War and Peace: Volume II

Equine adj

Of, relating, or resembling a horse

Trowel n

a flat-bladed tool used for spreading cement

Volte-face n

A reversal in policy: about-face

About-face n

A reversal of attitude, behavior, or point of view

Vituperate v

to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate

Parochial adj

Of or relating to a church parish; confined or restricted as if within the borders of a parish; narrow; limited in range or scope

Pollard n

A tree cut back to the trunk to promote the growth of a dense head of foliage

Leveé n

A reception held by a person of distinction on rising from bed

Savoir faire n

Capacity for appropriate action, especially a polished sureness in social behavior

Purblind adj

having poor vision; nearly or partly blind

Coiffure n

A style or manner of arranging the hair

Polonaise n

An elaborate short-sleeved overdress with a fitted waist and a draped cutaway overskirt; a stateky Polish professional dance popular in 19th century Europe

Cotillion n

a formal ball; a ballroom dance with frequent changing of partners

Carp v

To find fault or complain querulously

Epoch n

a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics

Pernickety adj

(Chiefly British) fussy about small details: fastidious, meticulous

Permeate v

to spread through, penetrate, diffuse, soak through

Promenade v

To walk about in or on; to stroll

Scrip n

(Archaic) a small bag or wallet

Roan adj

reddish-brown sprinkled with white

Tussock n

A compact tuft especially of grass and sedge; an area of raised solid ground in a marsh or bog that is bound together by roots of low vegetation

Claret n

A red Bordeaux wine

Gully n

a trench made by heavy rains or running water

Hackle n

one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird

Trap n

A light usually one-horse carriage with springs

Plangent adj

A loud, reverberating, and often melancholic, plaintive sound

Imbibe v

to drink; to take in, absorb

Mummer n

One who goes merrymaking in disguise during festivals

Farthingale n

a support worn in the 16th century beneath a skirt to expand it at the hip line

Knout n

a whip with a lash of leather thongs, formerly used in Russia for flogging criminals

Skein n

a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and knotted; something suggesting the twists or coils of a skein: tangle

Embargo n

an order of a government prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports

Curmudgeon n

A crusty, ill-tempered old man; (archaic) a miser

Smart v

To feel or endure distress, remorse, or embarrassment

Program n

A public notice

Verandah n

A roofed open gallery or portico attached to the exterior of a building

Registrar n

An official recorder or keeper of records; (chiefly British) a physician serving a residency

Stricture n

a limitation or restriction; a criticism; (medicine) a narrowing of a passage in the body; an adverse criticism: censure

Fracas n

A noisy quarrel: a brawl

Commissariat n

A system for supplying an army with food

Barb n

sharp projection from fishhook, arrow, or other object; openly cutting remark