Ostrobogulous

I spent the morning in the garden, checking on the Wolfsbane, the fig tree, and the toonshrub. When I came inside for more tea, the kitchen smelled absolutely rancid. Bubo was on the counter, gently shaking a small pan over a burner. When questioned, she said she was “popping corn”.

What was in the pan was assuredly not popping corn. I shall not begin to describe it, since you are a gentle readership. I will tell you that it was ostrobogulous.

Ostrobogulous is an adjective that means bizarre, interesting, or unusual. It also means slightly indecent, risque.

The story is that ostrobogulous was coined by Victor Neuburg, a gay British Jewish poet and writer and a close friend of the occultist Aleister Crowley. Now, Mr. Neuburg asserted that the word hails from the Greek ostro – rich – plus the English bog – dirt (schoolboy slang for the toilet) – and finally the Latin ulus – full of. Mr. Neuburg’s assertion is that the word is then full of rich dirt. The Oxford English Dictionary doesn’t agree. The venerable tome asserts that the first part of the word is from the adjective oestrous. But The Oxford English Dictionary didn’t coin the term, did it?

Whatever the origins, ostrobogulous is a fantastic word. And trust me when I tell you that what Bubo had in that pan was BOTH unusual and indecent.

Use your imaginations.