but did you know there is also sipid [opposite of insipid] and sapid [full of flavour] ?

in the animal kingdom you find adapid [extinct sort of lemur] anaspid [extinct type of fish] elapid [a snake] thripid [a minute sucking insect] and vespid [wasp]

and trepid [to be timid or fearful]

So you could say this...

I made a rapid exit from the garden, the presence of a vespid made me trepid.

Or this...

Cupid shot his arrow, and she stared into the limpid pools of the blue eyes of the man opposite her. The sapid meal in front of her was left uneaten and her coffee went tepid. But when he kissed her, she awoke from her torpid state, finding his hispid chin quite off-putting!! Stupid man! Why didn't he shave more carefully?