GLOSSARY
CHAPTER 1
Jumble sale: a sale of miscellaneous second-hand
articles, typically held in order to raise money for a charity or a special
event.
Font: a
receptacle in a church for the water used in baptism, typically a free-standing
stone structure.
Ransack: go through (a place) stealing things
and causing damage.
Thrust: push suddenly or violently in a
specified direction.
Pillage: verb rob a (place) using
violence, especially in wartimethe abbey was plundered and pillaged.
CHAPTER 2
Domesday book: is the record of the great survey
of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086. The survey was
executed for William I of England (William the Conqueror.
John Grisham: is an American lawyer, politician, and author, best known for his popular legal
thrillers.
ad nauseam: is a Latin term for something unpleasurable
that has continued "to [the point of] nausea".For example, the sentence, "This topic has
been discussed ad nauseam", signifies
that the topic in question has been discussed extensively, and that those
involved in the discussion have grown tired of it.
Swine: pig.
Mutton: the flesh of
fully grown sheep used as food.
CHAPTER 3
Plaque: an ornamental
tablet, typically of metal, porcelain, or wood, that is fixed to a wall or
other surface in commemoration of a person or event.
Dauntless: showing
fearlessness and determination.
Besmirch: make (something) dirty or discoloured.
Lacklustre: lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired or
uninspiring.
Hobnob: mix socially, especially with
those of perceived higher social status.
Good riddance: to be happy when someone o something is gone.
The greeneyed monster: jelousy.
Break the ice: to relax a tense or formal
atmosphere or social situation
as dead as a doornail: Dead,
devoid of life (when applied to people, plants or animals). Finished with,
unusable (when applied to inanimate objects).
to be given a short shrift: To
make short work of - to give little consideration to.
to be hoist with one's own petard: Injured by the device that you intended to use to
injure others.
Crossdressing: wear clothing typical of the opposite sex.
CHAPTER 4
labour of love: Work
undertaken for the pleasure of it or for the benefit of a loved one.
Scribes: a person who copies out documents, especially one employed to
do this before printing was invented.
To go the extra mile: to try harder to please someone or
to get the task done correctly; to do more than one is required to do to reach
a goal.
all things to all men : to
satisfy everyone's needs.
fight the good fight: An evangelical call to believe in and spread the
Christian faith.
filthy lucre: shameful profit.
go from strength to strength: Progress
from one success to another higher level of success.
the root of the matter: The essential
part or cause of something
the salt of the earth: Those
of great worth and reliability.
fire and brimstone: The punishment of hell.
a leopard can't change its spots: The
notion that things cannot change their innate nature.
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: It's
better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater
one that may come to nothing.
a fly in your oinment: A
small but irritating flaw that spoils the whole.
CHAPTER 5
Umplteenth: indefinitely
many; a lot of.
Charades: a game in which players guess a
word or phrase from a written or acted clue given for each syllable and for the
whole item.
Tonsil: either of two small masses of lymphoid tissue in the throat,
one on each side of the root of the tongue.
CHAPTER 6
Cummerbund: a sash worn around the waist, especially as part of a man’s
formal evening suit.
Paunch: a large belly.
Crimson: a rich deep red colour inclining to purple.
Walkabout: a journey (originally on foot) undertaken by an Australian
Aboriginal in order to live in the traditional manner.
Topple: remove (a
government or person in authority) from power.
Gobbed: incorporate or take over.
CHAPTER 7
TB: tuberculosis.
CHAPTER 8
Ballpark: an area or range within which an amount or estimate is likely
to be correct
Coleslaw: a salad dish of shredded raw cabbage, carrots, and other
vegetables mixed with mayonnaise.
Breakeven: the point or state at which a person or company breaks even.
Bottom line: the final total of an account or balance sheet.
Blue chip: denoting companies or their shares considered to be a
reliable investment, though less secure than gilt-edged stock.
(Gilt-edged stocks: stocks that
are regarded as extremely reliable investments.)
White collar: relating to the work done or the people who work in an
office or other professional environment. Also. denoting non-violent
crime committed by white-collar workers, especially fraud.
Commuter: a person who travels some distance to work on a regular basis
Merger: a combination of two things, especially companies, into one
NHS: National Health Servise
CHAPTER 9
Char: partially burn so as to blacken the surface.
Poke: (on the social networking site
Facebook) attract the attention of (another member of the site) by using the
‘poke’ facility.
Reboot: restart or revive.
CHAPTER 10
Fledged: completely developed or established; of full status.
Pilfering: steal.
Dan Brown: author of the novel, The Da Vinci
Code.
