The Thirty-Nine Steps (19 page)

assizes
NOUN
assizes were regular court sessions which a visiting judge was in charge of
you shall hang at the next assizes
(
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson)

attraction
NOUN
gravitation, or Newton’s theory of gravitation
he predicted the same fate to attraction
(
Gulliver’s Travels
by Jonathan Swift)

aver
VERB
to aver is to claim something strongly
for Jem Rodney, the mole catcher, averred that one evening as he was returning homeward
(
Silas Marner
by George Eliot)

baby
NOUN
here baby means doll, which is a child’s toy that looks like a small person
and skilful dressing her baby
(
Gulliver’s Travels
by Jonathan Swift)

bagatelle
NOUN
bagatelle is a game rather like billiards and pool
Breakfast had been ordered at a pleasant little tavern, a mile or so away upon the
rising ground beyond the green; and there was a bagatelle board in the room, in case
we should desire to unbend our minds after the solemnity
. (
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens)

bah
EXCLAM
Bah is an exclamation of frustration or anger
“Bah,” said Scrooge
. (
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens)

bairn
NOUN
a northern word for child
Who has taught you those fine words, my bairn?
(
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë)

bait
VERB
to bait means to stop on a journey to take refreshment
So, when they stopped to bait the horse, and ate and drank and enjoyed themselves,
I could touch nothing that they touched, but kept my fast unbroken
. (
David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens)

balustrade
NOUN
a balustrade is a row of vertical columns that form railings
but I mean to say you might have got a hearse up that staircase, and taken it broadwise,
with the splinter-bar towards the wall, and the door towards the balustrades: and
done it easy
(
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens)

bandbox
NOUN
a large lightweight box for carrying bonnets or hats
I am glad I bought my bonnet, if it is only for the fun of having another bandbox
(
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen)

barren
NOUN
a barren here is a stretch or expanse of barren land
a line of upright stones, continued the
length of the barren
(
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë)

basin
NOUN
a basin was a cup without a handle
who is drinking his tea out of a basin
(
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë)