Good morning and Happy Wednesday! I am on the west coast this week on business, so I am getting a rather late start on this today, at least compared to a lot of you. It’s been hard to squeeze in some personal time, but since I missed the Teaser yesterday, I didn’t want to miss sharing some new words!

This week, my words are all from As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann. My friend Ari has been pestering me to read this one for a while, and although it got off to a slow start, I am very interested in how it turns out: “A dark, erotic tale of passion and obsession, As Meat Loves Salt is a gripping portrait of England beset by war and the harrowing tale of a man on the edge of madness.” So far, that’s a pretty good summary.

Most of these words are pretty archaic, but I found some of them interesting. Since one of the main characters runs a printing press, we’ll get to learn some terms for its parts and operation.

1. “She blew her nose and I heard the catarrh rattle in her head.”

Inflammation of mucous membranes, especially of the nose and throat.

2. “This is what you call your frisket. It keeps ink from getting where you don’t want it.”

A thin frame in a printing press that holds the sheet of paper in position and acts as a mask.

3. “That thick thing is called a tympanum – it evens the pressure.”

In a printing press, frame for equalizing pressure; it is also the medical term for the external ear drum, the part that vibrates.

4. “Was this always the way of it, that a man climbed towards the angels only to drop into the midden?”

A dunghill or refuse heap.

That will have to do for today – my first conference call is in 30 minutes and it’s going to be another long afternoon in a freezing cold conference room, without even a new word to keep me company.