Strictly speaking, these aren't from my reading this week, but there were quite a few good words I looked up from this novel, so I am still working on sharing them.
vademecum (n) 1 : a book for ready reference : manual. 2: something regularly carried about by a person. "He peered dubiously at the depression in the bedclothes, and measured it a second time with the gentleman-scout's vademecum." (p. 41)
emollient (adj) 1. making soft or supple; also soothing esp. to the skin or mucous membrane. 2: making less intense or harsh; mollifying. "When this is over I shall turn pussyfoot, forswear the police news, and take to an emollient diet of the works of the late Charles Garvice." (p. 68) I knew this word in the context of hand lotion, but thought there might be more meanings. Charles Garvice was a popular author of the time who wrote romances.
Words are from Whose Body? by Dorthy L. Sayers. Definitions are from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary.
I knew emollient - I think I've seen it on a bottle of hand lotion. Vademecum is new to me - it would be hard for me to use because it would be hard for me to pronounce.
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