Word - 28

BINDLE STIFF \BIN-dul-stiff\ noun

: hobo; especially : one who carries his clothes or bedding in a bundle

Example sentence:
Jack London's experiences as a bindle stiff in the early 1890s later provided material for his writing.

Did you know?

In the argot of tramps and hoboes, a roll of clothes and bedding was called a "bindle," a word that probably originated as an alteration of the more familiar "bundle." "Stiff" itself can mean "hobo" or "migrant worker," meanings it took on in the late 19th century. About the same time, any tramp or hobo who habitually carried such a pack was known as a "bindle stiff." In Australia, a pack-carrying hobo might be called a "swagman."

Word - 27

SOUPCON \soop-SAWNG (the final NG is not pronounced, but the vowel is nasalized)\ noun

: a little bit : trace

Example sentence:
The author makes the protagonist seem more human by infusing a bit of vanity, a touch of greed, and a soupcon of self-doubt into his otherwise exceptional character.

Did you know?

Culinary enthusiasts may think "soupcon" originated with a dash of garlic in the coq au vin or a splash of vanilla in the creme anglaise, but the etymology of the word has more to do with inklings and suspicions than with food. Sometime in the 18th century, English speakers borrowed "soupcon" from the French, who were using the word to mean "drop," "touch," or "suspicion." The Old French form of the word was "sospecon," which in turn comes from the Latin forms "suspection-" and "suspectio." Etymologists have further traced the word's Latin ancestry to the verb "suspicere," meaning "to suspect." "Suspicere," as you might expect, is also the source of the English words "suspect" and "suspicion."