v. show off oneself; speak of with excessive pride
daughter when I could boast as high a name and vast a.
It gave her all the animation that her spirits could boast; for she was in no cheerful humour.
Neither have I forgotten how apt some travellers are to boast of extraordinary favours they have received.
n. a container filled with explosive, designed to explode
v. fail to get a passing grade
n. a person who records the accounts or transactions of a business
n. a shelf on which to keep books
n. a shop where books are sold
n. house or shed built for temporary occupation
n. covered stall or temporary structure
a. uninterested because of frequent exposure
v. (past tense) make a hole in something, especially with a revolving tool
The benches was made out of outside slabs of logs, with holes bored in the round side to drive sticks into for legs.
Meanwhile Calypso came back with some augers, so he bored holes with them and fitted the timbers together with bolts and rivets.
She is a frightful bore, that woman.
n. organ or seat of intellect
n. understanding or imagination
I feared my brain was disturbed by my sufferings and misfortunes.
Gulliver's Travels(V2) By Jonathan SwiftContext Highlight In PART 4: CHAPTER II. His brain is first-rate, I should think not impressible, but vigorous.
It was too irksome to lie there, harassing my brain with a hundred idle misgivings.
n. air that is inhaled and exhaled in respiration
I wish I was a horse, then I could run for miles in this splendid air, and not lose my breath.
At the top of these steps he came plump upon a sight that took his breath away and chilled his blood.
A breath of fresh air seemed to blow through the house, and something better than sunshine brightened the quiet rooms.
v. respire; inhale and exhale air
She was so happy that she scarcely dared to breathe.
I swear to you by him who died for us that naught shall induce me to breathe one syllable to my jailers; but I conjure you do not abandon me.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 15. Number 34 and Number 27. They laced her into a sky-blue dress, which was so tight she could hardly breathe and so low in the neck that modest Meg blushed at herself in the mirror.
n. light current of air; gentle wind; progress swiftly and effortlessly
The breeze is still: it is quite hot.
The dew fell, but with propitious softness; no breeze whispered.
A little ripply, cool breeze begun to blow, and that was as good as saying the night was about done.
a. keen or sharp in speech or manner; active, fast, and energetic
The ladies, since the gentlemen entered, have become lively as larks; conversation waxes brisk and merry.
She had never seen a child who sat so still without doing anything; and at last she got tired of watching her and began to talk in a brisk, hard voice.
If you have been good, he looks satisfied and walks briskly.
n. a long-handled brush of bristles or twigs, used for sweeping
Jo nodded and laughed, and flourished her broom as she called out.
With that, Jo shouldered her broom and marched into the house, wondering what they would all say to her.
She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with.
n. a knob on an equipment that is pressed to operate it
n. a small disk or knob sewn on to a garment to fasten it
We found a brass button in his stomach and a round ball, and lots of rubbage.
John should find home a paradise, he should always see a smiling face, should fare sumptuously every day, and never know the loss of a button.
Among the many pillows that adorned the venerable couch was one, hard, round, covered with prickly horsehair, and furnished with a knobby button at each end.
n. a state in the western United States on the Pacific, the 3rd largest state
n. battle; a series of actions advancing a principle
Made a peer at the Restoration, I served through the first campaign under the orders of Marshal Bourmont.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 41. The Presentation. Then they got tired of it, and allowed they would "lay out a campaign," as they called it.
v. revoke; call off; omit or delete
Then taking up his account book, he cancelled with the greatest care all the entries of the amounts he had just paid away.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 106. Dividing the Proceeds. Great, therefore, was the astonishment when at the end of the month, he cancelled all his obligations with his usual punctuality.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 30. The Fifth of September. v. take the chance to gain advantage from
v. provide a company with capital
Of course she did, and had a capital time.
She is a capital nurse, and you may trust the precious babies to her while you do more housework.
Laurie came every day, and wheedled Aunt March till Amy was allowed to go out with him, when they walked and rode and had capital times.
n. sugar or syrup heated until it turns brown, used as a flavoring or coloring for food
n. profession or occupation; individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
Yes, it was settled; his career was determined.
Through my means, He opens to you a noble career; as my wife only can you enter upon it.
Yes, yes; this is an adventure worthy a place in the varied career of that royal bandit.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 24. The Secret Cave. n. a kind of stew or side dish that is cooked slowly in an oven
n. a garden plant grown for its compact edible head of usually white undeveloped flowers
n. passage for water to flow through; bed of a stream or river
n. route of communication or access
When I advanced to the middle of the channel, they were yet more in pain, because I was under water to my neck.
They turned around the foot of the island and started up the channel on the Missouri side, under steam, and booming once in a while as they went.
The empire of Blefuscu is an island situated to the north-east of Lilliput, from which it is parted only by a channel of eight hundred yards wide.
n. someone who leads the cheers at a sporting event
n. an enthusiastic and vocal supporter
a. bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
Holding a hand of each, and watching the two young faces wistfully, Mrs. March said, in her serious yet cheery way.
But in spite of their efforts to be as cheery as larks, the flutelike voices did not seem to chord as well as usual, and all felt out of tune.
So Jo was satisfied with the investment of her prize money, and fell to work with a cheery spirit, bent on earning more of those delightful checks.
n. a glossy brown nut that may be roasted and eaten
Mrs. March folded the wavy chestnut lock, and laid it away with a short gray one in her desk.
He came in gorgeous array, with plumed cap, red cloak, chestnut lovelocks, a guitar, and the boots, of course.
You are like a chestnut burr, prickly outside, but silky-soft within, and a sweet kernal, if one can only get at it.
n. a burrowing ground squirrel, has cheek pouches and a light and dark stripe running down the body
n. a common nonmetallic element, a toxic, irritant, pale green gas
n. an act of selecting or making a decision
a. appealing to refined taste, of very good quality
By no other circumstance had I will to decide my choice.
Take your choice, but you must be satisfied with only one.
But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be required.
n. combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together
With his instinctive delicacy Edmond had preferred avoiding any touch on this painful chord, and Faria had been equally silent.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 18. The Treasure. But in spite of their efforts to be as cheery as larks, the flutelike voices did not seem to chord as well as usual, and all felt out of tune.
It plained of its gaping wounds, its inward bleeding, its riven chords.
n. a large organized group of singers, especially one that performs together
We read some, and mean to every day, they all cried in chorus.
"Nor I, nor I," chorused the sailors.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 31. Italy: Sinbad the Sailor. He consents without a murmur, all join in a joyful chorus, and the curtain falls upon the lovers kneeling to receive Don Pedro's blessing in attitudes of the most romantic grace.
a. arranged in order of time of occurrence
n. an aromatic spice made from the peeled, dried, and rolled bark of a Southeast Asian tree
n. a native or naturalized member of a state
The facchino follows the prince, the Transteverin the citizen, every one blowing, extinguishing, relighting.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 36. The Carnival at Rome. A trifle after noon the boys borrowed a small skiff from a citizen who was absent, and got under way at once.
Early in the forenoon parties of jaded men began to straggle into the village, but the strongest of the citizens continued searching.
a. having to do with citizens or the state
a. courteous and polite
In pompous nothings on his side, and civil assents on that of his cousins, their time passed till they entered Meryton.
Perhaps he had been civil only because he felt himself at ease; yet there had been that in his voice which was not like ease.
The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking elderly woman, much less fine, and more civil, than she had any notion of finding her.
n. culture, the stage of human social development
Mr. Bingley was unaffectedly civil in his answer, and forced his younger sister to be civil also, and say what the occasion required.
A vagrant current or a slight rise in the river had carried off their raft, but this only gratified them, since its going was something like burning the bridge between them and civilization.
Brunehilde and Fredegonde were the results of the painful struggle of civilization in its infancy, when man was learning to control mind, were it even by an emissary from the realms of darkness.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 80. The Accusation. n. demand for something as rightful or due
My lord, you scornfully bade me claim your.
You give me a larger allowance of sympathy than I have a just claim to.
Not a tie links me to any living thing: not a claim do I possess to admittance under any roof in England.
n. act of clearing; space cleared; permission to proceed or trust
n. someone who climbs as a sport, especially someone who climbs mountains
n. a vine or similar plant that readily grows up a support or over other plants
n. artifact made by weaving or knitting natural or synthetic fibers
We was wove out of th same cloth.
One of them spread a fair purple cloth over a seat, and laid a carpet underneath it.
She slipped her fork to the floor, and hastily dived under the cloth to conceal her emotion.
n. a cord on which clothes are hung to dry
n. a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
Huck scanned his own clothing forlornly.
Moreover she gave me good stout clothing, and sent me a wind that blew both warm and fair.
Then they tore off her dainty clothing, laid her on a table, and cut her beautiful body into pieces, and sprinkled salt upon it.
Grimms' Fairy Tales By The Brothers GrimmContext Highlight In THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM a. free from stress or conducive to mental ease; having peace of mind
a. more than adequate
The girls flew about, trying to make things comfortable, each in her own way.
My rooms are always open to you, and your own shall be as comfortable as I can make it.
He was perfectly open and honorable about Meg, for he told us he loved her, but would earn a comfortable home before he asked her to marry him.
v. contest or fight with others who are trying to do the same
Then Alcinous told Laodamas and Halius to dance alone, for there was no one to compete with them.
Three sons of Alcinous, Laodamas, Halios, and Clytoneus, competed also.
The instruments of transfer were drawn out: St. John, Diana, Mary, and I, each became possessed of a competency.
n. struggle; rivalry; act of competing as for profit or a prize
Jane was beyond competition her favourite child.
He was her dear Wickham on every occasion; no one was to be put in competition with him.
a. assured; having or marked by assurance
I am confident that she would have performed delightfully.
But Dantes was far from being as enthusiastic and confident as the old man.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 19. The Third Attack. de Blacas pondered deeply between the confident monarch and the truthful minister.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 10. The King's Closet at the Tuileries. a. invariable or repeating; continually occurring; persistent
Lydia came to us; and Wickham had constant admission to the house.
The light was yet there, shining dim but constant through the rain.
I often tell young ladies that no excellence in music is to be acquired without constant practice.
a. infectious; of or relating to communicable diseases
Among worldly people manner is contagious.
The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre DumasContext Highlight In Chapter 93. Valentine. n. a person who participates in competitions
But, suitors, as the contest has been agreed upon, let it go forward.
He shed the arrows on to the ground at his feet and said, "The mighty contest is at an end."
Minerva now put it in Penelope's mind to make the suitors try their skill with the bow and with the iron axes, in contest among themselves, as a means of bringing about their destruction.
n. oral exchange of opinions or ideas, informal dialogue
I dare say he is clever, but I never had much conversation with him.
The whole conversation ran on the breakfast, which one and all abused roundly.
One may imagine her suffering on overhearing fragments of this sort of conversation.