| Word | Context |
A | Aback | taken aback |
| Abeyance | held in abeyance |
| Afield | further afield (or, more correctly, farther afield) |
| Afore | afore ye go |
| Aforethought | malice aforethought |
| Akimbo | legs akimbo [or arms akimbo, if you must] |
| Allay | allay one's fears |
| Allsorts | licorice allsorts |
| Amok | running amok |
| Anabolic | anabolic steroid |
| Apace | carry on apace |
| Apportioning | apportioning blame |
| Arrant | arrant nonsense |
| Ashen | ashen faced |
| Askance | look askance |
| Augur | augur well |
| Aweigh | anchor(s) aweigh |
| Awry | go awry |
B | Bandied | bandied about |
| Bastion | last bastion |
| Bended | bended knee |
| Bestriding | bestriding the earth (like a colossus) |
| Betides | ill betides |
| Bevelled | bevelled edge |
| Bevy | bevy of beauties |
| Biding | biding one's time |
| Bleary | bleary eyed |
| Blindingly | blindingly obvious |
| Blithering | blithering idiot |
| Bode | bode well |
| Boggles | the mind boggles |
| Bounden | one's bounden duty |
| Breakneck | breakneck speed |
| Brimstone | (hell)fire and brimstone |
| Brooking | brooking no delay |
| Brunt | bear the brunt |
| Burton | go for a burton |
| Buts | ifs and buts |
| Bygones | let bygones be bygones [unless you're Richard Fish] |
C | Caped | caped crusaders |
| Charnel | charnel house |
| Chattels | goods and chattels |
| Clarion | clarion call |
| Comings | comings and goings |
| Concerted | concerted effort [or concerted attempt, but it's the same thing really] |
| Corned | corned beef |
| Cowardy | cowardy custard |
| Craw | stick in one's craw |
| Cred | street cred [a bit of a cheat, as it is an abbrev'n] |
| Cropper | come a cropper |
| Cud | chewing the cud |
D | Dandle | dandle on one's knee |
| Daylights | scare the living daylights out of |
| Deleterious | deleterious effect |
| Derring | derring-do |
| Diametrically | diametrically opposed |
| Doff | doff one's cap/hat |
| Drabs | dribs and drabs |
| Dribs | dribs and drabs |
| Dudgeon | high dudgeon |
| Dulcet | dulcet tones |
E | Encyclopaedic | encyclopaedic knowledge |
| Endearment | term of endearment |
| Engorged | engorged penis [sorry, but it had to be said] |
| Eponymously | eponymously named [somewhat tautological] |
| Exacted | exacted revenge |
| Extenuating | extenuating circumstances |
| Extinguisher | fire extinguisher |
| Extol | extol one's virtues |
F | Fain | I fain would do something |
| Fangled | new fangled |
| Fettle | in fine fettle |
| Figgy | figgy pudding |
| Figment | figment of the imagination |
| Flossing | flossing one's teeth |
| Flotsam | flotsam and jetsam |
| Flout | flout the rules |
| Fogey | old fogey |
| Foregone | foregone conclusion |
| Froing | toing and froing |
| Fruitfulness | (season of mists and) mellow fruitfulness |
| Fruition | come to fruition |
| Fullness | in the fullness of time |
G | Gird | gird one's loins |
| Gladsome | gladsome mind |
| Glaringly | glaringly obvious |
| Glean | glean information |
| Gloaming | roaming in the gloaming |
| Goings | comings and goings |
| Gordian | gordian knot [yes, I know that it's a proper name, but what the hell - I like it] |
| Grail | holy grail |
| Graven | graven image |
| Grist | grist to one's mill |
H | Halcyon | halcyon days [as opposed to Halcion daze] |
| Hawing | humming and hawing |
| Hazarded | hazarded a guess |
| Headway | make headway |
| Heinous | heinous crime |
| Hermetic | hermetic seal |
| Holpen | holpen are good folks on earth... [or so I am told - never heard of the word myself] |
| Honcho | head honcho |
| Honed | finely honed |
I | Ifs | ifs and buts |
| Ilk | of that ilk |
| Immemorial | time immemorial |
| Imprest | imprest account |
| Implacably | implacably opposed |
| Inclement | inclement weather |
| Indeedy | yes, indeedy |
| Ingrown | ingrown toenail |
| Injun | honest injun |
| Inopportune | inopportune moment |
| Inroads | to make (giant) inroads |
| Intents | all intents (and purposes) |
| Internecine | internecine war |
| Inveterate | inveterate liars |
J | Jetsam | flotsam and jetsam |
| Jinks | high jinks |
K | Kaboodle | the whole (kit) kaboodle |
| Keynote | keynote speech |
| Kilter | out of kilter |
| Kith | kith and kin |
| Knell | death knell |
L | Limpid | limpid pools [as opposed to limpet pools] |
| Lurgy | dreaded lurgy |
M | Madding | madding crowd [originally a proper noun, but often used as an improper one these days!] |
| Mercies | small mercies |
| Meteoric | meteoric rise [although meteors actually fall] |
| Mettle | test one's mettle |
| Middling | fair to middling |
| Mindedness | (sheer) bloody mindedness |
| Misspent | misspent youth |
| Monty | the full monty [other Montys' being proper nouns] |
| Morphic | morphic resonance [sic] |
| Mortally | mortally wounded/injured |
| Mote | mote in one's eye |
| Motley | motley crew |
| Muchness | much of a muchness |
| Mucker | me old mucker |
N | Naan | naan bread |
O | Olden | olden times |
| Opportune | opportune moment |
| Overstay | overstay one's welcome |
| Oxbow | oxbow lake |
P | Panatellas | slim panatellas |
| Paragon | paragon of virtue |
| Paydirt | hit paydirt |
| Pease | pease pudding |
| Petard | hoist by one's own petard |
| Petered | petered out |
| Pilau | pilau rice |
| Pipped | pipped at the post |
| Pique | fit of pique |
| Plaintive | pliantive cry |
| Plighting | plighting one's troth |
| Politic | the body politic |
| Preemptive | preemptive strike |
| Prehensile | prehensile tail |
| Pristine | pristine condition |
| Procurator | procurator fiscal |
| Prodigal | prodigal son |
| Prorogation | prorogation of parliament |
Q | Quench | quench one's thirst |
R | Rarebit | Welsh rarebit |
| Raring | raring to go |
| Razed | razed to the ground |
| Roughshod | riding roughshod over |
| Runcible | runcible spoon [an invented word, but now appearing in dictionaries - apparently] |
S | Sallied | sallied forth |
| Salver | silver salver |
| Sandboy | happy as a sandboy |
| Scaredy | scaredy cat |
| Sceptered | this sceptered isle |
| Scrimp | scrimp and save |
| Scrump | scrump for apples |
| Scudding | scudding clouds |
| Scupper | scupper plans |
| Searing | searing heat |
| Semblance | some semblance (of order) |
| Serried | serried ranks |
| Shadowy | shadowy figure |
| Shagger | sheep shagger [whatever that might be] |
| Shrift | short shrift |
| Singally | signally fail (to do something) |
| Snook | cock a snook |
| Sparring | sparring partner |
| Spangled | star spangled |
| Squally | squally showers |
| Superhighway | information superhighway [the word may have other uses, but you don't hear them used on my side of the Atlantic] |
| Swagman | jolly swagman |
| Swimmingly | to go swimmingly |
| Swingeing | swingeing cuts |
T | Tantamount | tantamount to saying |
| Temerity | have the temerity to suggest |
| Tempora | egg tempora |
| Tenterhooks | hanging on tenterhooks |
| Thermidor | lobster thermidor [a bit of a cheat, as Thermidor was a Revolutionary French month and, hence, a proper noun] |
| Thither | hither and thither |
| Thrupenny | thrupenny bit |
| Tinpot | tinpot dictator |
| Toing | toing and froing |
| Tortuous | tortuous route |
| Travesty | travesty of justice |
| Tribulations | trials and tribulations |
| Trickster | confidence trickster |
| Troth | plighting one's troth |
| Trove | treasure trove |
| Truckle | truckle bed |
| Tuffet | little Miss Muffett sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey |
U | Ulterior | ulterior motive |
| Umbrage | take umbrage |
| Unalloyed | unalloyed pleasure |
| Unawares | take unawares |
| Undivided | undivided attention |
| Unquenchable | unquenchable thirst |
| Unrequited | unrequited love |
| Unreservedly | apologise unreservedly |
| Unsung | unsung hero |
V | Vanishingly | vanishingly small |
| Varicose | varicose veins [careful - bordering on the scientific there] |
| Vestal | vestal virgins [yes, I know Vesta is a proper name] |
| Vitriolic | vitriolic attack |
W | Wend | wend one's way |
| Whiling | whiling away |
Y | Yore | days of yore |
Z | Zoot | zoot suit [Zoot Horn Rollo is a proper name, so it doesn't count] |