Daddy-Long-Legs..............Letters !

 Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

 

LETTER 1

 

1. Bewildering :- Adjective

"confusing and difficult to understand"

 

-He give me direction to his house, but I found them utterly bewildering.

 

"making you feel confused because you cannot decide what you want"

 

-The college offers a bewildering range of courses.

 

2. Muddled :- Adjective (things)

"things that are muddled are badly organized"

 

-He left his clothes in a muddled pile in the corner .

 

3. Acquainted :- Adjective FORMAL

"[after verb] knowing or being familiar with a person"

 

-"Do you know Daphne?"  "No, I'm afraid we're not acquainted."

-I am not personally acquainted with the gentleman in question.

 

4. Queer :- Adjective (Strange)

"OLD-FASHIONED - strange, unusual or not expected"

 

-What a queer thing to say!

-I'm feeling rather queer (=ill), may I sit down?

 

(NOTE : Please be careful while using above word because one meaning of QUEER is quite OFFENSIVE ---------- it means "(especially of a man) homosexual"

 

5. Overlook :- verb (forgive) [T]

"to forgive or pretend not to notice something"

 

-I'm prepared to overlook his behavior this time.

 

Overlook :- verb (not notice) [T]

"to fail to notice or consider something"

 

-I think there is one key fact that you have overlooked.

-No one will be overlooked in the selection of the team.

 

6. Enliven :- verb [T]

"to make something more interesting"

 

-The game was much enlivened when both teams scored within five minutes of each other.

 

LETTER 2

 

1. Scarcely :- Adverb (only just)

"(LITERARY Scarce) only just or almost not"

 

-I was scarcely able to move my arm after the accident.

-I could scarcely believe it when she said she wanted marry me.

 

"used to say that something happened immediately after something else happened"

 

-I had scarcely sat down/Scarcely had I sat down to eat when the phone rang.

 

Scarcely :- Adverb (not) 

"certainly not"

 

-I'd scarcely have done it if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary!

-He's only two - you can scarcely blame him for behaving badly.

 

2. Infirmary :- Noun [C]

"UK OLD USE - a hospital. It is now used mainly in the names of hospitals"

 

-Leeds General Infirmary

-the Royal infirmary

 

"US - In the US, an infirmary is a room in a school, college or university where students who are injured or feeling ill can go to a nurse for treatment."

 

3. Foundling :- Noun [C] OLD-FASHIONED

"a young child who is left by its parents and then found and cared for by someone else"

 

4. Wiry :- Adjective

"(of people and animals) thin but strong, and often able to bend easily"

 

-He has a runner's wiry frame.

 

5. Dodge :- verb

"[I or T] to avoid being hit by something by moving quickly to one side"

 

-He dodged to avoid the hurting bicycle.

 

6. Pull through (sth) :- PHRASAL VERB

"to become well again after a serious illness, especially when you might have died"

 

-They said the operation had been successful and they expected his wife to pull through.

 

Pull (sb) through (sth) :- PHRASAL VERB

"to succeed in dealing with a difficult period, or to help someone do this"

 

-He'd never have managed on his own, but his colleagues have pulled him through.

-It was a crises year for the company, but we have pulled through.

 

LETTER 3

 

1. Archangel :- Noun [C]

"an angel of high rank"

 

-the Archangel Gabriel

 

2.Symphony :-Noun (Plural ---  -nies)

"Anything characterized by a harmonious combination of elements, especially an effective combination of colors."

 

3. Buff :- Noun

"a brownish-yellow color; tan"

 

4. Mahogany :- Noun [U]

"a dark red-brown wood used to make furniture"

 

-a handsome mahogany desk.

 

5. Rattan :- noun [U] SPECIALIZED

"a tropical climbing plant with thin, tough stems"

 

"these stems used as a material for making wicker furniture, or furniture made from them"

 

6. Looking glass :- Noun [C] OLD USE

"a mirror"

 

7. Bureau :- Noun (furniture) [C] (plural bureaux or US usually bureaus)

"UK-  a piece of furniture with a lid that opens to form a writing surface"


 

 

"US FOR-   chest of drawers"


8.Upholster :- verb [T]

"to cover a chair or other type of seat with suitable cloth and fill it with a suitable substance"

 

9. Flunk :- verb [T] MAINLY US INFORMAL

"to fail an examination or course of study"

 

-I flunked my second year exams and was lucky not to be thrown out of college.

 

10. Amiable :- Adjective

"describes a person or their behavior that is pleasant and friendly"

 

-He seemed an amiable young man.

-So amiable was the mood of the meeting that a decision was soon reached.

 

11. Pitch :- verb [TENT]

"[T] to put up a tent and fix it into position"

 

-We pitched camp/our tent in the shade.

 

12. Ambuscade :-

Noun

1. An ambush

 

Verb (used without object)

2. to lie in ambush

 

Verb (used with object

3. to attack from a concealed position; ambush.

 

13. Watch :-

"one of the periods, usually three or four, into which the night was divided in ancient times, as by the Greeks or Hebrews"

 

-the fourth watch of the night.

 

14.Retreat :- Noun (Position)

"[C usually singular U] a move back by soldiers or an army, either because they have been defeated or in order to avoid fighting"

 

-the retreat from Dunkirk

-Enemy soldiers are now in (full) retreat.

 

15.Exposition :- Noun (explanation)

"[C or U] FORMAL - a clear and full explanation of an idea or theory"

 

-It purports to be an exposition of Catholic social teaching.

 

16. Brevity :- Noun [U]

"using only a few words or lasting only a short time"

 

-His essays are models of clarity and brevity.

-Brevity is, in almost everything, a virtue.

 

17. Dreadful :- Adjective

"very bad, of very low quality, or shocking and very sad"

 

-The food was very bad and the service was dreadful.

-I was beginning to think I'd made a dreadful mistake.

-The news report was so dreadful that I just had to switch it off.

 

18. Ingenuity :- Noun [C]

"someone's ability to think of clever new ways of doing something"

 

-Drug smugglers constantly use their ingenuity to find new ways of getting drugs into a country.

 

19. Romp through sth :- Phrasal verb INFORMAL

"to successfully do something, quickly and easily"

 

-Rory expected to romp through the test and interviews.

 

20. Kid gloves :- Noun

"gloves made of kid leather"

 

21. Mitten :- Noun [C] (ALSO mitt)

"a type of glove with a single part for all the fingers and a separate part for the thumb"

 

-sheepskin mittens

-woollen mittens

 

22. Originality :- Noun [U] MAINLY APPROVING

"the quality of being special and interesting and not the same as anything or anyone else"

 

-We were impressed by the originality of the children's work.

 

23. Woodshed :- Noun [C]

" a small building where wood for burning is stored"

 

24.Charitable :- Adjective (KIND)

"kind, and not judging other people in a severe way"

 

-Some critics said the show was good in parts - those less charitable said the whole thing was a disaster.

 

25. Looming :- Adjective

"(of something unwanted or unpleasant) happening soon and causing worry"

 

-the looming crises

 

26. Nee :- Adjective

"used after a woman's married name to introduce the family name by which she was known before she married"

 

-Elaine Gibson (nee Gillett)

 

27. Indignant :- Adjective

"angry because of something which is wrong or not fair"

 

-She wrote an indignant to the paper complaining about the council's action.

-He became very indignant when it was suggested he had made a mistake.

 

28. Post script :- Noun [C]

"(abbreviation PS) a short remark or message added to the bottom of a letter after you have signed your name, usually introduced by the abbreviation PS"

 

-That was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter - PS I love you.

 

"any written or spoken addition to something already finished"

 

-As a postscript to that story I told you last week, it turned out that the woman was his sister-in-law.

 

LETTER 4

 

1. Ought :- Modal Verb (DUTY)

"used to show when it is necessary or would be a good thing to perform the activity referred to by the following verb"

 

-[ + to infinitive] You ought to be kinder to him.

-We ought not/oughtn't to have agreed without knowing what it would cost.

-"We ought to be getting ready now"  "Yes, I suppose we ought (to)."

 

2. Disposition :- Noun

"[C usually singular] the particular type of character which a person naturally has"

 

-She is of a nervous/cheerful/funny disposition.

 

"[S + to infinitive] Formal - a natural tendency to do something, or to have or develop something"

 

-a disposition to deceive

 

3. Mush :- Noun (substance) [U]

"INFORMAL - any unpleasant thick soft substance, such as food that has been cooked for too long"

 

-If you overcook the cabbage it'll turn to mush.

 

4. Pepper sth with sth :- Phrasal verb (HIT)

"to hit something repeatedly with small objects"

 

-The city's walls were peppered with bullets.

 

5. Exuberant :- Adjective (PEOPLE)

"(especially of people and their behavior) very energetic"

 

-Young and exuberant, he symbolises Italy's new vitality.

 

Exuberance :- Noun [U]

 

6. Toss :- verb (THROW)

"[T usually + adverb or preposition] to throw something carelessly"

 

-He glanced at the letter and then tossed it into the bin.

-The bull tossed him into the air.

-[+ two objects] Andrew tossed him the ball.

 

7. Loquacious :- Adjective FORMAL

"describes someone who talks a lot"

 

Loquaciously :- Adverb

 

LETTER 5

 

1. Hand sth down :- Phrasal verb (OBJECT) [M]

"to give something to someone younger than you in the family because you want them to have it or because you no longer need it"

 

-This necklace was handed down to my mother by my grandmother.

 

2. Climax :- Noun [C]

"the most important or exciting point in a story or situation, which usually happens near the end"

 

-The climax of air show was a daring flying display.

-The election campaign reaches its climax next week.

 

3. Obliged :- Adjective (GRATEFUL) [after verb] (mainly US or OBLIGATED)

 

4. Dizzying :- Adjective (Quality)

"very fast or confusing"

 

-The dizzying pace of political change in the country caught many people by surprise.

 

5.Frivolous :- Adjective

"behaving in a silly and thoughtless way when you should be serious"

 

-I think he sees her as a frivolous young woman.

 

"describes an activity or object which is silly or not important rather than useful or serious"

 

-I feel like doing something completely frivolous today.

 

6. Poor box :- Noun

"a box, especially in a church, into which contributions for the poor can be dropped"

 

7. Dread :- verb [T]

"to feel extremely worried or frightened about something that is going to happen or that might happen"

 

-He's dreading his driving test -he's sure he's going to fail.

-[+ -ing verb] I'm dreading having to meet his parents.

 

8. Cost-offs :- plural noun

"things, usually clothes, that you no longer want"

 

-I always had to wear my sister's cast-offs  as a child.

 

Cast-off :- Adjective (before noun)

 

-cast-off clothes

 

9. Eat into sth :- Phrasal verb

"to use or take away a large part of something valuable, such as money or time"

 

-The high cost of living in London is eating into my savings.

 

10. Hannibal :- Noun

247-183 b.c., Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps and invaded Italy (son of Hamilcar Barca).

 

11. Rout :- verb [T] FORMAL

"to defeat an enemy completely and force them to run away"

 

-FIGURATIVE - The Russian chess team have routed all the rest.

 

12. Advance guard :- Noun

"a body of troops going before the main force to clear the way, guard against surprise, etc.

 

13. Cohort :- Noun

"any group of soldiers or warriors"

 

14. Infantry :- Noun [U + singular or plural verb]

"the part of an army that fights on foot"

 

-The infantry was/were sent into battle.

-It's a light/heavy infantry unit.

 

15. Skirmish :- Noun [C]

"a fight between a small number of soldiers which is usually short and not planned, and which happens away from the main area of fighting in a war"

 

16. Repulse :- verb (PUSH AWAY) FORMAL

"[T] to push away or refuse something or someone unwanted, especially to successfully stop a physical attack against you"

 

-The enemy attack was quickly repulsed.

 

17. Awfully :- Adverb (GREATLY)

"(US INFORMAL ALSO Awful) very or extremely, when used before an adjective or adverb"

 

-It's an awfully longtime since we last saw each other.

-I'm awfully sorry, but I've forgotten to reserve you a table.

 

18. RSVP (or R.S.V.P.) :-

"used at the end of a written invitation to mean 'please answer' "

 

-RSVP by October 9th.

 

 

LETTER 6

 

1. Sprinkly :-

 

2. Porch roof :- The overhead covering that protects the porch from the weather. It's usually built as a shed roof, meaning it's a single, angled roof plane.

 

3. Beetle-browed :- Adjective

"having eyebrows which are thick, dark and untidy"

 

4. Snappy :- Adjective (STYLISH)

"INFORMAL APPROVING - (especially of a man's clothes or of his appearance) modern and stylish"

 

-He's a snappy dresser.

-That's a very snappy new suit you have got, Peter.

 

5. Temper :- Noun

"[C often singular] when someone becomes angry very quickly"

 

-She has a real temper.

-He's got a really bad temper.

 

6. Abyss :- Noun (Hole) [C usually singular]

"LITERARY a very deep hole which seems to have no bottom"

 

7. Catch up :- Phrasal Verb (DO SOMETHING)

"to do something you did not have time to do earlier"

 

-She's staying late at the office to catch up with/on some reports.

 

8.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Please Note :- Most the meanings given above are "CONTEXTUAL MEANINGS" only. Some of the words have other meanings too.

 

Most of the definitions are from CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY ONLINE !

 



 


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