Changeling, and Other Stories: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Donn Byrne uses again and again in Changeling, and Other Stories 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.
queer/ˈkwɪɹ/37× in the book
"I think to myself: 'This is a queer thing for any one as tough as they tell me Janssen is, to come out with.'
instant/ˈɪnstənt/34× in the book
As Officer McCarthy paused for an instant in his story the eyes of the court-room seemed by common consent to turn to Anna Janssen in the dock.
hound/ˈhaʊnd/29× in the book
Forward of him a hundred and fifty yards the hounds were circling around the copse, while the leaders were inside, raising the red fox.
mill/ˈmɪɫ/29× in the book
… moist vat, or ground coffee in the red mill that suggested a ceremonial vessel in a Hindu temple.
elephant/ˈɛɫəfənt/27× in the book
And so her great and gorgeous train went on through the desert, crunch of camels' pads, shuffle of marching men, thud of lumbering elephants, screaming of peacocks, chattering of apes....
thunder/ˈθəndɝ/24× in the book
"And then we hear thunder.
lion/ˈɫaɪən/24× in the book
"See these brass bases, Balkis, with the borders of lions and oxen and cherubim.
immense/ˌɪˈmɛns/23× in the book
Two South American commonwealths, with the hearts of children and the bravery of men, decided to span the Andes with an immense bridge.
queen/ˈkwin/22× in the book
… as tall as he, who moved with the slow dignity of a queen.
damn/ˈdæm/21× in the book
'If I was all alone in the middle of the Pacific, I would n't give a damn, but these here coral insects,' he says …
murmur/ˈmɝmɝ/18× in the book
she murmured.
roar/ˈɹɔɹ/18× in the book
"Now, listen to me, men," he roared like a maddened bull.
dollar/ˈdɑɫɝ/17× in the book
The ten or twelve dollars a week he made, and what he got for them, compared very unfavorably with the healthful comfort and clean sea air of home.
beard/ˈbɪɹd/17× in the book
They turned to the foreman, a fine, florid personage, with a fan-shaped red beard, a man who ought to be equal to every occasion, so it seemed.
tremble/ˈtɹɛmbəɫ/16× in the book
And I could feel her hands tremble, and then crisp, and then tremble, and suddenly grow firm and fine and powerful.
dignity/ˈdɪɡnəti/16× in the book
Immobile, somehow immaculate, with strange superhuman dignity, she did not blush, she did not smile.
kindly/ˈkaɪndɫi/15× in the book
There will be no blight on the milk the cows give, and there will be great luck on the stock of the kindly land.
referee/ˌɹɛfɝˈi/15× in the book
Before the bell had gone for the first round, before the referee had called them together for instructions, before even the gloves were laced on him …
twilight/ˈtwaɪˌɫaɪt/15× in the book
The sun was going down and a soft bronze twilight was beginning to settle.
utter/ˈətɝ/15× in the book
Their wings flapped wearily, and as they flew landward they uttered faint whimpering cries.
jungle/ˈdʒəŋɡəɫ/15× in the book
These mountains, that composition of jungle, that smashing drop to the turbulent river, the snarling waters themselves—all these were the work of the Great Mason, the detail of his Divine Hand.
sail/ˈseɪɫ/15× in the book
They reefed down sail until we were flying along under top and foresails.
huntsman/ˈhəntsmən/14× in the book
The hounds were being urged in by the pink-coated huntsman.
hush/ˈhəʃ/14× in the book
"Excellency, from the time she was on it the bridge stopped quivering, the wind hushed.
fox/ˈfɑks/14× in the book
… the horseman, the hunter of foxes, and she was of a family whose tradition it was never to hunt or harry a fox …
slim/ˈsɫɪm/14× in the book
It rose there strong and slim and beautiful and of use to men, but terrible as an army with banners.
calm/ˈkɑɫm/14× in the book
It seemed impossible that this calm, majestic figure could once have acted the siren of the streets to the officer bringing her from her Tahitian sanctuary.
sinister/ˈsɪnɪstɝ/13× in the book
There are houses and lands that are kindly, and places that are sinister, fields that are surly, meadows that are sweetly generous.
beloved/bɪˈɫəvd/13× in the book
One man is proud that his horse whinnies in the stall when he hears the beloved footstep.
breeze/ˈbɹiz/13× in the book
A light breeze is in shore.
dawn/ˈdɔn/13× in the book
And I was lying on the sand in the dawn, and Janssen was bathing my head.
cove/ˈkoʊv/12× in the book
And that cove is full of fish.'
wail/ˈweɪɫ/12× in the book
and then wailed, "My God!
cloak/ˈkɫoʊk/12× in the book
She has let her hair down and it covers her to the knees in a great shining cloak, like some wonderful fur cloak.
pity/ˈpɪti/12× in the book
It's a pity.
tiger/ˈtaɪɡɝ/12× in the book
Some trainers are born with power over man-eating tigers, some men can handle snakes, some can sooth stampeding cattle.
monk/ˈməŋk/12× in the book
She could understand the ideals of an ancient age, when a community of monks called themselves the Pontist Brothers, the Frères Pontifes.
merchant/ˈmɝtʃənt/12× in the book
And the soldier's honor and the sailor's courage, and the writer's fire and the builder's genius—yes, and the dreams of great merchants, too, Lovat grimaced—are curbed and roweled by the huckster's purse.
faint/ˈfeɪnt/12× in the book
He liked the faint powder on her face, and her carefully cultured eyebrows.
north/ˈnɔɹθ/11× in the book
I look everywhere—north, east, south, and west—and there is nothing but boiling sea, white, muddy, with birds fluttering, or floating in the air.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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