short story diction

tedium

Being tedious

Marred

damaged; disfigured

unimpeachable

Cannot be argued

fanciful

over imaginative or unrealistic

Contrivance

A clever scheme, arrangement or device

Anthology

collection of literary works

Brevity

concise and exact use of words in writing or speech

doggedly

persistent in effort; stubbornly tenacious

Crag

a steep rugged rock or cliff

Headway

Progress in movement

Palatial

Palace-like

Astrakian

Curly fur/fabric, could be from a young sheep

Cossack

a member of a people of southern Russia and Ukraine

refectory

a room used for communal meals

Twoscore

Forty

affable

friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to

Cosmopolite

Someone who believes all humans are members of the same community

Ardent

strong enthusiasm

Imprudent

not showing care for the consequences of an action; rash

Quarry

Prey

Grisly

causing horror or disgust

Droll

curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement

Puritan

Protestants seen as incomplete or accused of oversimplifying the bible

Lascars

Sailors from India

Snuff

powdered form of tobacco that is sniffed or absorbed through the mucous membranes in the nose or placed inside the cheek and sucked

Scruples

Doubts

knouter

One who has a whip to inflict government-directed punishment

braggart

Someone who brags

Wan

Weak light

Solicitous

showing concern or care, fearful or anxious about someone or something

Rowl

Spikes on a spear

elucidate

lo make clear

Spurious

Illegitimate, false

Trivet

The object placed to protect the counter from the heat of the bottom of a dish.

overwrought

in a state of nervous excitement or anxiety

Writs

A court order requiring or prohibiting the performance of some specific action.

Lucre

Money regarded in a distasteful way

Pram

a four-wheeled carriage for a baby

Bonny

attractive, beautiful

castigation

The act of severely reprimanding someone

Repast

Meal

Gimlet

gin and lime cocktail

Eland

large antelope

Swale

Shallow channel with sloping sides

Indelibly

permanently; in a way that cannot be erased or removed

Spoor

the track or scent of an animal

Topping

excellent

Rot

Nonsense

Verbena

Howers

Frond

The leaf of a fern plant or palm

Bracken

Ferns

Boss

Bony base of horns in African bufflalo

Troth

faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement on undertaking.

titillate

stimulate or excite (someone), especially in a sexual way.

inextricable

impossible to disentangle or separate

Misanthrope

a person who hates or despises humankind

ermine

Slender bodies, hunt vermin, similar to meercays

Abreast

Walking alongside (chest to chest)

Didactic

intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive

platitude

overused moral expression

Inculcate

Instill

Poignant

evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret

Lolling

hanging loosely

Priggish

self-righteously moralistic and superior

Vicissitude

a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant

Eschews

Abstains from

Miser

one who saves greedily

Termangent

a harsh-tempered or overbearing woman

Boisterous

noisy and rowdy

incongruity

the state of not being in harmony with surroundings