porter

person employed to carry luggage

trilby hat

 soft hat with the top deeply indented

conjured up

 called to mind

kippers

• fish that have been salted and dried or smoked
• are commonly eaten for breakfast in Great Britain

dithering about

acting nervous and confused

facades

1. fronts of buildings
2. false fronts or appearances

congenial

agreeable; pleasant

rapacious

greedy

 Dempsey and Tunney

Churchill and Roosevelt

Examples of famous pairs

[Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney were two boxers who competed for the world heavyweight championship in 1926.]

[Winston Churchill was the prime minister of Great Britain and Franklin Roosevelt was the president of the USA during World War II]

biscuit

British term meaning "cookie"

Eton

boys' prep school near London

Cambridge

famous university in England

emanate

come forth

tantalizing

teasing by remaining unavailable or by withholding something desired by someone;

tempting

amiably

good-naturedly

check

in the game of chess, the situation of a king in danger of being captured when the opposing player makes his or her next move;

is announced by the player who has placed the opponent's king in check

checkmate

a move in chess that leaves the opponent's king unable to move safely and means winning the game;

is announced by the player who has placed his opponent's in checkmate

bog

swamp;

very wet ground

let

rented

condoling

expressing sympathy

rubicund of visage

red faced

doughty

brave

fakirs

Muslim or Hindu holy people, thought by some people to perform miracles

placidly

calmly

fancy

1. a feeling that has no apparent cause
2. imagination

Arabian Nights

collection of ancient tales from Arabia, India, Persia, and other countries; also known as The Thousand and One Nights

presumptuous

overly bold or confident; taking too much for granted

talisman

something thought to have magic power

antimacassar

small cover placed on the back or arms of a chair to keep it clean;

were originally used to protect furniture fabric from greasy heads (macassar is a kind of hairdressing oil)

pounds

British money

(in the time of the story, 200 pounds was about 1000 dollars)

wardrobe

movable closet

credulity

tendency to believe too readily

sideboard

piece of dining-room furniture used to hold such items as dishes and tableclothes

virtues

powers

bibulous habits

tendency to drink heavily

prosaic

ordinary;

unimaginative

avaricious

greedy for money

averted

1. turned away
2. prevented

inaudible

incapable of being heard

apathy

lack of emotion or interest

resounded

echoed;

reverberated

fusillade

something resembling a rapid, continuous series of gunshots

reverberated

echoed;

resounded

dotty

crazy

cricketers

people who play cricket, a game that is popular in Great Britain