Hyde Collection Catablog

Today, I’m cataloging the first edition of the Dictionary, and part of my job is to make sure that our copies aren’t missing any leaves. This requires collating them, which means going through and counting the signatures (sequential marks which tell a binder the correct order of the leaves) in each copy. A copy of the Dicitionary has 580 leaves in each of its two volumes, and we have five copies of the first edition in the Hyde Collection. Do the math, and you can see that it’s fairly labor-intensive. Since the signature appears on every other leaf, in the lower right corner, that’s pretty much all of the book I get to look at. Therefore, I’d like to present you with John’s Favorite Words Appearing in the Lower Right Corner of Every Fourth Page in Johnson’s Dictionary. Use one in conversation today!

Arbuscule. n.s. [arbuscula, Lat.] Any little shrub.
Cater-cousin. n.s. A corruption of quatre-cousin, from the ridiculousness of calling cousin or relation to so remote a degree.
Curdy. adj. [from curd.] Coagulated; concreted; full of curds; curdled.
To Embale. v.a. [emballer, Fr.] To make up into a bundle.
Evulgation. n.s. [evulgo, Lat.] The act of divulging; publication.
Flagitious. adj. [from flagitius, Latin .] Wicked; villainous; atrocious.
To Gloze. v.n. [Saxon.] To flatter; to wheedle; to insinuate; to fawn.
Kicksy-wicksey. n.s. [from kick and wince.] A made word in ridicule and disdain of a wife.
To Knubble. v.a. [knippler, Danish.] To beat.
Yux. n.s. [yeox, Saxon.] The hiccough.