by
Martin Amis
picaresque
(en)
(adjective) of or relating to rogues or rascals / (adjective) of, relating to, suggesting, or being a type of fiction dealing with the episodic adventures of a usually roguish protagonist / (noun) one that is picaresque
16
What I was referring to, I later realised, was the erotic picaresque of my early adulthood
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2 months ago
What I was referring to, I later realised, was the erotic picaresque of my early adulthood
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2 months ago
homily
(en)
(noun) a usually short sermon / (noun) a lecture or discourse on or of a moral theme / (noun) an inspirational catchphrase or platitude. homiletic: the art of preaching or writing sermons
29
Remember that homily of Saul’s about ethics and morals, about ethics being money and morals being sex?
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2 months ago
Remember that homily of Saul’s about ethics and morals, about ethics being money and morals being sex?
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2 months ago
louche
(en)
disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way
46
Tattoos, to him, only looked nice on non-white flesh; and Phoebe’s looked nice, louchely nice on her Amerindian glaze
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2 months ago
Tattoos, to him, only looked nice on non-white flesh; and Phoebe’s looked nice, louchely nice on her Amerindian glaze
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2 months ago
somnolent
(en)
(adjective) of a kind likely to induce sleep / (adjective) inclined to or heavy with sleep; drowsy / (adjective) sleepy
46
She would ring him and postpone the next visit, her voice somnolent and weirdly hollow.
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2 months ago
She would ring him and postpone the next visit, her voice somnolent and weirdly hollow.
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2 months ago
neurasthenia
(en)
(noun) a psychological disorder marked especially by easy fatigability and often by lack of motivation, feelings of inadequacy, and psychosomatic symptoms
47
Martin quickly decided he liked her; she was darkly neurasthenic, but a fairly comfortable valetudinarian by now, despite her hot flushes and her migraines
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2 months ago
Martin quickly decided he liked her; she was darkly neurasthenic, but a fairly comfortable valetudinarian by now, despite her hot flushes and her migraines
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2 months ago
propitiousness
(en)
(adjective) favorably disposed; benevolent / (adjective) being a good omen; auspicious / (adjective) tending to favor; advantageous
49
The poet is taking the train from the north of England to the capital on Whit Sunday, the Christian festival of early summer, traditionally a propitious time for marriage.
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2 months ago
The poet is taking the train from the north of England to the capital on Whit Sunday, the Christian festival of early summer, traditionally a propitious time for marriage.
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2 months ago
imago
(en)
(noun) an insect in its final, adult, sexually mature, and typically winged state / (noun) an idealized mental image of another person or the self
54
Knowing how far I was from the child, the halfmade pupa, and how far I was from the adult – the finished imago.
uncertain
2 months ago
Knowing how far I was from the child, the halfmade pupa, and how far I was from the adult – the finished imago.
uncertain
2 months ago
farrago
(en)
a confused mixture
62
This is a language novel, written in a futurised farrago of Romani, rhyming slang, and Russian
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2 months ago
This is a language novel, written in a futurised farrago of Romani, rhyming slang, and Russian
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2 months ago
mendicity
(en)
(noun) the condition or activities of a beggar.
109
They adore poverty. And cold and damp and discomfort. And dirt. One mustn’t forget dirt. It’s called mendicity. It’s meant to uh, to relieve you of distractions from your full devotion to God.
uncertain
2 months ago
They adore poverty. And cold and damp and discomfort. And dirt. One mustn’t forget dirt. It’s called mendicity. It’s meant to uh, to relieve you of distractions from your full devotion to God.
uncertain
2 months ago
crenellation
(en)
(noun) the battlement of a castle or other building. / (noun) any of the embrasures alternating with merlons in a battlemen
123
a wispy breath of mist now seeped from the terraced buildings, from the rooftops with their vague crenellations…
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2 months ago
a wispy breath of mist now seeped from the terraced buildings, from the rooftops with their vague crenellations…
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2 months ago