Diss

   To diss is to disrespect;  to treat, mention, or speak to rudely. It is a slang word, chiefly US, that came from, and therefore shares the same definition as "to disrepect";  to treat (someone) with contempt. 

The City of Dis - sketch by Boticelli

Dis with one ‘s’ refers to the city of Dis, from Dante's levels of hell. The city of Dis is the level of hell to which all non-believers, who have not otherwise sinned greatly, will go.

Midden

A midden is a a dunghill or refuse heap; this is also an archeological term for a mound or deposit containing shells, animal bones, and other refuse that indicates the site of a human settlement.

Velocipedes and Quadricycles

  

A velocipede was an early form of bicycle propelled by working pedals on cranks fitted to the front axle; now used as an archaic term for a bicycle.

 An American Sawyer velocipipede from 1855

 The term was coined by Frenchman Nicéphore Niépcee in 1818 to describe his version of the Laufmqschine, which was invented by the German Karl Drais in 1817. The term "velocipede" is today, however, mainly used as a collective term for the different forerunners of the monowheel, unicycle, bicycle, tricucle, and quadricycle developed between 1817 and 1880.

                                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Quadricycle
In 1896 Henry Ford introduced his Ford Quadricycle - and engine driven vehicle, no longer requiring the driver to pedal.

Pele

 
No - not the footballer and pronounces peel!

A pele or pele tower is a small fortified keeps or tower houses, ususlly built along the borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England.  They were principally intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger. By an Act of Parliament in 1455, each of these towers was required to have an iron basket on its summit and a smoke or fire signal, for day or night use, ready at hand.

Mordacious

   Mordacious is an adjective meaning using biting sarcasm, caustic wit or invective.  It can also mean given to actual biting (both in a person or animal).

Jackanapes

  I can't improve on this blog posting which I came across lately so I'll simply ask you to visit it if you want to know the meaning and history of Jackanapes.

http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/jackanapes.html

And sadly, it still goes on...

Amigurumi

 
Although I tend to concentrate on English words there are occasionally words from other languages that sneak into English and become commonly used. We already commonly use origami, ikebana and bonsai and I think amigurumi may well join them.

Amigurumi (編みぐるみ?, lit. crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features, as is typical in Japanese culture.

To break a butterfly on a wheel

   
Looking through Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable for the previous entry I came across "To break a butterfly on a wheel". It's not an expression I've ever heard used verbally but I have read it a couple of times.

It means to use superabundant effort in the accomplishment of a small matter.

You just broke my dream

   
Jo just said some thing which reminded me of a dream I had had last night so I said to her 'You just broke my dream.' That made me think about the expression. This colloquialism means that someone or something has just occurred to remind one of a dream which had occurred previously.

I haven't been able to find out when the expression was first used - it's not in my copies of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.

Apotropaic

   
Apotropaic is an adjective meaning 'supposedly having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck.'

Crossing fingers is therefore an apotropaic hand gesture.