bathos
(en)
(noun) a literary term coined by Alexander Pope to describe to describe amusingly failed attempts at sublimity (an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous); adj is "bathetic"
8
Madame Grandet had no completed the woollen sleeves she was knitting, and that for want of them she caught a chill. He is never afraid of bathos.
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
Madame Grandet had no completed the woollen sleeves she was knitting, and that for want of them she caught a chill. He is never afraid of bathos.
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
stolid
(en)
calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation
35
who comes to attend you and supply your want, stolidly, pleasantly, or with an independent air
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
who comes to attend you and supply your want, stolidly, pleasantly, or with an independent air
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
sententia
(en)
a brief moral saying taken from ancient or popular or other sources, often quoted without context; as an adjective, means either given to aphoristic expression, or just referring to an aphoristic expression. or: 'in a way that tries to sound important or intelligent, especially by expressing moral judgements'
43
his ideas were expressed in brief sententious phrases
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
his ideas were expressed in brief sententious phrases
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
supercilious
(en)
(adjective) coolly and patronizingly haughty
74
helots
(en)
a subjugated population group that formed the main population of Laconia and Messenia, the territory controlled by Sparta (in Ancient Greece)
113
The poor helot went to the table
Grandet's wife
strange
2 years, 9 months ago
The poor helot went to the table
Grandet's wife
strange
2 years, 9 months ago
mulct
(en)
(noun) fine penalty / (verb) to punish by a fine / (verb) to defraud especially of money; swindle / (verb) to obtain by fraud, duress, or theft
131
Like all misers he had a constant need to pit his wits against those of other men, to mulct them of their crowns by fair legal means
uncertain
2 years, 9 months ago
Like all misers he had a constant need to pit his wits against those of other men, to mulct them of their crowns by fair legal means
uncertain
2 years, 9 months ago
apothegm
(en)
a concise saying or maxim; an aphorism
167
he delivered himself of a number of his favourite apophthegms
notable
2 years, 9 months ago
he delivered himself of a number of his favourite apophthegms
notable
2 years, 9 months ago