a distinction drawn on the basis of contrast sculpture in contradistinction to painting Just as he liked and praised a country life in comparison with the life he did not like, so too he liked the peasantry in contradistinction to the class of men he did not like, and so too he knew the peasantry as...

[ree-kroo-des-uhns] breaking out afresh or into renewed activity; revival or reappearance in active existence. He had been to the working-class picnics too often in his earlier life not to know what they were like, and as he entered the park he experienced a recrudescence of all the old sensations. ...

1. Perilous; dangerous: "starting from scratch in parlous economic times"

2. Obsolete Dangerously cunning.

One after another; in a series.

1. The din and commotion of a great crowd.

"Better than any other he gives a picture of the "infinite struggles, clamor, railing, and tumult of party."

[dou-tee]

steadfastly courageous and resolute; valiant.

He was a doughty warrior and found a deep joy in battle.

A dog, such as a mastiff, kept chained as a watchdog or because of its ferocious aggressiveness.

1. To promote the growth of; incite. 2. to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body). Two days previously he had received news that his father, son, and sister had left for Moscow; and though there was nothing for him to do at Bald Hills, Prince Andrew with ...

providing or yielding meagerly in return for much effort; demanding or unrewarding.


the hardscrabble existence of mountainside farmers.

the sharecropper's hardscrabble life.

Its cost was to be seventy thousand dollars, which was an enormous sum in those hardscrabble days.

1. insincere talk, esp concerning religion or morals; pious platitudes

2. stock phrases that have become meaningless through repetition

3. specialized vocabulary of a particular group, such as thieves, journalists, or lawyers; jargon

4. singsong whining speech, as used by beggars

1. a secondary or less significant thing or part

2. ( plural ) accessories or equipment

Good point, Slava.

"distrait means 'absent-minded as a result of apprehension, worry, etc.' while distraught means 'agitated' and 'bewildered, distracted'"

[dih- strey ; Fr. dees- tRe ] inattentive because of distracting worries, fears, etc.; absent-minded. While she and Arthur (who had arrived before me) supplied the children with tea and cake, I tried to engage the Earl in conversation: but he was restless and distrait , and we made little progress.

1. a street in London, England: formerly inhabited by many impoverished minor writers and literary hacks; now called Milton Street.

2. petty and needy authors, or literary hacks, collectively.

without result, gain, or advantage; unavailing; useless.

of little or no use; vain; fruitless: a bootless search