1. Scrub. Use - "A sorry Scrub," said Mr. High-mind. Because a Scrub is a stunted tree, the phrase indicates that Mr. High-mind considers the subject to be an insignificant person.
2. "... that your Conversation gives this your mouth-profession the lie." The intent of this slur is that the "behavior contradicts what is said." The character Faithful also states this truth when he said: "I see that saying and doing are two things, and hereafter I shall better observed this distinction."
3. Bethought. This word is used to describe the state of the pilgrim, Christian, when he was perplexed and "...at last he bethought himself that he had slept ... ." The footnote indicates that bethought himself meant "Remembered" but suggests a differentiation between consciousness and essence or self. You might use this term when referring to yourself in the third person, for example.
4. At a Stand. This phrase is used to indicate that you are "at a loss."
5. Beshrew him for his counsel. This means to curse someone for their advice, as in, "I beshrew her for telling me to buy two tickets on the maiden voyage of the Titanic."
What makes the book so much fun to read, is the use of allegorical names. In addition to Christian and Faithful, my favorite other character (and the most convicting one) has been Talkative.
Then the ultimate - "Some said they were fools; some they were bedlams; and some they were outlandish men." Bedlams - what a terrific term for inferring someone is mad (as in insane, not as in irate). I am going to work more diligently at language.
"Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
No comments:
Post a Comment