Today’s word is "quiff", that is "a clever trick, ploy, or stratagem to achieve a desired end, especially by unorthodox, irregular, or time-saving means" or “a dodge" or "a trick" or “any smart, tricky, or novel or improvised way of doing a thing” or "a trick or artifice that makes a job easier".

Today's word is "bite-sheep". In the 1500s, a pun on “bishop".
It is an insult to those in Ecclesiastical authority who prey upon those who ought to be protected.
The Bishops (shepherds) who would "put the bite" on their parishioners (sheep, flock). Still quite a usable word today, unfortunately.

Today's word is "piggle": “to fiddle or toy with” or “to niggle or worry at”, as a pig rooting through, or playing with it's food.
It also means “to uproot” or “to pick or scrape at (especially with a pointed instrument or with the fingers)”.
To "piggle off" is “to pick or work something off”.

Today the word is “in petto” meaning “privately”, “in secret”, “in reserve” or “in a person's heart or mind”. “In petto” also means “in miniature” or “on a small scale” or “in short”.
Kipling writes, in “Kim”: “He represents in petto India in transition—the monstrous hybridism of East and West.”

Today's word is "puthering", which means "pouring with rain". The word dates from around 1900 and comes from the word "puther" which is a "cloud of smoke, dust, or steam" (the "puther" covered the mountainside after Mount St Helens erupted). To be "puthery" is to be sultry.

Today from the Old English, some “love words “:
luftācen - love-token
luflic - amiable, loving
lufiend - lover
lufian – to love, cherish
lufiendlic - lovely, beautiful
lufsumnes - pleasantness, kindness
Happy Valentines Day!

Today's word is "tartle", meaning "to hesitate when you are introducing someone whose name you can't quite remember” or “the uncomfortable pause as your brain searches for a name to put with a face”.
For me a name is a word and words can get jumbled in my post-brain-surgery mind. I "tartle" often.

Today's word is fairly common: "alacrity".
It means "liveliness, sprightliness; briskness, speed; cheerful readiness or willingness.... or an instance of this."
In Shakespeare's Richard III v. v. 26:
“I haue not that 'alacrity' of spirit Nor cheere of mind that I was wont to haue."

Today the word (phrase) is “pas si bête”, meaning: “not so foolish” or “nothing that foolish” or “not that stupid” or “not so bad”.
In Fraser's Magazine, June of 1840, W. Thackeray, writes: “I am not holding up the whole affair as a masterpiece - 'pas si bête'.”

Today the word is "passepartout" (obsolete, Old French): "a person who may go anywhere". It now means "a thing giving a person the right or opportunity to go anywhere" or "a key that opens any (or many) doors: a master key".
It occasionally is used in reference to a passport.

Today the word is “widdershin” or to “go widdershins”, which means to “go in the contrary direction” or “to travel contrary to the course of the sun” or “to go the wrong way” or “to move to the left” (“left” being “sinester”)...or, more simply put: “counter-clockwise”.

Today the word is “misway” which is “a false path” or “the wrong way”.
To “go misway” is “to be diverted or go astray” or “to go, or to make a decision, which is amiss”.

Chaucer writes: “Love makith all to goon myswey.” and: “It is to douten that thou ne be makid weery by mysweyes.”

The word today is "ninguid", meaning either "snowy" or "covered in snow".
It is now an obsolete word, relegated to history in usage...but I think it is worthy of re-visiting it's usage.
In 1656, in Glossogaphia, T. Bount writes his definition of the word: "Ningid or Ninguid, where much Snow is."

Today's word is "curfew" which comes to us from Old French (13c). The original French “couvre feu" translates - "to cover the fire".
When “the fire” was covered at the watch tower, or at the center of town, it was time for any and all good citizens to be "abed".

Today the word is "manxome", which is a nonsense word invented by Lewis Carroll to describe the Jabberwock in his poem ‘Jabberwocky’ (in Carroll's 1879 work Through the Looking-glass). "He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought.”
“Manxome" means "fearsome” or “monstrous".

Today's word is "tantivy". An archaic word for “riding at full gallop, especially when hunting”. From the huntsman’s horn when rallying the riders (ta-ta-taa). Sir Walter Scott, in Peveril of the Peak: “There are those amongst us who ride tantivy to Rome, and have already made out half the journey.”

Today's word is Welsh - "anawdd cara" (literally: "hard I love"): “the duty of love is fulfilled while the spirit of love is frustrated by sickness, dementia, poverty” (the "hardships" of life) or “the stress involved in dealing with the death, immediate or fading, of any loved one”.

Today's word is "pistillation", which comes from the Latin "pistillum" (pestle). This is an obsolete word (sadly so) meaning "pounding with a pestle".
There are several references in the OED showing the words “stamping”, “beating”, “braying”, “pounding” as similes.

Today the word is “chrysocracy”.
This word is synonymous with “plutocracy”, which is “government by the rich”.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary defines “chrysocracy” as “the rule of wealth”.
I can find no uses of it to give a quoted example... if you have one, please share it.

Today the word is “magnoperate” meaning “to make greater”... from the Latin word “magnopere”.

In 1821, Byron (in a letter) writes: “That is right;—keep to your ‘magnum opus’—magnoperate away.”
“Magnoperation” is “a great work” and “magnoperatous” means “operating or behaving in a grand manner”.

Today's word is "quass", meaning "to drink copiously or in excess." It comes to us from Middle Low German "quāsen" meaning "to eat or drink immoderately or greedily, to feast, to be a glutton"; probably resulting in the English word "quaff" meaning "to drink copiously or to excess."

Today's word is "utnapishtimism". It is accepted in Academic circles that the story of Noah derives from the much older Babylonian story of Utnapishtim's deluge. So, an "utnapishtimism" or “utnapishtimic statement" refers to the crediting of a statement, or deed, to one who is not the originator.

Today the word is "liar".
“Liar" comes from the Old English word "leogere" which means "liar", or more accurately "false witness".
This, in turn comes from the old Saxon word "leogan", which means "be untruthful".
I am sure you don't need my suggestions to apply this word to anyone specific.

This day's word is "zhoosh" (or “zhush”) a verb, meaning "to make more stylish or smart"; "to enliven"; "to make more exciting".
It was used in one of the "Round the Horne" radio shows circa 1968/69: "Let's have a vada at his zhush".

Today's word is "podsnap", a Dickensian character-based word, from Our Mutual Friend.
Mr Podsnap is full of self-importance, disdain for those he sees as inferior or less respectable than himself.
A "podsnap" is “a pompous, self-satisfied prig, who is sanctimonious when asked for help or advice”.

Today’s word is "illaqueate": “entangle”, “entrap”, “ensnare”.
One might be "illaqueated" by a scheme to dispose of the monarch (long knives anyone?), or by a Venus Fly Trap (if one were a bug), by a long silk scarf whilst driving your convertible (after having insulted a Satan worshipper).

Today the word is "terpsichorean", that's “turp-si-kuh-REE-uhn".
Anything pertaining to dancing, choirs, or choral song is "terpsichorean".
Terpsichore: Muse of Dancing and Choral Song.
Qoute: “I am one who delights in all manifestations of the 'terpsichorean' Muse.” Can you name the sketch.

Today's word is "unkard", a word from the mid-1800s, which has two somewhat related meanings:
1) a person in a strange place with which he/she is unfamiliar is said to be "unkard".
2) when applied to a specific place/location/area, "unkard" means "lonely".

Today the word is "pungle", which means "to make a payment; to shell out". It dates from the 1800s in it's present form.
In 2008, when I first ran across this word, Steve Rubenstein wrote, in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Congress 'pungled' up $700 billion for a bailout."

Today's word :"ignavus excolo" (Latin "the cowardly politic") used when a “leader”, rather than face questions of accountability, would choose to prorogue parliament, or run out of a press conference, or even start an “investigation” of adversaries to distract from real issues.
Shameful.