Haiga - WOTD - malfeasance

malfeasance \mal-FEE-zuhn(t)s\, noun:
Wrongdoing, misconduct, or misbehavior, especially by a public official.

A demon's actions
are not petty misdeeds but
innate malfeasance

Haiga - WOTD - expeditious

expeditious \ek-spuh-DISH-uhs\, adjective:
Characterized by or acting with speed and efficiency.

Flu epidemic -
saved by the expeditious
use of a vaccine*

*Not so, the cat

Haiga - WOTD - misprize

misprize \mis-PRYZ\, transitive verb:
1. To hold in contempt.
2. To undervalue.

She misprized the cat
who, after all, was only
offering her gifts

Haiga - WOTD - waylay

waylay \WAY-lay\, transitive verb:
1. To lie in wait for and attack from ambush.
2. To approach or stop (someone) unexpectedly.

At the station she
waylaid weary commuters
with her miming skills.

Haiga - WOTD - Otiose

otiose \OH-shee-ohs; OH-tee-\, adjective:
1. Ineffective; futile.
2. Being at leisure; lazy; indolent; idle.
3. Of no use.

His advice was as
otiose as a paper
hat in a rainstorm.

Haiga - WOTD - soubriquet

sobriquet \SO-brih-kay; -ket; so-brih-KAY; -KET\, noun:
A nickname; an assumed name; an epithet.

When the morning came
she'd earned the soubriquet 'Fox'
from 'Crazy as a...'

Haiga - WOTD - euphonious

euphonious \yoo-FOH-nee-uhs\, adjective:
Pleasing or sweet in sound; smooth-sounding.

Around her father
such euphonious chatter
charmed and cajoled.

Haiga - WOTD - Plaudit

plaudit \PLAW-dit\, noun:
1. A round or demonstration of applause.
2. Enthusiastic approval; an expression of praise.

You deserve a plaudit -
just wait until
I can be bothered.

Haiga - WOTD - legerdemain

legerdemain \lej-ur-duh-MAIN\,
noun: 1. Sleight of hand. 2. A display of skill, trickery, or artful deception.

She was uncertain
regarding trust, were his words
just legerdemain?

Haiga - WOTD - fetish

fet·ish [fet-ish, fee-tish] –noun
1. an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.
2. any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion: to make a fetish of high grades.
3. Psychology. any object or nongenital part of the body that causes a habitual erotic response or fixation.
Also, fetich.

[Origin: 1605–15; earlier fateish <>

No-one had explained
that dressing as a rabbit
was Lucy's fetish

Haiga - WOTD - circumlocution

circumlocution \sir-kuhm-loh-KYOO-shuhn\, noun: The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language.

I tried to explain
circumlocution but I
just talked in circles.

Haiga - WOTD - Implacable

implacable \im-PLAK-uh-bull\, adjective: Not placable; not to be appeased; incapable of being pacified; inexorable; as, an implacable foe. Implacable muse - What more can I write, dear chap? another novel soon.

Haiga - WOTD - officious

officious \uh-FISH-uhs\, adjective: Marked by excessive eagerness in offering services or advice where they are neither requested nor needed; meddlesome.

Officious demons
come to suggest story arcs
involving themselves.

Haiga - WOTD - rubicund

rubicund \ROO-bih-kund\, adjective: Inclining to redness; ruddy; red. The old apple tree supplies much rubicund fruit just right for eating.

Haiga - WOTD - volte-face

volte-face \vawlt-FAHS; vawl-tuh-\, noun:
An about-face; a reversal, as in policy or opinion.

I tried a volte-face
about Catholic dogma
they're easy targets.

Haiga - WOTD - littoral

littoral \LIH-tuh-rul\, adjective:
1. Of, relating to, or on a coastal or shore region, especially a seashore.
noun:
1. A coastal region, especially the zone between the limits of high and low tides.

I wrote 'I love you'
in the smooth littoral sand --
watched it be erased.

Haiga - WOTD - quondam

quondam \KWAHN-dum\ adj
: former, sometime

A quondam reaper,
the fallen angel Jevey
turned to selling arms.

Haiga - WOTD - Fifth Column

fifth column • \FIFTH-KAH-lum\ • noun : a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders

I wrote a romance
but fifth column characters
made it a thriller.

Haiga, WOTD - fettle

fettle \FET-l\, noun:
A state or condition of fitness or order; state of mind; spirits -
- often used in the phrase "in fine fettle."

After Milton's poem:
the demon in fine fettle,
his companion, ill.

Haiga - WOTD - verbiage

verbiage \VUR-bee-ij\, noun:
1. An overabundance of words; wordiness.
2. Manner or style of expression; diction.

Random verbiage
in the tongue of the abyss -
Should I be worried?