The Sphinx Without A Secret by Oscar Wilde - HTML preview

Glossary

To beg – to ask strongly for something.

Bore – an uninteresting or boring person.

Butler – male servant in a house, responsible for serving drink.

To catch a chill – to become ill because of the cold.

Clairvoyant – a person who can see into the future.

Crush – a crowd of people.

Curiosity – interested in knowing many things.

Etching – a drawing or scene done with a pencil.

Faint – not clear.

Fellow – informal word for a man.

Frankness – honesty.

To hesitate – to stop or wait because of being uncertain.

Incessant – all the time.

Indefinable – not possible to describe.

Infatuated – to have some great extreme love for someone.

Lace – fine material made with a pattern of holes.

Lodgings – a place to live.

Lungs – organ in the body used for breathing.

Matrimonially – related to marriage.

Pavement – the place on the street where people walk.

To peer – to look at carefully.

Penteteuch – The first five books of the Bible (Old Testament).

Postscript – words written at the end of a letter (now simply P.S.).

Poverty – the state of being poor, having no money.

Punctual – to always arrive on time.

The season – regular social events held in high society.

Shabbiness – old and dirty.

Short cut – an unusual route shorter than the normal journey.

To sink – to drop downwards, often into deep water.

Slight – thin.

Sovereign – an old English coin.

Subtle – quiet and intelligent.

To surround – to cover on all sides.

Tories – political party in England. Traditionally wealthy owners of land.

To trot – a horse walking.

Unapproachable – unfriendly, not easy to make friends with.

Vague – not very clear.

Veil – cloth worn to cover a woman’s face.

To wander – to walk with no clear direction.

Widow – a woman whose husband has died.