Transpire is a formal verb that means “to happen,” or in other words “to take place or occur.” It can also mean “to come to light” or “to become known,” as in “It transpired that they had met previously.” In botany, to transpire is to give off or exude watery vapor especially from the surfaces of leaves.

// The monument will ensure that posterity will not soon forget the historic events that transpired on that day.

A factoid is a brief and usually unimportant or trivial fact. Factoid may also refer to an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print.

// The book is really just a collection of interesting factoids.

To doff a hat or other piece of clothing is to take it off.

// They doffed their coats when they came inside the house.

An ignoramus is an utterly ignorant or stupid person.

// I can't believe they let an ignoramus like that run the company.

Quip can refer to a clever, usually taunting remark, or to a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment.

To tousle something is to dishevel it—that is, to make it untidy or unkempt. Tousle is usually, though not always, used specifically when a person’s hair is being so treated.

// Vic stood in front of the mirror and tousled his hair, trying to get a cool, disheveled look.

certainly

Jabberwocky refers to meaningless speech or writing.

// When the character gets angry or flustered, she talks in a sort of agitated jabberwocky that is really quite comical.

To flounder is to struggle, whether that struggle is about moving or obtaining footing (as in “horses floundering through deep snow”) or about knowing what to do or say.

// Caught off-guard by the reporter’s question, the mayor floundered for a few moments before remembering the talking points he had rehearsed.