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This is a word I think I have heard before, but I wasn’t sure about the meaning based on the context in “The Norwood Builder”, The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Paroxysm – a sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity
Usage: “He clenched his hands in a paroxysm of conviction.”
I don’t know why I’ve always enjoyed saying this word. I think it just rolls off the tongue in a satisfactory way. I came across the word again the other day in “The Norwood Builder” in The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Blackguard – one who behaves in a dishonorable or contemptible way
Usage: “Yes, Watson, I went there, and I found very quickly that the late lamented Oldacre was a pretty considerable blackguard.”
I have heard this word before, and I find it fun to say. What a surprise to come across it in “The Lottery Ticket” in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes.
Perspicacity – the quality of having a ready insight to things, shrewdness
Usage: “After that amazing example of my friend’s perspicacity, nothing could shake my faith in him.”
Perhaps it is no big surprise after all that Jotson uses perspicacity to describe Sholmes. Maybe I should be more surprised that he didn’t use it ’til the last case in 1917.
Here is a new word from The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I found it in “The Norwood Builder”.
Conflagration – an extensive fire which destroys a great deal of land or property (Such a big word for fire, in my opinion.)
Usage: “It was impossible to arrest the conflagration until the stack had been entirely consumed.”
I learned this obscure word this week when I was reading “The Lottery Ticket”, in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes.
Augured – to foretell, especially from omens
Usage: “I augured success from the playful manner in which he hooked his umbrella upon my left ear.”
FYI From Merriam-Webster dictionary: “Did you know? Auguring is what augurs did in ancient Rome. Augurs were official diviners whose function it was not to foretell the future, but to divine whether the gods approved of a proposed undertaking, such as a military move. They did so by various means, among them observing the behavior of birds and examining the entrails of sacrificed animals. Nowadays, the foretell sense of the verb is often used with an adverb, such as well. Augur comes from Latin and is related to the Latin verb augēre, meaning “to increase.”
This is one of my favorite words. I actually learned it from the Sherlock Holmes radio show before I read it in the story of “The Empty House”.
Bibliophile – one who collects or has great love for books
Usage: “It struck me that the fellow must be some poor bibliophile who, either as a trade or as a hobby, was a collector of obscure volumes.”
Another new word from “The Naval Treaty” in The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It’s amazing what new words you will find when you are looking for them. I knew a man once who kept a little notebook of new words. When he read or heard a word he didn’t know, he would write it down and look it up later. Perhaps this blog is my little notebook of new words.
Asperity – harshness of tone or manner
Usage: “Do you see any prospect of solving this mystery, Mr Holmes?” she asked with a touch of asperity in her voice.
The funny thing is, the word appears again a few paragraphs later. Maybe Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was trying out a new word too.
“Oh, if you find your own cases more interesting than mine – ” said Holmes, with some asperity.
I was reading The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes today when I came across this phrase. I don’t think I’d ever heard it before, yet Holmes used it to describe Dr Watson in “The Naval Treaty.”
Stormy Petrel – one fond of strife, a harbinger of trouble
Usage: “You are the stormy petrel of crime, Watson. What is it?”
I found this word in “The Greek Interpreter”, one of The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Misanthropy – a dislike of humankind
Usage: “There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows.”
This word comes up frequently in the wartime tales of Herlock Sholmes. The Red Tape Department is part of the Circumlocution Office in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes.
Circumlocution – the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in an attempt to be vague or evasive
Usage: The dictionary’s sample sentence is, “His admission came after years of circumlocution.”
Hi! I'm Cadie. Welcome to my Collection of Bookish Thoughts where I will share with you everything I love about books.
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