[frey-ter]
verb
Snatched conversation between verses in a hymn.
“What does potentate mean?”
“What the hell is unction and how does one bestow it?”
“They’re playing this too slowly!”
Category Archives: verbs
Agistment
[uh-jist-ment]
verb
Act of adjusting one’s clothing underneath a cassock.
absconce
[ab-skons]
verb
To miss one’s duty on a church rota.
“We had to run out to the garage again for biscuits, Mary absconced.”
pannicle
[pan-i-kuh
l]
verb
To attempt to work out where a tune is going in an unknown hymn or chorus resulting in a rather unpleasant ululation.
“I pannicled all the way through that new song this morning!”
cf. also tunicle
garth
[garth]
verb
To misjudge, by a small but significant margin, the appropriateness of a slightly risque joke. Usually evidenced by a general silence and few truncated peals of raucous laughter.
arch-brace
[arch-breys]
verb
Of an immediately baptised infant – to screw up the face, turn purple and inhale a very large breath, prior to screaming blue murder.
shrive
[shrahyv]
verb
To desperately desire to explain that one gives by standing order when passing on the collection plate.
pyx
[piks]
verb
To poke one’s finger into a block of oasis in the flower room. Ecclesiastical equivalent of trying on a tea cosy.
scallop
[skal-uhp]
verb
To shuffle apologetically along a pew, whilst trying to leave for the toilet.
“Sorry, excuse me, can I just, sorry, thanks…”
retro-quire
[re-troh kwah-yuhr]
verb
To respond to an intelligent, thought-provoking and deep question with a dogmatic, unhelpful answer.
cf. quire
“Is it in the Bible? No? Then it’s not worth discussing.”
