The Prisoner of Zenda (60 page)

sylvan
ADJ
sylvan means belonging to the woods
Sylvan historian
(
Ode on a Grecian Urn
by John Keats)

taction
NOUN
taction means touch. This means that the people had
to be touched on the mouth or the ears to get their attention
without being roused by some external taction upon the organs
of speech and hearing
(
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift)

Tag and Rag and Bobtail
PHRASE
the riff-raff, or lower classes. Used in an insulting way
“No,” said he; “not till it got about that there was no protection on the premises, and it come to be considered dangerous, with convicts and Tag and Rag and Bobtail going up and down.”
(
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens)

tallow
NOUN
tallow is hard animal fat that is used to make candles and soap
and a lot of tallow candles
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)

tan
VERB
to tan means to beat or whip
and if I catch you about that school I'll tan you good
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)

tanyard
NOUN
the tanyard is part of a tannery, which is a place where leather is made from animal skins
hid in the old tanyard
(
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain)

tarry
ADJ
tarry means the colour of tar or black
his tarry pig-tail
(
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson)

thereof
PHRASE
from there
By all desires which thereof did ensue
(
On His Mistress
by John Donne)

thick with, be
PHRASE
if you are ‘thick with someone' you are very close, sharing secrets–it is often used to describe people who are planning something secret
Hasn't he been thick with Mr Heathcliff lately?
(
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë)

thimble
NOUN
a thimble is a small cover used to protect the finger while sewing
The paper had been sealed in several places by a thimble
(
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson)

thirtover
ADJ
thirtover is an old word which means obstinate or that someone is very determined to do want they want and can not be persuaded to do something in another way
I have been living on in a thirtover, lackadaisical way
(
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy)

timbrel
NOUN
timbrel is a tambourine
What pipes and timbrels?
(
Ode on a Grecian Urn
by John Keats)