Forgotten · GemsVol. XVI

Forgotten English Words Quiz: Revive These Old Gems

for·got·ten Eng·lish words  / fər-ˈgä-tᵊn ˈiŋ-glish wərdz /  n. pl.

1. Delightful words that once lived in everyday English and quietly slipped away. 2. The subject of this 16-card quiz, where you'll guess the meanings of real dictionary-recorded words, then flip each card to learn where it came from and how to use it today.

Nov 8, 2026 16 words Dictionary-checked ~8 min read

§1Why Old Words Deserve a Second Life

English is a magpie language. It borrows, invents and discards words constantly, and the discarded ones are often the most fun. We still say fortnight but no longer say sennight. We kept despair but lost its hopeful opposite. Some of these lost words are wonderfully precise, naming feelings, people and moments that modern English needs whole phrases to describe.

This forgotten English words quiz features 16 genuine words recorded in major dictionaries and historical sources, from Tudor speeches and Shakespeare's plays to 19th-century American slang. Some are rare, some are obsolete and a few are enjoying a small comeback. Guess each meaning, then flip the card for its backstory.

§2How to Play

  1. Read the index card.Each card shows a forgotten word, its part of speech and a clue sentence.
  2. Pick the meaning.Choose one of four definitions. Your answer locks in, so read carefully.
  3. Flip for the story.The card turns over to reveal the true meaning, its origin and a modern example. Tap "flip back" anytime.
  4. Fill your inkwell.Each correct answer adds a golden ink drop. Revive all 16 to earn the top rank.

§3The 16-Word Forgotten English Quiz

✒ Words Revived
0 / 16  ·  0 cards read
No. 01US dialect · 1840s

snollygoster n.

"Don't trust that smiling snollygoster; he'd switch parties for a better office."

No. 01 · reverse

snollygoster

Meaning: a shrewd, unprincipled person, often a politician chasing office.

Recorded in American English from the mid-1840s, of uncertain origin. President Harry Truman revived it in a 1952 speech in West Virginia. Merriam-Webster even dropped it from its Collegiate Dictionary in 2003 for lack of use, before writers brought it back.

"Every election season, the snollygosters come out of hibernation."

No. 02From Latin · 1819

ultracrepidarian n. & adj.

"My uncle, a true ultracrepidarian, lectured the surgeon on how to operate."

No. 02 · reverse

ultracrepidarian

Meaning: one who offers opinions on matters beyond their expertise.

First recorded in essayist William Hazlitt's fiery 1819 letter to critic William Gifford. It comes from Latin ultra crepidam, "beyond the sole," recalling Pliny's story of the painter Apelles telling a cobbler to stick to judging shoes.

"Social media has made ultracrepidarians of us all."

No. 03British canal slang

gongoozler n.

"A row of gongoozlers lined the bridge as the narrowboat squeezed into the lock."

No. 03 · reverse

gongoozler

Meaning: an idle onlooker who stares at activity, especially on a canal.

British canal workers used it for people who loitered on towpaths watching them work. It appears in a 1904 glossary of canal terms and may come from Lincolnshire dialect words gawn and gooze, both meaning to stare. L.T.C. Rolt's 1944 book Narrow Boat spread it further.

"I spent Sunday afternoon happily gongoozling at the harbor."

No. 04From Latin · 1709

quidnunc n.

"The office quidnunc knew about the promotion before the manager did."

No. 04 · reverse

quidnunc

Meaning: a person who must know all the latest news and gossip.

From Latin quid nunc?, "what now?", the question such a person is forever asking. Merriam-Webster dates it to 1709, the year Richard Steele's society journal The Tatler began.

"Group chats have given every quidnunc a full-time job."

No. 05Tudor era · 1500s

mumpsimus n.

"Even after the error was proven, he kept to his old mumpsimus."

No. 05 · reverse

mumpsimus

Meaning: a stubborn person (or habit) sticking to a mistake despite correction.

From a tale told in the early 1500s of a priest who said the nonsense word mumpsimus instead of Latin sumpsimus ("we have received") and refused to change. Henry VIII used it in his Christmas Eve speech to Parliament in 1545.

"Insisting the Great Wall is visible from space is pure mumpsimus."

No. 06Middle English

sennight n.

"The travelers expected to reach the coast within a sennight."

No. 06 · reverse

sennight

Meaning: a week; literally "seven nights."

A contraction of "seven night," built the same way as fortnight ("fourteen nights"), which survived. Shakespeare's witches in Macbeth curse a sailor for "weary sev'nights nine times nine."

"The library books are due back in a sennight."

No. 07Shakespearean · 1592

slugabed n.

"It's almost noon, you slugabed; breakfast is long gone!"

No. 07 · reverse

slugabed

Meaning: someone who lies in bed long after they should be up.

Combines slug (a lazy person) with abed. Its earliest known use is in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet's Nurse tries to wake her: "fie, you slug-a-bed!"

"Weekends turn our whole household into slugabeds."

No. 08Recorded 1623

apricity n.

"Despite the frost, we sat on the bench and soaked up the apricity."

No. 08 · reverse

apricity

Meaning: the warmth of the sun on a cold winter day.

Recorded (or possibly invented) by Henry Cockeram in his 1623 English Dictionarie, from Latin apricus, "warmed by the sun." The Oxford English Dictionary's only historical citation for it is Cockeram himself.

"January's best moments are pure apricity."

No. 09Late Middle English

respair n. & v.

"After the long, hard winter, the whole village felt a wave of respair."

No. 09 · reverse

respair

Meaning: the return of hope after a time of despair; to hope again.

Formed as the opposite of despair, both tracing back to Latin sperare, "to hope." It appears in medieval English sources and then vanished, while its gloomy twin stayed. Word lovers have been campaigning to bring it back.

"Her letter arrived like a small parcel of respair."

No. 10American slang · 1829

hornswoggle v.

"The traveling salesman hornswoggled half the town with his miracle tonic."

No. 10 · reverse

hornswoggle

Meaning: to bamboozle, cheat or hoax someone.

First recorded in 1829 in a Virginia magazine's glossary of Americanisms. It was one of many playful made-up words of the era, and its true origin is unknown. Stories linking it to roped cattle are colorful but unproven.

"Read the fine print or you'll get hornswoggled by hidden fees."

No. 11Shakespearean

grimalkin n.

"An old grimalkin dozed on the windowsill, ignoring the sparrows."

No. 11 · reverse

grimalkin

Meaning: a cat, usually an old female one.

From grey plus malkin, an old pet form of the name Maud or Matilda. In the opening scene of Macbeth, a witch answers her cat-familiar's call with "I come, Graymalkin!"

"Our neighbor's grimalkin rules the whole street."

No. 121500s

brabble v. & n.

"The cousins brabbled for an hour over who got the last slice of pie."

No. 12 · reverse

brabble

Meaning: to squabble loudly about unimportant things; a petty quarrel.

Likely borrowed from Dutch brabbelen, "to jabber." Shakespeare used the noun in Twelfth Night, where an officer reports catching a man "in private brabble."

"Let's not brabble over the thermostat again."

No. 13From Latin

lucubrate v.

"With exams next week, she lucubrated until the candle burned out."

No. 13 · reverse

lucubrate

Meaning: to toil over study or writing, particularly late at night.

From Latin lucubrare, "to work by lamplight," linked to lux, "light." Its noun form, lucubration, came to mean a learned (sometimes overly elaborate) piece of writing.

"Fueled by coffee, the students lucubrated through finals week."

No. 14Literary · 1768

smellfungus n.

"Even on a perfect beach holiday, that smellfungus found something to complain about."

No. 14 · reverse

smellfungus

Meaning: a constant complainer who finds fault with everything.

Laurence Sterne invented "Smelfungus" in his 1768 novel A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy to mock fellow writer Tobias Smollett, whose 1766 travel book grumbled about nearly everything abroad.

"Don't be a smellfungus; the museum queue moves fast."

No. 15Recorded 1535

overmorrow n. & adv.

"Not tomorrow; the package will arrive overmorrow."

No. 15 · reverse

overmorrow

Meaning: the day after tomorrow.

First recorded in Myles Coverdale's 1535 English Bible, modeled on German übermorgen. German and Dutch (overmorgen) still use their versions daily, while English settled for the four-word phrase.

"Pack tonight; we leave for the mountains overmorrow."

No. 1619th century

flapdoodle n.

"The ad's claims about melting fat overnight were pure flapdoodle."

No. 16 · reverse

flapdoodle

Meaning: nonsense, balderdash, empty talk.

A playful 19th-century coinage of uncertain origin, from the same word-inventing spirit that gave us hornswoggle. It still appears in major dictionaries but rarely in everyday speech.

"Ignore the flapdoodle and check the facts yourself."

§4Fun Scoring: Your Word Rank

Every correct answer revives one word and adds a golden ink drop to your inkwell. Get three or more right in a row to start a quill streak. Your final score earns a dictionary entry of your own:

0–3
modern mumblern.

One who says "the day after tomorrow" and is perfectly content with it.

4–6
curious scribblern.

A reader who has started collecting odd words in the margins.

7–9
ink-stained apprenticen.

Halfway to fluency in forgotten English, with fingers to prove it.

10–12
wordsmithn.

A skilled crafter of language who can spot a snollygoster at fifty paces.

13–15
lexicographern.

A compiler of dictionaries, or at least someone who could be.

16
keeper of the lost lexiconn.

A perfect score. The forgotten words of English are safe in your keeping.

§5Glossary of Revived Gems

Bookmark this quick reference so you can slip these words into conversation.

WordMeaningNotable source
snollygosterShrewd, unprincipled personAmerican English, 1840s
ultracrepidarianOpinion-giver beyond their expertiseWilliam Hazlitt, 1819
gongoozlerIdle spectatorBritish canal slang
quidnuncGossip, busybodyLatin "what now?", 1709
mumpsimusStubborn clinger to errorHenry VIII's speech, 1545
sennightA weekMacbeth
slugabedLate riserRomeo and Juliet
apricityWinter sun's warmthCockeram's dictionary, 1623
respairRenewed hopeLate Middle English
hornswoggleTo trick or deceiveAmerican slang, 1829
grimalkinAn old catMacbeth
brabbleTo squabble over triflesTwelfth Night
lucubrateTo study late at nightLatin lucubrare
smellfungusConstant complainerLaurence Sterne, 1768
overmorrowThe day after tomorrowCoverdale Bible, 1535
flapdoodleNonsense19th-century slang

§6Why English Loses Words

Words rarely vanish overnight. They fade as fewer people use them, until dictionaries begin labeling them "rare," "archaic" or "obsolete." The words in this quiz show several common reasons:

A rival winsWhen two words compete for the same job, one usually takes over. "A week" beat "sennight," and "the day after tomorrow" pushed out "overmorrow."
The world changes"Gongoozler" thrived when canals were busy highways. As canal traffic declined, so did the need to describe their spectators.
Fashion and slang move onPlayful 19th-century coinages like "hornswoggle" and "flapdoodle" felt fresh in their day, then started sounding old-fashioned.
Some never caught on"Apricity" may have existed mostly on a dictionary page. Lexicographers sometimes recorded learned words that ordinary speakers rarely used.
✎ Did you know? Dictionaries also remove words. Merriam-Webster dropped "snollygoster" from its Collegiate Dictionary in 2003, then later acknowledged that the word had bounced back into use. Words can be revived when enough people start using them again.

§7How to Bring Old Words Back

Want to help a forgotten word make a comeback? Language changes through use, so a little enthusiasm goes a long way.

  • Pick one word a week. Use it naturally in a message or conversation until it feels comfortable.
  • Choose words that fill a gap. "Overmorrow" and "respair" are useful because modern English lacks a single word for those ideas.
  • Explain it once. Friends will remember a word better when they hear the story behind it, like the cobbler behind "ultracrepidarian."
  • Read older books. Shakespeare, Sterne and 19th-century novels are full of words waiting to be rediscovered.
  • Check a reputable dictionary. Confirm meanings in a trusted source before using a rare word in writing.

§8Frequently Asked Questions

What is the forgotten English words quiz?

It's a free, 16-question quiz about rare and obsolete English words. Each card asks you to guess a word's meaning, then flips to show its true definition, origin and a modern example sentence.

Are these real English words?

Yes. Every word in the quiz is recorded in established dictionaries or historical sources, such as Merriam-Webster, the Oxford English Dictionary, Shakespeare's plays or 16th-century texts.

What is the English word for the day after tomorrow?

The old word is "overmorrow," first recorded in 1535. It is now archaic, but German (übermorgen) and Dutch (overmorgen) still use their equivalents.

How is the quiz scored?

Each correct answer earns one point, shown as a golden ink drop. Your total out of 16 gives you a rank from "modern mumbler" to "keeper of the lost lexicon."

Can I use these words in everyday writing?

Absolutely, though some are best used playfully. Words like "slugabed," "quidnunc" and "flapdoodle" fit casual writing, while "ultracrepidarian" and "lucubrate" add flair to more formal pieces.

§9Sources & Fact-Check

Definitions and word histories were checked against dictionaries and established etymology references. Dates refer to the earliest known recorded use and may be revised as researchers find older examples.

  1. Merriam-Webster – snollygoster
  2. Merriam-Webster – What's a snollygoster?
  3. World Wide Words – Ultracrepidarian
  4. Wordsmith.org – gongoozler
  5. Merriam-Webster – quidnunc
  6. World Wide Words – Mumpsimus
  7. Merriam-Webster – slugabed
  8. Merriam-Webster – Apricity and other wintry words
  9. Merriam-Webster – hornswoggle
  10. Wordsmith.org – smellfungus
  11. Online Etymology Dictionary – quidnunc
  12. Wiktionary – overmorrow

Last reviewed: November 8, 2026 · Spotted an error? Let us know and we'll correct it.