Chekhov 5 Flashcards
mawkish
adj. effusively or insincerely emotional
“….she smiled mawkishly and shook his hands with such zeal that the bracelets jingled on her white arms. It seemed to Laptev that she smiled like that because she wanted to conceal from herself and others that she was unhappy.”
MD mock is to be insincere
awry
away from the appropriate, planned, or expected course; amiss: [ as adv. ] : many youthful romances go awry | [ as predic. adj. ] : I got the impression that something was awry.
out of the normal or correct position; askew: [ as predic. adj. ] : he was hatless, his silver hair awry.
“….the sick woman’s whole face went awry, but not a single tear came from her dry eyes.” (359)
MD our faces went awry when we saw the rye grain, having gone awry from the grass to the mill, sitting at our breakfast table eating the rye bread we had prepared the day before.
philology
noun. the study of language; especially : the study of how languages or words develop
MD phil - love and logos - word (love of words)
witticisms
noun. a clever or funny remark
“He was never especially glad or sorry, always told long and boring stories, and his witticisms provoked laughter each time only because they were not funny.” (388)
MD Stu the Mooisms - celver or funny remarks that are repeated again and again
tryst
n. a meeting by lovers at a secret time or place
MD Her ovarian cyst got in the way of the midnight tryst.
calico
noun ( pl. calicoes or calicos )
printed cotton fabric
adjective
(of an animal, typically a cat) multicolored or mottled.
MD Bujia - Cute little calico cat.
dissipation
n.
- the process of slowly disappearing or becoming less
- the act of using all or a lot of money, time, etc., in a foolish way
- behavior that shows you are interested only in pleasure, money, etc.
“…and justifying such dissipation by saying that a housepainter is among people what a jackdaw is among birds” (464)
MD - dissipation - disappear - process of disappearing or an act of disappearing all money
