the Old Contemptibles* - a popular name given to the British army of regulars and special reserve which made up the expeditionary force sent to France in the autumn of 1914, in ironical allusion to the German Emperor's alleged exhortation to his soldiers to 'walk over General French's contemptible little army' (published in an annexe to B.E.F. Routine Orders of 24 Sept. 1914). Also allusively.
ursa (l) - bear Russian
scutt - a term of contempt for a person
unreformed - not reformed or made better; unimproved uniform
nem.con. - an abbreviation of the L. phrase nemine contradicente '(with) no one contradicting'.
eloquence* - the action, practice, or art of expressing thought with fluency, force, and appropriateness, so as to appeal to the reason or move the feelings. Also concr. eloquent language.
the same old story* - something that has happened many times before esp. something bad that one expects to happen; doomsday - the judgement day.
offensive - the position or attitude of attack, aggressive action; causing painful or unpleasant sensations; now in reference to taste or smell, or to the moral feelings.
Bartholomew* - name of one of the twelve apostles, the festival in whose honour is held on the 24th of August; on this day, in 1572, took place the great massacre of the Protestants in France
vice versa* - with a reversal or transposition of the main items in the statement just made; contrariwise, conversely.
scarlet runner* - Obs. Mil. slang, a soldier, with reference to his scarlet jacket; also pl., a scarlet military uniform.
to take the word* - to begin to speak, esp. after or instead of some one else.
odious - deserving of hatred, hateful; causing or exciting hatred or repugnance, disagreeable, offensive, repulsive.
flirtation* - the action or behaviour of a flirt; flighty or giddy behaviour, frivolity; the action of playing at courtship.
mairmaid = mermaid - an imaginary species of beings, more or less human in character, supposed to inhabit the sea, and to have the head and trunk of a woman, the lower limbs being replaced by the tail of a fish or cetacean; a favourite sign for a shop, inn, or tavern.
maddening* - to become mad, craze
sord - a flight or flock of mallards; sward sir
splutter* - a loud or violent sputter or splash; violent and confused declamation, discourse, or talk.
Colt - a firearm of a type invented by Samuel Colt (1814-62), esp. a type of repeating pistol (patented 1835).
how goes the enemy* - 'what is the time?'; bung - a stopper; spec. a large cork stopper for the 'mouth' of a cask, i.e. the hole in the bulge by which it is filled; bang - a sudden, violent or explosive noise; e.g. the report of fire-arms.
Percy - the masculine Christian name used, freq. with connotations of weakness or effeminacy; in the armed services, an officer or an educated man.
meest = most (obs.)
insurrection - the action of rising in arms or open resistance against established authority or governmental restraint.
procuratrix* - a female procurator (Rom. Hist. An officer who collected the taxes, paid the troops, and attended to the interests of the imperial treasury, in an imperial province; sometimes he had the administration of part of a province, as in the case of the Procurator of Judæa, which was part of the province of Syria).
hory - foul, dirty, filthy; slanderous holy
synod* - Eccl. An assembly of the clergy of a particular church, nation, province, or diocese (sometimes with representatives of the laity) duly convened for discussing and deciding ecclesiastical affairs.
missus - wife; Used by servants
(usually without article) in speaking of their mistresses;
spec. used by N. American Negroes and in India and S. Africa of a white employer, and
loosely of any (esp. a white) woman.
white slaver* - spec. In reference to prostitution; ...A 'sleever' of beer contains about three-quarters of a pint.
dump - a pile or heap of refuse or other matter 'dumped' or thrown down.
tumble - an accidental fall; an act of sexual intercourse (slang.)
sonce = sonse - abundance, plentifulness, plenty; prosperity since
vermillion* - a bright red or scarlet
wellbred - of good family and bringing up. Usually: Displaying good breeding; having refined manners; courteous in speech and behaviour.
proceedings* - a record or account of the doings of a society; sometimes spec. a record of the business done, with abstracts or reports of the less important papers not included in the Transactions.
autosoteric* - relating to salvation by oneself; satirize - to describe or ridicule in a satirical manner.
efface - to rub out, obliterate (writing, painted or sculptured figures, a mark or stain) from the surface of anything, so as to leave no distinct traces; to reduce oneself to insignificance.
alwise - in every way, in any way
lumpy - having an outline or shape characterized by lumps or roundish protuberances which impart a heavy and clumsy appearance; intoxicated, drunk (slang.)
sodalist* - a member of a Roman Catholic sodality or religious fraternity; sodality - in the Roman Catholic Church, a religious guild or brotherhood established for purposes of devotion or mutual help or action; the body of persons forming such a society.
lain - pa. pple. of lie
amain - without delay, in all haste; at once
lolly - a piece candy; money
lilly = lily - fig. Applied to persons or things of exceptional whiteness, fairness, or purity; e.g. a fair lady; the white of a beautiful complexion.
herth = hearth (obs.); earth (obs.)
rasher - a thin slice of bacon or ham, cooked (or intended to be cooked) by broiling or frying.
brigadier-general* - a military officer in command of a brigade; the status ranks between a major-general and a colonel, but is only local or temporary, being generally held by the senior colonel of the regiments or battalions brigaded together.
shutter - one who or something which shuts shooter
reshoot* - to shoot again
sieger - a besieger
besieged - invested or surrounded by hostile forces
fleecemerchant* - a dealer in wool
sharpshooter* - U.S. Mil. A rifleman of a particular grade; spec. one who has attained the level of proficiency between that of marksman and expert.
miraculize - to make miraculous; to consider as miraculous.
warcry - a cry (whether a shout or a significant name or phrase) uttered by a body of fighters to encourage each other in charging the enemy or in rallying to the fray.
bigote - the moustache
bristle - Of hair, quills, etc.: To be, become or stand, stiff and bristly.
heigh-ho* - an exclamation usually expressing yawning, sighing, languor, weariness, disappointment.
ah - an exclamation expressing sorrow, lamentation, regret; surprise, wonder, admiration.
muzzle - contemptuously or jocularly applied to the part of the human face including the nose and chin.
embezzle* - to divert to one's own use (money, etc.) in violation of trust or official duty.
gazelle* - a small delicately-formed antelope, of which the typical species (Gazella Dorcas) is a native of Northern Africa; other varieties are found in various parts of Africa and Asia. The gazelle is especially noted for the grace of its movements and the softness of its eyes.
backsight - in Surveying, a 'sight' or reading taken backwards, or towards the point of starting; the sight of a rifle nearer the stock.
frustrate* - balked, defeated, disappointed, futile
fourstar - designating a (high) rank in a grading system for hotels, etc., usu. with four or five grades; also transf., of a high degree of excellence.
Russki* - Russian
conundrum* - a riddle in the form of a question the answer to which involves a pun or play on words; any puzzling question or problem; chuff - a rustic, boor, clown, churl.
wiz = whizz; whiz with
healp = help (obs.)
gosh - an oath or exclamation god
sulphur - to fumigate with burning sulphur, e.g. for the purpose of bleaching goods, disinfecting, preventing fermentation in casks suffering
purgatory* - a condition or place of spiritual purging and purification; spec. in Roman Catholic belief, a state 'in which souls who depart this life in the grace of God suffer for a time, because they still need to be cleansed from venial sins, or have still to pay the temporal punishment due to mortal sins, the guilt and the eternal punishment of which have been remitted'.