A Challenge of Old-Fashioned Proportions

Words, much like clothes, come into fashion all the time. You'll be surprised how many of the words we use now have fallen out of favor in other decades and centuries to make a triumphant return in modern day. The following 13 words are words that have indeed fallen out of use. Can you guess their meaning? Let's get you ready just in case these words make a comeback!
 
1 of 13
What does "scurrilous" describe?
How someone might describe a woman of low morals
Something said in order to describe someone who is sickly
Something said in order to solicit a bad opinion about someone
A battle-scarred veteran
 
2 of 13
What would one call "eventide"?
The end of the day; evening
The time of day when the tide comes in
A birthday
The day of a special celebration
 
3 of 13
Who would we describe as "barbigerous"?
A well-muscled weightlifter
An awful miser of a person
A person having a beard
A person acting in a barbaric fashion
 
4 of 13
What or who would we call "namelings"?
Animals that are very young
Things that have yet to be named
The immediate family members of a king
A group of people who are all named Josh
 
5 of 13
A person who is blithering is doing what?
Talking utterly and completely foolishly
Fixing metal objects; blacksmithing
Mining for silver
Conning people out of their money
 
6 of 13
A "pluviophile" is a person who loves...
Rainy days
The sun
Rainbows
The beach
 
7 of 13
When we "starrify" something or someone, we...
Decorate them with a stars or make them into celebrity stars
Make them look like a five-pointed star
Find shapes of them in the stars and call them constellations
Commemorate them on a monument
 
8 of 13
If I have "sophronised" you, what did I do to you?
Condescended and then ignored me
Gave me moral principles and self-control
Shut me out of the family
Backed me financially
 
9 of 13
Hint
When we speak of "Mullock", who or what are we talking about?
Rubbish, nonsense, or waste matter.
A large puddle of mud
A plague-doctor
A thief or a robber who wears a mask
 
10 of 13
Why on earth would we use a word like "uglyography"?!? What would we describe?
Incredibly rare and old books
Books of a certain anti-humanist philosophy
A special coded language made up by English children
Bad handwriting; poor spelling
 
11 of 13
Hint
A person who "guttles" is a person who does what?
They mispronounce guttural words
They surrender all their belongings and rights
They insult everyone around them
They greedily gobble up stuff
 
12 of 13
Hint
What the heck is a "welkin"?
A fairy-tale creature that steals little babies
One of the smallest types of rabbit
The upper sky; the "vault" of heaven
A well-behaved hound; a child-like pet
 
13 of 13
If something is "ephemeral", what does it say about it?
That it was see-through
That it was only half real
That it was euphoric and blissful
That it didn't last very long
 
More to learn...
Unfortunately, you did not pass this vocabulary test. It's not that you should start using these words in everyday... READ MORE
 
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