Today we share with you the vocabulary we discussed in the episode devoted to chapters 34-47 of "Pride and Prejudice"
Lisa's vocabulary:
rally (one's) spirits
- cheer up
They were excessively sorry to go! But so they always are. The dear Colonel rallied his spirits tolerably till just at last; but Darcy seemed to feel it most acutely, more, I think, than last year.
to travel post
- Traveling by post meant private traveling in a coach by yourself (or with your own party). you would go along a known road where there were "post stations" in the towns along the road. The road was known as the "post road"
Mrs. Collins, you must send a servant with them. You know I always speak my mind, and I cannot bear the idea of two young women travelling post by themselves. It is highly improper.
in token of
- as a sign of; in evidence of
It was the second week in May, in which the three young ladies set out together from Gracechurch Street for the town of — , in Hertfordshire; and, as they drew near the appointed inn where Mr. Bennet’s carriage was to meet them, they quickly perceived, in token of the coach-man’s punctuality, both Kitty and Lydia looking out of a dining-room upstairs.
to be cast down
- to be sad or unhappy about something
to keep aloof
- to not become involved in something; to show no interest in people
“Already arisen?” repeated Mr. Bennet. “What, has she frightened away some of your lovers? Poor little Lizzy! But do not be cast down. Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret. Come, let me see the list of pitiful fellows who have been kept aloof by Lydia’s folly.”
to speak plainly
- to say clearly and honestly what you think without trying to be polite
to ward off
- prevent someone or something from harming or affecting one
Excuse me, for I must speak plainly. If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble of checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her present pursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will soon be beyond the reach of amendment. Her character will be fixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous; a flirt, too, in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation; without any attraction beyond youth and a tolerable person; and, from the ignorance and emptiness of her mind, wholly unable to ward off any portion of that universal contempt which her rage for admiration will excite.
in vindication of
- justification against denial or censure
Elizabeth here felt herself called on to say something in vindication of his behaviour to Wickham; and therefore gave them to understand, in as guarded a manner as she could, that by what she had heard from his relations in Kent, his actions were capable of a very different construction; and that his character was by no means so faulty, nor Wickham’s so amiable, as they had been considered in Hertfordshire.
Olga's vocabulary:
elope /ɪˈləʊp/
- to leave home secretly with someone in order to get married
My younger sister has left all her friends — has eloped; has thrown herself into the power
of — of Mr. Wickham. They are gone off together from Brighton.
elopement /iˈləʊp.mənt/
- the act of leaving home secretly in order to get married
connivance /kəˈnaɪ.vəns/
- willingness to allow or secretly be involved in something bad or illegal
About a year ago, she was taken from school, and an establishment formed for her in London; and last summer she went with the lady who presided over it, to Ramsgate; and thither also went Mr. Wickham, undoubtedly by design; for there proved to have been a prior acquaintance between him and Mrs. Younge, in whose character we were most unhappily deceived; and by her connivance and aid, he so far recommended himself to Georgiana, whose affectionate heart retained a strong impression of his kindness to her as a child, that she was persuaded to believe herself in love, and to consent to an elopement.
in lieu of /ljuː/
- in place of; instead of
