This week's word is one I have been waiting for an excuse to use for a long time, and now two have arrived at the same time. I first discovered it in a episode of classic Doctor Who, 'Ghost Light' (featuring my often controversial choice for favourite Doctor, The Seventh aka Sylvester McCoy), and immediately looked it up and baffled friends by inserting it - rather bluntly - into conversation at the first possible opportunity.
Fright Night also comes out in the UK today, an enjoyable enough movie whose antagonist suffers from precisely the described condition. It may not be the easiest word to slip effortlessly into a casual chat, but perhaps a few of you reading this will at the very least be inspired to track down 'Ghost Light' and discover one of Sly McCoy's finest (but also one of the series' all-time most baffling) Who episodes.
Your word of the week is...
Adjective: Light-avoiding, especially the sun. Also lucifugal. Pronounced loo-sif-yoo-gus. From the latin lucifugus, a combination of luci- (light) and fugere (to avoid, or flee).
Example
Ace (reading a dictionary): 'Professor, Josiah's... lucifugous.'
Doctor (joking): 'Yes, and he doesn't like light, either!'
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