Bandersnatch: (BAN-duhr-snach) noun                 

            1. An imaginary wild animal of fierce disposition.                

            2. A person of uncouth or unconventional habits, attitudes, etc., especially one considered a menace, nuisance, or the like.  

[Coined by Lewis Carroll in "Through the Looking Glass" (1871)]

            Maraj, clumped up in an ankle cast, had three Long Island iced teas to forget her worries, followed by a very disturbing dream in which a bandersnatch at Lord & Taylor's shoe department refused to extend the sale on Italian leather pumps until the cast came off.

            Maraj heard herself explaining to the ridiculous little man, “But I can’t TRY them ON!” -- N

Flews: (flooz) plural noun                

The pendulous corners of the upper lip of certain dogs, such as the bloodhound.   

[Origin unknown.]

             The old sea dog had advanced liver cancer but didn't know it.  As he stumbled across the snowy street, spittle flecking from his flews, all he could think about was a warm cup of rum and the smooth breasts of Betsy the barmaid, which he tried to brush accidentally with his fingertips as often as possible. He didn't ask for much, just a reason to keep on going in this cruel, cruel world. -- N
 

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Background: 

Along with countless other people the world over, I enjoy my subscription to A. Word. A. Day. that results in a daily email message with interesting, sometimes completely unknown-to-me words, along with pronounciation guide, etymology typical usage and more.

The New York Times hailed AWADmail as: "The most welcomed, most enduring piece of daily mass e-mail in cyberspace."

One day way back when, I decided that for learning, it would be helpful and fun to use the words AWAD sent to me in a sentence or two. Of course I found myself going beyond that and using them in not-so-obvious ways that entertained my friends as well as myself. Sometimes I use words incorrectly on purpose. But if you know the meaning, you get the joke. It is kind of a backward way of doing things, but that's creativity, right?

The first character inspired by AWAD was Maraj (not her real name.) She has quite a few fans. At the encouragement of several persistent friends, I decided it was time to share her and the others with my new friends here at OS, and begin on the first day of 2010. 

I'm offering vocabulary words I received from AWAD and what I wrote to practice using them. Tell me this isn't a much more fun way to work on improving one's vocabulary. Enjoy. Maraj and more will be back – and check out www.wordsmith.org to sign up for the free subscription. They don't know me, but for fun tell them I sent you. Like OS, it can be addictive. -- Natalie