20 лучших повестей на английском / 20 Best Short Novels

Cotton Mather (1663–1728) – an American religious leader and author; he believed in the existence of witchcraft, studied the subject and wrote about it.

335

Saardam  – a town in Holland

336

Kentucky  – a state in the south of the USA (102 624 square km) on the border with Virginia; in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state.

337

Tennessee  – a state to the south of Kentucky (107 040 square km); the first European explorers came to the land in 1540.

338

piazza  – Am. veranda (from Italian )

339

Herculean  – very strong and powerful

340

Mercury  – in Roman religion, the god of trade and merchants

341

Colt  – a type of a revolver invented and manufactured by Samuel Colt (1814–1868), an American arms manufacturer

342

Mynheer  – a form of polite address to a man of Dutch origin (Mister, Sir) ( Dutch )

343

koek  – a kind of pastry

344

cruller  – Am. fried pastry

345

St. Vitus  – a saint whom people in the late Middle Ages asked for cure from a neurological disease, characterized by involuntary spasmodic movements of muscles (the so called St. Vitus dance)

346

frigate  – a fast sailing warship

347

heretical  – contrary to generally accepted opinion or belief

348

goblin  – in English and Scottish folklore, a small malicious fairy which inhabits houses, frightens people, makes noise, spoils things, etc.

349

pillions  – seats for the second rider behind the rider of the horse

350

tête-à-tête  – private talk between two persons

351

psalm  – a religious hymn

352

corduroy  – a thick, coarse cotton cloth

353

orthodox = generally accepted

354

gala night  – a festive occasion (at the theatre, etc.)

355

fête  – festival or holiday

356

the Conqueror  – William the Conqueror or William I (1028–1087), the duke of Normandy, and after 1066 (the Norman Conquest of England) king of England

357

All-Hallows Eve  – Halloween, October 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day, a religious holiday for some Christians and a secular celebration for the majority

358

Midsummer  – Midsummer’s Eve, June 21, a holiday celebrating the longest day of the year

359

farcical  – adj from farce  – a play with ridiculous situations that make people laugh

360

days of yore  – long ago

361

Freemasons  – a secret order, the largest secret society in the world; its teachings include esoteric wisdom, mysticism and some religious beliefs of the past.

362

curate  – a clergyman who helps a parish priest

363

MS = manuscript

364

lessee  – a person who uses land, a house, etc. on a lease

365

Surrey  – a historic county west of London on the River Thames

366

penny  – a British bronze coin (until 1971), 1/12 of a shilling

367

quart  – 1.14 litre

368

tarpaulin  – waterproof canvas

369

Edward IV (1442–1483) – king of England, one of the main participants in the Wars of the Roses

370

abbot  – the head of an abbey (monastery)

371

Waterloo  – the Waterloo Battle (1815), the final defeat of Napoleon in the battle with the combined European forces

372

Lord Napier  – Sir Charles Napier (1786–1860), a British admiral and commander of the Baltic Fleet

373

cornet  – a small brass musical instrument, like a trumpet

374

ha’penny = halfpenny

375

dyspeptic  – adj from dispepsia  – indigestion

376

air  – melody, tune (old use)

377

egotistical  – adj from egotist  – a selfish, conceited person

378

perquisite  – smth. looked upon as one’s right

379

cavendish  – brick tobacco

380

paraphernalia  – accessories, personal possessions, articles

381

constables  – police officers

382

soprano  – the highest voice register in music

383

Adam and Eve  – here: an opera or some musical piece

384

Robert Browning (1812–1889) – a well-known English poet of the Victorian period

385

inch = 2.54 cm

386

guttapercha  – material derived from the latex of certain trees in South Pacific and South America

387

minstrels  – professional entertainers and singers of ballads in Medieval Europe

388

mimicry  – here: change; in biology, change to get superficial resemblance with a different organism

389

Dublin  – the capital of Ireland, located in the Dublin Bay of the Irish Sea, a major cultural, financial and commercial centre, and a chief port

390

tenor  – a highest male vocal range

391

Romeo and Juliet  – a play by Shakespeare and an overture by Tchaikovsky

392

Balbrigan  – a town on the Irish Sea coast in the northern part of the county of Fingal in eastern Ireland

393

Monkstown  – a village in County Cork in Ireland; the name derives from a monastic site

394

The Daily Express  – a British morning newspaper published in London, founded in 1900

395

Briton  – one of the Brittons, a people of Celtic origin, inhabiting the British Isles before the Anglo-Saxon invasion

396