Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Confloofdant (floofinition) – An animal to whom others entrust secrets. Origins: 1646 Middle Floofish
In Use: “The man was a paid killer but the only one who knew this was his cat, Stormy. The little black cat had been saved from the side of the road during a storm. He’d rescued the feline after killing an abusive husband for a woman in need. And that same night was when Stormy became Wilson’s confloofdant.” Excerpt from the novel, Confloofdant: The Cat Who Knew Too Much.
Floofyophile (floofinition) – An animal lover. Origins: Floofish, 1820s, in France.
“In use: “Born into a family of floofyophiles, it was no surprise that Riley became a floofyophile at a young age, but her industry to save animals by the time she was ten years old was newsworthy.”
Cryptofloofency (floofinition) – Mostly related to pets, animal activities, behaviors, and sounds which seem unique, mysterious, or unusual to other, most especially people who live with the animals. Origins: 1983, United States.
In Use: “One huge learning curve for people extending hospitality to floofs is cryptofloofency, strange things the fur critters like to do, such as galloping through rooms, sleeping in sinks, singing at midnight, opening doors, and going nuts over squirrels and other critters seen in their domain.”
Ventfloofloquism (floofinition) An animal’s production of sounds in such a way that locating the true source seems impossible. A creature practicing ventfloofloquism is a ventfloofoquist. Origins: 1775, Flooftin; vent (to speak) + floof (animal) + loquism (location elsewhere).
In Use: “Kelley heard Prism meowing but either the little furball was a ventfloofoquist or he was meowing and then darting off to another place to confuse her. And it was working; she was confused — confused, exasfloofrated, and annoyed.”
Confloofdiction (floofinition) An expectation and counter-expectation about what an animal will do, which are simultaneously correct and wrong. Origins: Anglo-Floof and Latin, first noted use in 14th century.
In Use: “Feline confloofdictions such as biting the hand which feeds them and then cuddling with the person they bit is one large reasons cats seem like floofnigmas.”
Paedofloofism (floofinition) An adult animal who exhibits immature, juvenile, or youthful behavior. Origins: First observed in Europe circa 1891.
In Use: “Paedofloofism was strong in the newly adopted five-year-old dog, Bergstrom, who exibited an unrelenting joy in playing games such as fetch, chase, and hide and seek.”
In Use: “Karin wasn’t surprised by Ginger’s kittens’ playfulness, because Ginger’s paedofloofism kept her playing until the moment she gave birth.”
Flooftidean Space (floofinition) – Fundamental area used by a floof. Origins: Flooftidean Elements, a thirteen-volume treatise on floof culture originally published in 300 BC.
In Use: “Apex hunters like cougars tend to have a large flooftidean space, and when humans encounter one, they need to remember not to panic and not to run.”
In Use: “Keri’s housecats had flexible flooftidean space but didn’t let it overlap with one another, although they were apt to steal the other’s favorite sleeping space.”
Tradfloof (floofinition)– Slang for ‘traditional floof’, a phrase meant to convey households or people that hold to a traditional view of a proper pet for their culture. Also sometimes referred to as a ‘tradpet’. Origins: Western culture, circa 2016, via the World Wide Web.
In Use: “In the United States, a tradfloof is generally considered to be a domesticated cat or dog who shares living space with people.”
In Use: “Sizing up Merrit, Karla concluded that Merrit had a tradfloof, and it was a cat, to judge from the scratches marking Merrit’s right forearm. Karla also thought it probable that the tradfloof had suddenly taken a sudden issue with having its belly rubbed.”
Pretsome (floofinition) – Description for an animal who is recognized as handsome and pretty. Origins: 2010s, global, Internet.
In Use: “Lois thought her floof, George Benjamin, had pretty markings in his silky fur, even lovely markings, so she wanted to say he was pretty. Though she knew she was being sexist, she thought it more appropriate to call him handsome because he was male. He’s both, she decided, pretty and handsome — pretsome. Now she understood the word.”
In Use: “With her majestic and dignified bearing, Sara Lee presented a pretsome pose for the artist, who quickly worked to capture all these things for the commissioned flooftrait.”
Hidenget (floofinition) – Game played by animals, and sometimes by humans and animals. Fluid rules allow many variations, but the basic tenet is that one will hide and then spring out on the other. Origins: unknown, but observed and videotaped in many homes around the world in the 21st century.
In use: “Michael and Papi love playing hidenget in the morning, with the ginger floof racing off and ducking behind something as Michael breaks off chase and hides. Watching each other, they sneak out and then run towards the other’s position, and one will then chase the other around rooms and down halls.”
Michael Seidel, writer 