cacophony
a chorus of discordant and/or dissonant sounds
muslin
a light cotton fabric, often used to make sheets and clothing
grumous
thick and clotted (medical, relating to blood)
geomantic
relating to a mystic practice of using dirt to discern divine information, often used derogatorily
quandary
a feeling or situation of dilemma or uncertainty
puerperal
relating to the period after childbirth
guilder
a unit of Dutch currency, still used in Dejima despite its proximity to Japan
fecund
fertile (figuratively or literally)
spindrift
bits of foam displaced from waves by the wind
buboes
an unpleasant condition characterized by inflamed lymph nodes
mooncalf
archaic term meaning "idiot"
rote
ordinary, drab, uneventful
shanty
a song, traditionally associated with pirates or other seafarers
Augean stable
A reference to the Greek myths of Hercules, who had to clean the disgusting stables of Augeus, eventually doing so by diverting an entire river through the stable to cleanse it of the excrement. The term now poetically refers to any task that seems similarly epic and impossible in scope.
Mephistophelian
wicked, devilish (a reference to Mephistopheles, a name used to refer to the Devil in the German legend of Faust)
