The Thirty-Nine Steps (47 page)

punctual
ADJ
kept in one place
was not a punctual presence, but a spirit
(
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth)

quadrille
NOUN
a quadrille is a dance invented in France which is usually performed by four couples
However, Mr Swiveller had Miss Sophy’s hand for the first quadrille
(
country-dances being low, were utterly proscribed)
(
The Old Curiosity Shop
by Charles Dickens)
NOUN
quadrille was a card game for four people
to make up her pool of quadrille in the evening
(
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen)

quality
NOUN
gentry or upper-class people
if you are with the quality
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)

quick parts
PHRASE
quick-witted
Mr Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts
(
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen)

quid
NOUN
a quid is something chewed or kept in the mouth, like a piece of tobacco
rolling his quid
(
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson)

quit
VERB
quit means to avenge or to make even
But Faustus’s death shall quit my infamy
(
Doctor Faustus 4.3
by Christopher Marlowe)

rags
NOUN
divisions
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time
(
The Sun Rising
by John Donne)

raiment
NOUN
raiment means clothing
the mountain shook off turf and flower, had only heath for raiment and crag for gem
(
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë)

rain cats and dogs
PHRASE
an expression meaning rain heavily. The origin of the expression is unclear
But it’ll perhaps rain cats and dogs to-morrow
(
Silas Marner
by George Eliot)

raised Cain
PHRASE
raised Cain means caused a lot of trouble. Cain is a character in the Bible who killed
his brother Abel
and every time he got drunk he raised Cain around town
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)