purlicue

[prettygoodword]

purlicue - n., a flourish or curl in writing; (often plural) any trifle or oddity; the space between the thumb and extended forefinger; a discourse, especially the part that summarizes up.


Rhymes with curlicue. Origin obscure, as is how it came to mean so many things, but one theory is from Scots pirlie, meaning curly.

---L.