The Bell Jar Flashcards
pasty
/ˈpeɪsti/
// A girl with the round pasty face and short black hair was sitting in an armchair, reading a magazine.
: (of a person’s face) unhealthily pale
homely
/ˈhəʊmli/
// And as she stretched out on my bed with a silly smile, I remembered a minor scandal at our college dormitory when a fat, matronly-breasted senior, homely as a grandmother and a pious Religion major…
: [British] (of a place or surroundings) simple but cosy and comfortable, as in one’s own home.
: [British] simple and unpretentious.
: [North American] (of a person) unattractive in appearance.
inflate
// I felt my lungs inflate with the inrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people.
: fill (a balloon, tyre, or other expandable structure) with air or gas
: increase (something) by a large or excessive amount
: bring about inflation of (a currency) or in (an economy)
inrush
// I felt my lungs inflate with the inrush of scenery – air. mountains, trees, people.
// a great inrush of water occurred
: the sudden arrival or entry of something
gloom
// It was only as the two of us waited for the others in the tomb-like morning gloom of the conference room that Hilda amplified that Yes of hers.
: partial or total darkness
: a state of depression
: have a dark or sombre appearance
: be or look depressed or despondent
amplify
// It was only as the two of us waited for the others in the tomb-like morning gloom of the conference room that Hilda amplified that Yes of hers.
// the notes amplify information contained in the statement
: increase the volume of (sound)
: make (something) more marked or intense
: enlarge upon or add detail to (a story or statement)
: [genetics] make multiple copies of (a gene or DNA sequence)
titbits
// He loved introducing me to special titbits, and by the age of nine I’ve developed a passionate taste for cold vichyssoise and caviar and anchovy paste.
// when you are out with your puppy always have a titbit in your pocket // they were hoping for titbits about the family
: a small piece of tasty food
: a small and particularly interesting item of gossip or information
vichyssoise
/ˌviːʃiːˈswɑːz/
// He loved introducing me to special titbits, and by the age of nine I’ve developed a passionate taste for cold vichyssoise and caviar and anchovy paste.
: a soup made with potatoes, leeks, and cream and typically served chilled
anchovy
/ˈantʃəvi,anˈtʃəʊvi/
// He loved introducing me to special titbits, and by the age of nine I’ve developed a passionate taste for cold vichyssoise and caviar and anchovy paste.
: a small shoaling fish of commercial importance. It is strongly flavoured and is usually preserved in salt and oil
surmounted
// One of the view relics of my father’s study, it was surmounted by a copper bell which held a light bulb…
// all manner of cultural differences were surmounted // the tomb was surmounted by a sculptured angel
: overcome (a difficulty or obstacle)
: stand or be placed on top of
copper
/ˈkɒpə/
// One of the view relics of my father’s study, it was surmounted by a copper bell which held a light bulb…
: a red-brown metal
: [British] brown coins of low value made of copper or bronze
: a reddish-brown colour like that of copper
: мідь
jitterbug
// He held out a hand to Doreen, and without a word they both started to jitterbug, still hanging on to their glasses.
: a fast dance popular in the 1940s, performed chiefly to swing music
: [dated] a person fond of dancing the jitterbug
: [dated, informal] a nervous person
: dance the jitterbug
snug
// She was wearing a strapless white lace dress zipped up over a snug corset affair that curved her in at the middle and bulged her out again spectacularly above and below…
// she was safe and snug in Ruth's arms // a well-shaped hood for a snug fit // she tucks him in, snugging the blanket up to his chin
: comfortable, warm, and cosy; well protected from the weather or cold
: very tight or close-fitting
: a small, comfortable public room in a pub
: place (something) safely or cosily
• as snug as a bug in a rug
renounce
// But then it seemed to me it would be a step, placing him, renouncing him, in spite of the fact that I had nobody – telling him there was no simultaneous interpreter, nobody, but that he was the wrong one…
// these agreements were renounced after the fall of the Tsarist regime
: formally declare one’s abandonment of (a claim, right, or possession).
: refuse to continue to recognize or abide by
rocking
// We sat side by side in two wicker rocking-chairs.
: the action of moving or being moved gently to and fro
: moving gently to and fro
: (of a place) full of excitement or social activity
stilts
// The gulls on their wooden stilts at the tips of the bar miaowed like cats.
: either of a pair of upright poles with supports for the feet enabling the user to walk at a distance above the ground
meow/ miaow
// The gulls on their wooden stilts at the tips of the bar miaowed like cats.
: the characteristic crying sound of a cat.
wan
/wɒn/
// When I made my wan entrance into the office at about ten o’clock, Jay Cee stood up and came round her desk to shut the door…
// she was looking wan and bleary-eyed // the wan dawn light // he gave a wan smile
: (of a person’s complexion or appearance) pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion
: (of light) pale; weak
: (of a smile) lacking enthusiasm or energy.
pads
// Christmas sprinkle, but a man-high January deluge, the sort that snuffs out schools and offices and churches, and leaves, for a day or more, a pure, blank sheet in place of memo pads, date books and calendars.
// a pad of cotton wool // a dog's pads will bleed profusely if cut // she sketched something on a big white pad
// a thick piece of soft material, typically used to protect or shape something, or to absorb liquid
// the fleshy underpart of an animal’s foot or of a human finger
// a number of sheets of blank paper fastened together at one edge, used for writing or drawing
• memo pads
: a bloc with tear-off pages for writing notes on
sprinkle
// Christmas sprinkle, but a man-high January deluge, the sort that snuffs out schools and offices and churches, and leaves, for a day or more, a pure, blank sheet in place of memo pads, date books and calendars.
// I sprinkled the floor with water // sprinkle sesame seeds over the top // he sprinkled his conversation with quotations // a dress with little daisies sprinkled all over it // the rain grew from a mere sprinkle to a respectable drizzle
: cover (an object or surface) with small drops or particles of a substance
: [North American] rain very lightly
: a small quantity or amount of something scattered over an object or surface
: [North American] a light rain
: [North American] tiny sugar strands and balls used for decorating cakes and desserts
deluge
/ˈdɛljuːdʒ/
// Christmas sprinkle, but a man-high January deluge, the sort that snuffs out schools and offices and churches, and leaves, for a day or more, a pure, blank sheet in place of memo pads, date books and calendars.
// a deluge of rain hit the plains // a deluge of complaints // caravans were deluged by the heavy rains // he has been deluged with offers of work
/ˈdɛljuːdʒ/
: a severe flood
: a heavy fall of rain
: a great quantity of something arriving at the same time
: overwhelm with a flood
: inundate with a great quantity of something
snuff out
// Christmas sprinkle, but a man-high January deluge, the sort that snuffs out schools and offices and churches, and leaves, for a day or more, a pure, blank sheet in place of memo pads, date books and calendars.
// a breeze snuffed out the candle // his life was snuffed out by a sniper's bullet
: extinguish (a candle or flame)
: [informal] kill or put an end to in an abrupt or sudden manner
: the charred part of a candle wick
pry
/prʌɪ/
// I focused more closely, trying to pry some clue from their stiff postures.
// sorry, I didn’t mean to pry
: inquire too closely into a person’s private affairs
: use force in order to move, move apart, or open (something)
tot
// … how stupid I’ve been to buy all those uncomfortable, expensive clothes, hanging limp as fish in my closet, and how all the little successes I’d totted up so happily at college.
// she totted up some figures // he has already totted up 89 victories
: add up numbers or amounts
: accumulate something over a period of time
ravel
/ˈrav(ə)l/
// My mother turned from a foggy log into a slumbering, middle-aged woman, her mouth slightly open and a snore ravelling from her throat.
// Davy had finished ravelling out his herring net // a shirt with a ravelled collar
: untangle
: confuse or complicate (a question or situation)
: a tangle, cluster, or knot
slumber
// My mother turned from a foggy log into a slumbering, middle-aged woman, her mouth slightly open and a snore ravelling from her throat.
// Sleeping Beauty slumbered in her forest castle
: sleep, a sleep
log
// My mother turned from a foggy log into a slumbering, middle-aged woman, her mouth slightly open and a snore ravelling from her throat.
// she tripped over a fallen log
: a part of the trunk or a large branch of a tree that has fallen or been cut off
shed
// I felt limb and betrayed, like the skin shed by a terrible animal.
// both varieties shed leaves in winter // we shed our jackets // many firms use relocation as an opportunity to shed jobs // the full moon shed a watery light on the scene
: (of a tree or other plant) allow (leaves or fruit) to fall to the ground
: (of a reptile, insect, etc.) allow (its skin or shell) to come off, to be replaced by another one that has grown underneath
: (of a mammal) lose (hair) as a result of moulting, disease, or age
: take off (clothes)
: discard (something undesirable, superfluous, or outdated)
: cast or give off (light)
: [British] accidentally allow (something) to fall off or spill
: a simple roofed structure used for garden storage, to shelter animals, or as a workshop
: park (a vehicle) in a depot
buck
// … having some senior introducing me to her aunt’s best friend’s son and finding some pale, mushroomy fellow with protruding ears or buck teeth or a bad leg.
: the male of some horned animals, especially the fallow deer
: a vertical jump performed by a horse
sham
// … and introduces himself as your real father and looks exactly like you, so you know he really is your father, and the person you thought all your life was father is a sham.
// our current free health service is a sham // he was a sham, totally unqualified for his job as a senior doctor
: a thing that is not what it is purported to be
: pretence
: a person who pretends to be someone or something they are not
: falsely present something as the truth
molasses
/məˈlasɪz/
// Inertia oozes like molasses through Elaine’s limbs.
: thick, dark brown juice obtained from raw sugar during the refining process
ooze
/uːz/
// Inertia oozes like molasses through Elaine’s limbs.
// blood was oozing from a wound in his scalp // her mosquito bites were oozing and itching like mad // she oozes a raunchy sex appeal
: (of a fluid) slowly trickle or seep out of something
: slowly exude or discharge a viscous fluid
: give a powerful impression of (a quality)
: the sluggish flow of a fluid
inertia
/ɪˈnəːʃə/
// Inertia oozes like molasses through Elaine’s limbs.
ravenously
// It occurred to me I’d been eating ravenously ever since I came to.
: ravenous – extremely hungry
: (of hunger or need) very great; voracious
brood
// … refusing the diversion of OT and walks and badminton matches and even the weekly movies, which I enjoyed, and which Miss Norris never went to, simply to brood over…
// she had brooded over the subject a thousand times // she was brought up as part of a brood of eight
: a family of birds or other young animals produced at one hatching or birth
: [informal] a large family of children
: think deeply about something that makes one unhappy, angry, or worried
: (of a bird) sit on (eggs) to hatch them
: (of a fish, frog, or invertebrate) hold (developing eggs) within the body
: (of an animal) kept to be used for breeding
accord
/əˈkɔːd/
// They seemed touching, and rather spectacular, and I thought I would carry them around with me, like the relic of a dead lover, till they wore off of their own accord. // When Doreen woke up she wouldn't remember what had happened and would think she must have passed out in front of my door while I slept, and she would get up of her own accord.
// the powers accorded to the head of state // his views accorded well with those of Merivale
: give or grant someone (power, status, or recognition)
: (of a concept or fact) be harmonious or consistent with
• of one’s own accord – voluntarily or without outside intervention
ready
// I readied myself, but immediately my mother and my brother each laid one hand on a door handle.
// the spare transformer was readied for shipment \: prepare (someone or something) for an activity or purpose; prepare; make ready; equip; put together
cannon
// The pears were unripe, so they would keep well, and whenever I lifted my suitcase up or down simply carried it along, they cannoned from one end to the other with a special little thunder of their own.
: a large, heavy piece of artillery, typically mounted on wheels
: collide with something forcefully or at an angle
leaf
// Leafing blindly through a tatty National Geographic in the asylum library, I waited my turn…
: (of a plant, especially a deciduous one in spring) put out new leaves
: turn over (the pages of a book or the papers in a pile), reading them quickly or casually
muzzle
// Lenny jutted a thumb at the meek little grey muzzle and stiff jackrabbit ears.
: the projecting part of the face, including the nose and mouth, of an animal such as a dog or horse
: a guard, typically made of straps or wire, fitted over an animal’s muzzle to stop it biting or feeding
: [informal] the part of a person’s face including the nose, mouth, and chin
: put a muzzle on (an animal)
: prevent (a person or group) from expressing their opinions freely
jut
// Lenny jutted a thumb at the meek little grey muzzle and stiff jackrabbit ears.
// a rock jutted out from the side of the bank
: cause (something) to protrude
: a point that sticks out
: extend out, over, or beyond the main body or line of something
