BEYOND THE PALE : VOCABULARY

Fortnight: a period of two weeks

Sheltered: protected from wind, rain, or other bad weather
Preside: to have or hold the place of authority or control, as in an assembly or meeting
Appalling: shocking, awful, terrible
Scarlet: bright red colour inclining toward orange
Brisk: quick and active, sharp and stimulating
Adorn: to decorate or add beaut, as by ornaments
Brown as a berry: very sun-tanned
Wretched: very unfortunate, characterised by or causing misery and sorrow
Tide: the regularly occurring rise and fall of the waters of the ocean
Remainder: a remaining part
Baize: a soft, felt like fabric used for the tops of games tables
Rubbers: (in bridge) a series or round played until one side has won two out of three
games
Lawn: a stretch of open, grass-covered land
Pot luck: whatever food happens to be available without special preparation
Dawdling: to move or act too slowly
Nightcap: an alcoholic drink taken at the end of the day
Wag: a humorous, clever person/ to move rapidly form side to side or up and down
Serge: a fabric with diagonal patter, used especially for suits
Uncouth-looking: lacking manners or grace, rude, uncivil
Dubious: of doubtful quality, questionable
Credential: evidence of a person’s identity, position…usually in written form
Ineffectual: producing no satisfactory effect
Hit off: to come against
Gangling: awkwardly and loosely built
Beaky: narrowed or prolonged
Stout: overweight, fat
Gormless: stupid, dull
Bade: a part of
Jocular: characterised by joking or jesting
Comply: to act or be in accordance with wishes, requirements or conditions
Potter: to perform unimportant tasks
Mooch: to borrow without intending to return or pay / to loiter or wander about
Shingle: a thin piece of wood, metal, slate laid in overlapping rows to cover the roofs
and walls of buildings
Corduroy: a cotton fabric
The fat is in the fire: something has happened that will inevitably cause trouble
Turmoil: a state of commotion, disorder or disturbance
Ashen-faced: looking extremely pale
Forget-me-not: a plant with small blue flowers
Limp: to walk with great difficulty, hesitation or slowness
Crumpled: rumpled, wrinkled
Petticoat: a skirt worn under an outer skirt or dress
Crimson: deep purplish red
Pandemonium: a place or scen of complete chaos or disorder
Jumble: to mix in a confused mass
Grim: fierce, savage or cruel
Hushed: quiet
Slumped: decreased, bent, collapsed
Brogue: a shoe/an Irish accent
Rendered: to cause to be or become, to make/ to furnish, provide/ to pay/to translate
Battering: an act of hitting someone
Treacherous: extremely dangerous, especially because of bad weather conditions
Paw: to feel or touche roughly with the hands, especially in an unpleasant sexual way
Coolly: in an unfriendly way
Dreadful: causing fear, shock or suffering
Slacks: a pair of pants
Curranty: with berries
Inane: extremely silly or with no real meaning or importance
Sway: to move slowly from side to side
Horrid: unpleasant or unkind
As thin as a rake: very slim
Derelict: nor cared for and in bad condition
Honeysuckle: a climbing plant with flowers that smell sweet
To be dwelt upon: to live as a resident, to reside
Grubby: not honest, fair or acceptable / dirty
Tar: a black substance used for making roads
Ferns: a green plant with long stems, leaves like feathers and no flowers
Unhinged: mentally ill
Marvelling: showing great surprise or admiration
Convolvulus: a twining plant with trumpet-shaped flowers
Hedgerow: a rough or mixed hedge of wild shrubs and occasional trees
Circlet: a small circular arrangement or object; a circular band made of precious metal
Singsong way: a voice delivery marked by a narrow range or monotonous pattern of
pitch
Greed: a very strong wish to continuously get more of something, especially food or
money
Nervy: worried
First-rate: of the best class or quality, excellent
Dockyard clerk: a person employed in an office or bank to keep records, accounts, and
undertake other routine administrative duties in a waterside area
containing docks, workshops, warehouses
Groundsman: a person who maintains a sports ground, a park, or the grounds of a
school or other institution
Muddling: the action or process of bringing something into a disordered or confusing
state
Rockface: a bare vertical surface of natural rock
Limbless: having no arms of legs
Amble: to walk or move at a slow and relaxed pace
Moulder: slowly decay or disintegrate, especially because of neglect
Dawn on: to realise for the first time
Prey: a person who is easily deceived or harmed / an animal that is hunted and killed by
another for food
Dicky: weak, especially in health and likely to fail or suffer from problems
Fuse: a small safety part in an electrical device or piece of machinery that causes it to
stop working if the electric current is too high, and so prevents fires or other
dangers
Beseeching: asking for something in a way that shows you need it very much
Garbled: not clear and very difficult to understand, often giving a false idea of the facts
Endeavouring: trying hard to do or achieve something
Bewildered: perplexed and confused, very puzzled
Hastily: with excessive speed or urgency, hurriedly
Amok: behave uncontrollably and disruptively
Lilt: a characteristic rising and falling of the voice when speaking; a pleasant gentle
accent
Racy: lively, entertaining, and typically sexually titillating, showing vigour or spirit
Bleak: (of an area of land) lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements / (of a
building or room) charmless and inhospitable / (of the weather) cold and
miserable / (of a situation) not hopeful or encouraging; unlikely to have a
favourable outcome
Huddle: to draw people together or to crouch low
Pleading: the action of making an emotional or earnest appeal to someone
Thumping: pounding or throbbing in a heavy, continuous way