A Study in Scarlet: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Arthur Conan Doyle uses again and again in A Study in Scarlet that are outside the 4,000 most common in English. Learn them first and the opening chapters read much more easily. Each comes with its pronunciation and a sentence from the book.
evidently/ˈɛvədəntɫi/15× in the book
It is evidently the theory of some arm-chair lounger who evolves all these neat little paradoxes in the seclusion of his own study.
poison/ˈpɔɪzən/14× in the book
“I have to be careful,” he continued, turning to me with a smile, “for I dabble with poisons a good deal.”
murderer/ˈmɝdɝɝ/13× in the book
“Then, of course, this blood belongs to a second individual—presumably the murderer, if murder has been committed.
grey/ˈɡɹeɪ/12× in the book
The same afternoon brought a grey-headed, seedy visitor, looking like a Jew pedlar, who appeared to me to be much excited, and who was closely followed by a slip-shod elderly woman.
instant/ˈɪnstənt/12× in the book
In an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour, and a brownish dust was precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar.
stain/ˈsteɪn/11× in the book
Don’t you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains.
keen/ˈkin/10× in the book
The old woman faced round and looked keenly at him from her little red-rimmed eyes.
fierce/ˈfɪɹs/10× in the book
So powerful and so fierce was he, that the four of us were shaken off again and again.
whip/ˈhwɪp/10× in the book
As he spoke, he whipped a tape measure and a large round magnifying glass from his pocket.
waggon9× in the book
You say over them ones that you used to say every night in the waggon when we was on the Plains.”
astonishment/əˈstɑnɪʃmənt/9× in the book
I asked in astonishment.
savage/ˈsævədʒ/8× in the book
… of the cabman’s dazed, savage face, as he glared at the glittering handcuffs …
deduction/dɪˈdəkʃən/8× in the book
I pondered over our short conversation, however, and endeavoured to draw my deductions from it.
utter/ˈətɝ/8× in the book
… and for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting-room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night.
boulder/ˈboʊɫdɝ/8× in the book
“Why not here, as well as in a feather bed, twenty years hence,” he muttered, as he seated himself in the shelter of a boulder.
startle/ˈstɑɹtəɫ/8× in the book
So startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer.
dull/ˈdəɫ/8× in the book
As for myself, I was silent, for the dull weather and the melancholy business upon which we were engaged, depressed my spirits.
endeavour/ɪnˈdɛvɝ/7× in the book
… when I confess how much this man stimulated my curiosity, and how often I endeavoured to break through the reticence which he showed on all that concerned himself.
speedily/ˈspidəɫi/7× in the book
… are both engaged upon the case, and it is confidently anticipated that these well-known officers will speedily throw light upon the matter.
wanderer/ˈwɑndɝɝ/7× in the book
They speedily resolved themselves into three large brown birds, which circled over the heads of the two wanderers, and then settled upon some rocks which overlooked them.
stairs/ˈstɛɹz/7× in the book
“We have it all here,” said Gregson, pointing to a litter of objects upon one of the bottom steps of the stairs.
unravel/ənˈɹævəɫ/7× in the book
Under these circumstances, I eagerly hailed the little mystery which hung around my companion, and spent much of my time in endeavouring to unravel it.
hail/ˈheɪɫ/7× in the book
In old days Stamford had never been a particular crony of mine, but now I hailed him with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn, appeared to be delighted to see me.
advertisement/ˌædvɝˈtaɪzmənt/7× in the book
“I have had advertisements sent to all the newspapers, and one of my men has gone to the American Exchange, but he has not returned yet.”
cigar/sɪˈɡɑɹ/7× in the book
He was more than six feet high, was in the prime of life, had small feet for his height, wore coarse, square-toed boots and smoked a Trichinopoly cigar.
frighten/ˈfɹaɪtən/7× in the book
John Rance sprang to his feet with a frightened face and suspicion in his eyes.
fancy/ˈfænsi/7× in the book
“No; he is not a man that it is easy to draw out, though he can be communicative enough when the fancy seizes him.”
vague/ˈveɪɡ/7× in the book
There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood.”
seldom/ˈsɛɫdəm/7× in the book
Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning.
mysterious/mɪˈstɪɹiəs/7× in the book
The other belonged to the dining-room, which was the apartment in which the mysterious affair had occurred.
lonely/ˈɫoʊnɫi/7× in the book
The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man.
coloured/ˈkəɫɝd/6× in the book
It was familiar ground to me, and I needed no guiding as we ascended the bleak stone staircase and made our way down the long corridor with its vista of whitewashed wall and dun-coloured doors.
morrow/ˈmɑɹoʊ/6× in the book
“Call for me here at noon to-morrow, and we’ll go together and settle everything,” he answered.
haired/ˈhɛɹd/6× in the book
On another occasion an old white-haired gentleman had an interview with my companion; and on another a railway porter in his velveteen uniform.
constable/ˈkɑnstəbəɫ/6× in the book
The garden was bounded by a three-foot brick wall with a fringe of wood rails upon the top, and against this wall was leaning a stalwart police constable, surrounded by a small knot of loafers …
telegraph/ˈtɛɫəˌɡɹæf/6× in the book
“We telegraphed this morning.”
mil/ˈmɪɫ/6× in the book
Nothing more is known of them until Mr. Drebber’s body was, as recorded, discovered in an empty house in the Brixton Road, many miles from Euston.
resolute/ˈɹɛzəˌɫut/6× in the book
Beside the driver there sat a man who could not have been more than thirty years of age, but whose massive head and resolute expression marked him as a leader.
maiden/ˈmeɪdən/6× in the book
Least of all does the maiden herself know it until the tone of a voice or the touch of a hand sets her heart thrilling within her, and she learns …
clatter/ˈkɫætɝ/6× in the book
There rose through the clear air a confused clattering and rumbling from this great mass of humanity, with the creaking of wheels and the neighing of horses.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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