• ribald - off-color; humorously vulgar
• skein - coils of worsted yarn (tightly twisted woolen yarn from long-staple wool)
• sophistry - a deliberate invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hopes of deceiving someone
• stolid - impassive; having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
• frenetically - in a very agitated manner; as if possessed by a mythological evil spirit
• cloy - To cause distaste or disgust by supplying with too much of something originally pleasant, especially something rich or sweet; surfeit
• surfeit - To feed or supply to excess, satiety, or disgust; overindulge
• faculae - bright spot on a planet such as Mercury
• crèche - day nursery; a foundling (abandoned infant child 'found') hospital where infants are taken in and cared for
• nettle - any of a number of plants with stinging hairs that cause skin irritation (esp of the genus Urtica)// ie ..."On impulse, William passed him the printout and said, "That's my brother." It was like grasping the nettle."
• betoken - indicate
• mottle - colored with streaks or blotches of different shades
• involute - rolled; having margins rolled inward; especially of pedals or leaves in bud; closely coiled (shell) so the axis is obscured
• extemporaneous - ad-lib; with little or no preparation or forethought

The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories by Isaac Asimov

Short story: Stranger in Paradise