• vitriol

• idle story

• mere nonsense

• I did it just for a joke

• by the merest chance

• it's pure guess

• these tales are pure fiction

• sheer

• bail, bailer, baler

• dipper, ladle

• normal, perpendicular, sheer

• at right angles, sheer

• normal

• to square

• to sheer

• to sheer

• high-warp tapestry

• acquaintance, familiar

• adventurous, audacious, daring, foolhardy, intrepid, nervy, reckless

• scoop

• appreciative