from AHD WAD Calendar and 365 New Words a Day Page A Day Calendar (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary)

John, of baleful and minatory mien, was not gruntled by Alice's alacrity.

minatory: Of a menacing or threatening nature; minacious.
mien: 1. Bearing or manner, especially as it reveals an inner state of mind: “He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien” (James Traub). 2. An appearance or aspect.


alacrity (uh-LACK-ri-tee) n. 1. Cheerful willingness; eagerness. 2. Speed or quickness; celerity.

gruntle

v : to put in a good humor

The verb “disgruntle,” which has been around since 1682, means “to make ill-humored or discontented.” The prefix “dis-” often means “to do the opposite of,” so it might be assumed that if there’s a “disgruntle” there must have first been a “gruntle” with the opposite meaning. But “dis-” doesn’t always work that way; in some rare cases, it functions instead as an intensifier. “Disgruntle” developed from this intensifying sense of “dis-” plus “gruntle,” an old word meaning “to grumble.” In the 1920s, a writer humorously used “gruntle” to mean “to make happy”—in other words, as an antonym of “disgruntle”—and the use caught on. At first “gruntle” was used only in humorous ways, but people eventually began to use it seriously as well.

baleful

adj 1: deadly or pernicious in influence *2: foreboding or threatening evil

The “bale” of “baleful” comes from the Old English bealu (“evil”), and the “bane” of the similar-looking “baneful” comes from the Old English bana (“slayer, murderer”). “Baleful” and “baneful” are alike in meaning as well as appearance, and they are sometimes used in quite similar contexts—but they usually differ in emphasis. “Baleful” typically describes what threatens or portends evil (e.g., “a baleful look,” “baleful predictions”). “Baneful” applies typically to what causes evil or destruction (e.g., “a baneful secret,” “the baneful bite of the serpent”). Both words are used to modify terms like “influence,” “effect,” and “result,” and in such uses there is little that distinguishes them.