When I started this blog, I assumed that most of what I would write about words that only sort of exist would be making fun of them (see, e.g., mentee). This is different. This word is great. “Esquivalence” means willful avoidance of one’s official responsibilities. But only sorta. Because “esquivalence” is a copyright trap (sometimes called a “mountweazel“). It was added to a dictionary so that if it were copied, the editors of the first dictionary would know that their work was being stolen (there was a similar thing in a copyright case in the United States, involving phone numbers, although there are parts of that case’s holding that have never made much sense to me.)

But “esquivalence” is great. And if you really want to kill some time, follow the wikipedia links on trap street.