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"The Diary of a Madman" by Nikolai Gogol

In this dark, psychological tale a government clerk becomes convinced that he is the King of Spain.

Translated by Richard Prevar and Larissa Volokhonsky.
40 words 76 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    In short, I wouldn’t have gone to the office if it weren’t for the hope of seeing the treasurer and maybe cajoling at least some of my pay out of that Jew in advance.
  2. destitute
    poor enough to need help from others
    Even if you beg on your life, even if you’re destitute—he won’t hand out anything, the hoary devil!
  3. hoary
    having gray or white hair as with age
    Even if you beg on your life, even if you’re destitute—he won’t hand out anything, the hoary devil!
  4. delicacy
    refined taste
    He looks like such a goody-goody, he talks with such delicacy—“Lend me your little knife to trim my little pen”—and then he skins a petitioner so that the man’s left in nothing but his shirt.
  5. gentry
    the most powerful members of a society
    There was nobody in the streets; only peasant women with their skirts pulled over their heads and Russian merchants under umbrellas and messenger boys caught my eye. Of the gentry I met only a fellow clerk.
  6. headlong
    at breakneck speed
    I rushed headlong, slipped on the cursed parquet, almost smashed my nose, nevertheless kept my balance and picked up the handkerchief.
  7. ambrosia
    the food and drink of the gods
    Heavens, what a handkerchief! The finest cambric—ambrosia, sheer ambrosia! it simply exuded excellency.
  8. exude
    release in drops or small quantities
    Heavens, what a handkerchief! The finest cambric—ambrosia, sheer ambrosia! it simply exuded excellency.
  9. knave
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    Moreover, one of the knaves decided once to offer me some snuff without getting up.
  10. churl
    a crude or uncouth person lacking culture or refinement
    But don’t you know, stupid churl, that I am an official, a man of noble birth?
  11. pomade
    hairdressing consisting of a perfumed oil or ointment
    Devil take him, his face bears a slight resemblance to a druggist’s bottle, with a tuft of hair curled into a forelock sticking up, smeared with some pomade, so he thinks he’s the only one allowed anything.
  12. bestow
    give as a gift
    He’s jealous. Maybe he saw the signs of benevolence preferentially bestowed on me.
  13. vaudeville
    a genre of variety show with songs, comic acts, etc.
    Went to the theater. The Russian fool Filatka was playing. Laughed a lot. There was some other vaudeville with funny verses about lawyers, especially about some collegiate registrar, written quite freely, so that I wondered how it passed the censors, and they said outright that merchants cheat people and their sons are debauchers and try to worm their way into the nobility.
  14. debauch
    corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
    There was some other vaudeville with funny verses about lawyers, especially about some collegiate registrar, written quite freely, so that I wondered how it passed the censors, and they said outright that merchants cheat people and their sons are debauchers and try to worm their way into the nobility.
  15. collate
    assemble in proper sequence
    Looked through and collated papers.
  16. equivocation
    falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language
    I’d like to have a closer look at these gentlemen’s lives, at all these equivocations and courtly tricks—how they are, what they do in their circle—that’s what I’d like to find out!
  17. boudoir
    a lady's bedroom or private sitting room
    Into the boudoir, with all those little jars and vials standing there, such flowers that you’re afraid to breathe on them; with her dress thrown down there, more like air than a dress. I’d like to peek into her bedroom...there, I think, there are wonders; there, I think, there is paradise, such as is not even to be found in heaven.
  18. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    Seeing that, the nasty little dog first bit me on the calf and then, when she realized I’d taken the papers, began squealing and fawning, but I said, “No, my sweet, good-bye!” and rushed out.
  19. banal
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
    I still cannot get used to your common-sounding name. As if they couldn’t have given you a better one? Fidèle, Rosy—such banal tone!
  20. marrow
    network of connective tissue filling the cavities of bones
    Only bones from wild game are good, and only before anyone has sucked out the marrow.
  21. grouse
    popular game bird having a plump body and feathered legs
    If I wasn’t given hazel grouse with gravy or roast chicken wings, I...I don’t know what would become of me.
  22. boor
    a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking refinement
    And what a frightful Great Dane stops outside my window! If he stood on his hind legs—something the boor is surely incapable of doing—he’d be a whole head taller than my Sophie’s Papa, who is also quite tall and fat.
  23. impudent
    marked by casual disrespect
    This blockhead must be terribly impudent. I growled at him a little, but he couldn’t have cared less.
  24. jabot
    a ruffle on the front of a woman's blouse or a man's shirt
    They talked about a lady who performed one figure instead of another during a dance; also how a certain Bobov looked just like a stork in his jabot and nearly fell down; how a certain Miss Lidin fancies she has blue eyes, whereas they’re green—and the like.
  25. ecstasy
    a state of elated bliss
    I’ve been in perfect ecstasy. It’s entirely correct what some writer has said, that love is a second life.
  26. titular
    of or bearing an appellation signifying status or function
    What makes me a titular councillor, and why on earth am I a titular councillor? Maybe I’m some sort of count or general and only seem to be a titular councillor?
  27. dignitary
    an important or influential person
    Maybe I myself don’t know who I am. There are so many examples in history: some simple fellow, not only not a nobleman, but simply some tradesman or even peasant—and it’s suddenly revealed that he’s some sort of dignitary, or sometimes even an emperor.
  28. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    There is a king, only he’s somewhere unknown. Possibly he’s right there, but either some sort of family reasons, or apprehensions about neighboring powers, such as France and other countries, have forced him into hiding, or there are other reasons of some sort.
  29. endeavor
    attempt by employing effort
    However, I endeavored to calm her down and assured her in gracious words of my benevolence and that I was not at all angry that she sometimes polished my boots poorly.
  30. benighted
    lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture
    They’re benighted folk. It’s impossible to tell them about lofty matters.
  31. riffraff
    common or disreputable people
    I looked at all that office riffraff and thought: "What if you knew who was sitting amongst you... Lord God! what a rumpus you’d raise, and the section chief would start bowing as low to me as he now bows to the director.”
  32. abstract
    a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument
    Some papers were placed in front of me so that I could make an abstract of them.
  33. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    You should have seen what reverent silence ensued; but I merely waved my hand, saying, “No need for any tokens of homage!” and walked out.
  34. machination
    a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends
    I only said that such happiness awaited her as she could not even imagine, and that despite the machinations of enemies, we would be together.
  35. lorgnette
    eyeglasses that are held to the eyes with a long handle
    See there, from a box in the first balcony, she’s aiming her lorgnette. You think she’s looking at that fat one with the star? Not at all, she’s looking at the devil standing behind his back.
  36. blackguard
    someone who is morally reprehensible
    But, to prevent those blackguards from ruining it, I decided to sew it myself, after locking the door so that no one could see.
  37. apothecary
    a health professional who prepares and dispenses drugs
    Apothecaries can write letters.
  38. hoodwink
    conceal one's true motives from
    I wanted to poke my head out, but then thought, “No, brother, you’re not going to hoodwink me! We know you: you’ll pour cold water on my head again.”
  39. impotent
    lacking power or ability
    But I utterly ignored his impotent anger, knowing that he was acting mechanically, as the Englishman’s tool.
  40. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    Here is the sky billowing before me; a little star shines in the distance; a forest races by with dark trees and a crescent moon; blue mist spreads under my feet; a string twangs in the mist; on one side the sea, on the other Italy; and there I see some Russian huts.
Created on Wed Feb 02 10:31:21 EST 2022 (updated Fri Aug 25 12:39:54 EDT 2023)

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