The Thirty-Nine Steps (48 page)

rambling
ADJ
rambling means confused and not very clear
my
head began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts
(
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe)

raree-show
NOUN
a raree-show is an old term for a peep-show or a fairground entertainment
A raree-show is here, with children gathered round
(
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth)

recusants
NOUN
people who resisted authority
hardy recusants
(
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth)

redounding
VERB
eddying. An eddy is a movement in water or air which goes round and round instead
of flowing in one direction
mists and steam-like fogs redounding everywhere
(
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth)

redundant
ADJ
here redundant means overflowing but Wordsworth also uses it to mean excessively
large or too big
A tempest, a redundant energy
(
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth)

reflex
NOUN
reflex is a shortened version of reflexion, which is an alternative spelling of reflection
To cut across the reflex of a star
(
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth)

Reformatory
NOUN
a prison for young offenders/criminals
Even when I was taken to have a new suit of clothes, the tailor had orders to make
them like a kind of Reformatory, and on no account to let me have the free use of
my limbs
. (
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens)

remorse
NOUN
pity or compassion
by that remorse
(
On His Mistress
by John Donne)

render
VERB
in this context render means give.
and Sarah could render no reason that would be sanctioned by the feeling of the community
. (
Silas Marner
by George Eliot)

repeater
NOUN
a repeater was a watch that chimed the last hour when a button was pressed – as a
result it was useful in the dark
And his watch is a gold repeater, and worth a hundred pound if it’s worth a penny
. (
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens)

repugnance
NOUN
repugnance means a strong dislike of something or someone
overcoming a strong repugnance
(
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson)

reverence
NOUN
reverence means bow. When you bow to someone, you briefly bend your body towards
them as a formal way of showing them respect
made my reverence
(
Gulliver’s Travels
by Jonathan Swift)