The Magician's Nephew: Chapters 1–3

by C.S. Lewis
In this prequel set before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer are forced by a magician to be his test subjects for rings created to travel between worlds.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–15

To explore more of our lists on The Chronicles of Narnia, click here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. in vain
    without a successful result or effect
    But meals were nicer; and as for sweets, I won’t tell you how cheap and good they were, because it would only make your mouth water in vain.
  2. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    The face of the strange boy was very grubby. It could hardly have been grubbier if he had first rubbed his hands in the earth, and then had a good cry, and then dried his face with his hands.
  3. indignantly
    in a manner showing anger at something unjust or wrong
    “London isn’t a Hole,” said Polly indignantly.
  4. humble
    marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    “I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” said Polly humbly.
  5. cistern
    an artificial reservoir for storing liquids
    Polly had discovered long ago that if you opened a certain little door in the box-room attic of her house you would find the cistern and a dark place behind it which you could get into by a little careful climbing.
  6. slate
    thin layers of rock used for roofing
    In the roof there were little chunks of light between the slates.
  7. rafter
    one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
    There was no floor in this tunnel: you had to step from rafter to rafter, and between them there was only plaster. If you stepped on this you would find yourself falling through the ceiling of the room below.
  8. feeble
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    And both felt that once the thing had been suggested, it would be feeble not to do it.
  9. drafty
    not airtight; exposed to currents of air
    It was very dark and dusty and drafty and they stepped from rafter to rafter without a word except when they whispered to one another, "We’re opposite your attic now” or “this must be halfway through our house.”
  10. furnish
    provide with objects or articles that make a room usable
    It was shaped, of course, like an attic, but furnished as a sitting-room. Every bit of the walls was lined with shelves and every bit of the shelves was full of books.
  11. grate
    a frame of iron bars to hold a fire
    A fire was burning in the grate (you remember that it was a very cold wet summer that year) and in front of the fireplace with its back toward them was a high-backed armchair.
  12. pantomime
    a performance using gestures and movements without words
    The high-backed chair in front of the fire moved suddenly and there rose up out of it—like a pantomime demon coming up out of a trapdoor—the alarming form of Uncle Andrew.
  13. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    He had a long clean-shaven face with a sharply-pointed nose and extremely bright eyes and a great tousled mop of gray hair.
  14. alarming
    frightening because of an awareness of danger
    Digory was quite speechless, for Uncle Andrew looked a thousand times more alarming than he had ever looked before. Polly was not so frightened yet; but she soon was.
  15. cunning
    marked by skill in deception
    “Ah, but how do I know that you would?” said Uncle Andrew with a cunning smile.
  16. dingy
    gloomy or depressing
    It’s not every day that I see a little girl in my dingy old study; especially, if I may say so, such a very attractive young lady as yourself.
  17. fancy
    a false idea or illusion that is the product of imagination
    “That humming noise gets louder here. It’s almost as if the rings were making it.”
    "What a funny fancy, my dear,” said Uncle Andrew with a laugh.
  18. asylum
    a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced people
    “In an asylum, do you mean?”
    “Oh no, no, no,’’ said Uncle Andrew in a shocked voice. “Nothing of that sort. Only in prison.’’
  19. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    She had got to dislike ordinary, ignorant people, you understand.
  20. bureau
    furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
    It was only a few days before her death that she told me to go to an old bureau in her house and open a secret drawer and bring her a little box that I would find there.
  21. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    But of course you must understand that rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys—and servants—and women—and even people in general, can’t possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sages.
  22. sage
    a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics
    But of course you must understand that rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys—and servants—and women—and even people in general, can’t possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sages.
  23. destiny
    the circumstances or condition to which someone is fated
    Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny.
  24. grave
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    As he said this he sighed and looked so grave and noble and mysterious that for a second Digory really thought he was saying something rather fine.
  25. remarkable
    unusual or striking
    For my godmother was a very remarkable woman. The truth is, she was one of the last mortals in this country who had fairy blood in her.
  26. crude
    belonging to an early stage of technical development
    That meant it was centuries older than any of the stone-age things they dig up in Europe. And it wasn’t a rough, crude thing like them either. For in the very dawn of time Atlantis was already a great city with palaces and temples and learned men.
  27. toil
    productive work, especially physical work done for wages
    Fine, dry dust. Nothing much to look at. Not much to show for a lifetime of toil, you might say.
  28. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    The boy must be mad! A man at my time of life, and in my state of health, to risk the shock and the dangers of being flung suddenly into a different universe? I never heard anything so preposterous in my life!
  29. adept
    someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
    I am the great scholar, the magician, the adept, who is doing the experiment.
  30. chivalry
    courtesy towards women
    I should be very sorry to think that anyone of our family had not enough honor and chivalry to go to the aid of—er—a lady in distress.
  31. muddle
    mix up or confuse
    Uncle Andrew and his study vanished instantly. Then, for a moment, everything became muddled.
  32. contented
    satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are
    Then she spoke, in a dreamy, contented sort of voice.
  33. pluck
    the trait of showing courage and determination
    He never had the pluck to come here himself.
  34. vague
    lacking clarity or distinctness
    Then they could see Uncle Andrew, very vague and shadowy, but getting clearer and more solid-looking all the time, just as if he were coming into focus.
  35. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    At any rate, when they had both put on their greens and come back to the edge of the water, and taken hands again, they were certainly a good deal more cheerful and less solemn than they had been the first time.
Created on Mon Sep 12 12:22:57 EDT 2016 (updated Thu Jul 13 08:48:55 EDT 2023)

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