The Blind Assassin

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Penitential

Back 1

of, pertaining to, proceeding from, or expressive of penitence or repentance.

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chignon

Back 2

a large, smooth twist, roll, or knot of hair, worn by women at the nape of the neck or the back of the head

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quail

Back 3

flinch: draw back, as with fear or pain

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subterfuge

Back 4

an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.

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sere

Back 5

dry, withered, shrivelled

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diaphanous

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very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent; delicately hazy

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Languid

Back 7

lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow

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Chintzy

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Cheap, inferior, or gaudy.

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fob

Back 9

to cheat someone by substituting something spurious or inferior; palm off

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furrow

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1.a narrow groove made in the ground, esp. by a plow.

2.a narrow groovelike or trenchlike depression in any surface: the furrows of a wrinkled face.

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plinth

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1.a slablike member beneath the base of a column or pier.

2.a square base or a lower block, as of a pedestal.

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apoplexy

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1. stroke

2. a sudden, usually marked loss of bodily function due to rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel

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tulle

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a thin, fine, machine-made net of acetate, nylon, rayon, or silk.

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Miasma

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1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere

2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.

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Jetty

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1.a pier or structure of stones, piles, or the like, projecting into the sea or other body of water to protect a harbor, deflect the current, etc.

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reconnoitres (taken from reconnoiter)

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1.to inspect, observe, or survey (the enemy, the enemy’s strength or position, a region, etc.) in order to gain information for military purposes.

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apropos

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as an adverb, it means fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely
as an adjective it means opportune, or pertinent
as an idiom, it means with reference to; in respect or regard to

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harrowing

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- agonizing, extremely painful
- causing pain or distress

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abattoirs

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a slaughterhouse.

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octogenarian

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-between 80 and 90 years old

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cerise

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moderate to deep red

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Perfunctory

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1.performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial: perfunctory courtesy.

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Perfidious

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1. Deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful

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hewn

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1.felled and roughly shaped by hewing
2.given a rough surface

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Box Social

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1. a social event, usually to raise funds, at which individually prepared and contributed box lunches or dinners are auctioned off to the participants, the highest bidder in each case often having the privilege of sharing the meal with its preparer

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dulcimer

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1. Also called hammered dulcimer, hammer dulcimer. a trapezoidal zither with metal strings that are struck with light hammers.

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adroit

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1. expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body
2. cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious

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Plutocrat
Plutocracy

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1. a member of a plutocracy
1. A government or state in which the wealthy rule.

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Thromboses

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The formation, presence, or development of a thrombus.'

(Thrombus- a fibrinous clot that forms in and obstructs a blood vessel, or that forms in one of the chambers of the heart)

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phosphorescent

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Persistent emission of light following exposure to and removal of incident radiation.

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Azure

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a light shade of blue

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Convalescing (convalesce)

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to recover health and strength after illness; make progress toward recovery of health.

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Recalcitrant

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resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory

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Festoon

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a decorative representation or adorned with fabric suspended, draped, and bound at intervals to form graceful loops or scalloped folds

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Carchineal

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A red dye prepared from the dried bodies of the females of the cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus, which lives on cactuses of Mexico, Central America, and other warm regions.

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Otiose

Back 36

being at leisure; idle; indolent. superfluous or useless

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pinko

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Disparaging. a person with left-wing, but not extreme, political opinions.

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epergne

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an ornamental piece for the center of a table, for holding fruit, flowers, etc. (noun)

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sinuous

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having many curves, bends, or turns; winding.

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rectitude

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(noun) rightness of principle or conduct; moral virtue

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baneful

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(adjective) destructive; pernicious; deadly

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Languorous

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characterized by languor; languid(lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow)

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innocuous

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1. not harmful or injurious; harmless

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Enervate/Enervating

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1 : to reduce the mental or moral vigor of
2 : to lessen the vitality or strength of

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munificent

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1.extremely liberal in giving; very generous.

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eddied

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(noun) A current, as of water or air, moving in a direction that is different from that of the main current. Eddies generally involve circular motion.

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malodorus

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(adjective) having an unpleasant or offensive odor; smelling bad

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onus

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1.a difficult or disagreeable obligation, task, burden, etc.

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bowdlerized

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(verb)- to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable

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Plaudits

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Noun- an enthusiastic expression of approval.

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Porphyry

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1.a very hard rock, anciently quarried in Egypt, having a dark, purplish-red groundmass containing small crystals of feldspar.

2.Petrology. any igneous rock containing coarse crystals, as phenocrysts, in a finer-grained groundmass.

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Epicene

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belonging to, or partaking of the characteristics of, both sexes.

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Braised

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to cook (meat, fish, or vegetables) by sautéeing in fat and then simmering slowly in very little liquid.

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pinafore

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“a child’s apron, usually large enough to cover the dress and sometimes trimmed with flounces”

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Crocus

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any of the small, bulbous plants of the genus Crocus, of the iris family, cultivated for their showy, solitary flowers, which are among the first to bloom in the spring.

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Insouciance

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-the quality of being insouciant; lack of care or concern; indifference.

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rancour

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(noun) bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice.

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Irascible

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adjective
1.easily provoked to anger; very irritable: an irascible old man.
2.characterized or produced by anger: an irascible response.

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Genial

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–adjective
1.warmly and pleasantly cheerful; cordial: a genial disposition; a genial host.
2.favorable for life, growth, or comfort; pleasantly warm; comfortably mild: the genial climate of Hawaii.
3.characterized by genius.

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Aberration

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The act of deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type

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impecunious

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having little or no money; penniless; poor.

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Lugubrious

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mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner: lugubrious songs of lost love.

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Verisimilitude

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1.the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.

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Transom

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A crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it.

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Abstemious

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1.sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.
2.characterized by abstinence: an abstemious life.
3.sparing: an abstemious diet.

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Detritus

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Rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.

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Surreptitious

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obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized

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Voracious

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(adj) exceedingly eager or avid

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Perturbed

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to disturb or disquiet greatly in mind; agitate

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Quoits

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a game in which rings of rope or flattened metal are thrown at an upright peg, the object being to encircle it or come as close to it as possible

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kowtowing

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1.to act in an obsequious manner; show servile deference.
2.to touch the forehead to the ground while kneeling, as an act of worship, reverence, apology, etc., esp. in former Chinese custom.

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lurid

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1) causing horror or revulsion
2) wan and ghastly pale in appearance

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wherewithal

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That with which to do something; means or supplies for the purpose or need, esp. money: the wherewithal to pay my rent.

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souse

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1. to plunge into water or other liquid; immerse.
2. to drench, as with water.
3.to dash or pour, as water.

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patchouli

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1.a plant, Pogostemon cablin, of tropical Asia, that yields a fragrant oil (patchouli oil) used in the manufacture of perfumes.

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opalescent

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exhibiting a play of colors like that of the opal.

having a milky iridescence.

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scurrilous

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1.grossly or obscenely abusive: a scurrilous attack on the mayor.
2.characterized by or using low buffoonery; coarsely jocular or derisive: a scurrilous jest.

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Monomaniac

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An individual affected by intent concentration on or exaggerated enthusiasm for a single subject or idea.

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chenille

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1. A soft tufted cord of silk, cotton, or worsted used in embroidery or for fringing.

2. Fabric made of this cord, commonly used for bedspreads or rugs.

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vestibule

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A small entrance hall or passage between the outer door and the interior of a house or building.

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Surliness

Back 81

churlishly rudeness, bad temper, unfriendliness or hostility, threat, darkness or dismality