The Hound of the Baskervilles: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Arthur Conan Doyle uses again and again in The Hound of the Baskervilles 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.
moor/ˈmʊɹ/159× in the book
… for by the aid of the growth of ivy which covered (and still covers) the south wall she came down from under the eaves, and so homeward across the moor, there being three leagues betwixt the Hall and her father’s farm.
hound/ˈhaʊnd/69× in the book
… more drunken than the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her.
baronet/ˈbɛɹənət/48× in the book
Our clients were punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet.
instant/ˈɪnstənt/34× in the book
At the last instant came this terrible catastrophe.
grey/ˈɡɹeɪ/22× in the book
… which jutted out between two keen, grey eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
beard/ˈbɪɹd/18× in the book
At that instant I was aware of a bushy black beard and a pair of piercing eyes turned upon us through the side window of the cab.
alley/ˈæɫi/16× in the book
Sir Charles Baskerville was in the habit every night before going to bed of walking down the famous yew alley of Baskerville Hall.
neighbour/ˈneɪbɝ/15× in the book
… in truth, his neighbours might have pardoned, seeing that saints have never flourished in those parts …
butler/ˈbətɫɝ/13× in the book
… and his indoor servants at Baskerville Hall consisted of a married couple named Barrymore, the husband acting as butler and the wife as housekeeper.
evidently/ˈɛvədəntɫi/13× in the book
“And a man of precise mind, evidently.”
heir/ˈɛɹ/13× in the book
It is well that this is so, for it is obviously of the utmost importance that Sir Charles’s heir should settle at the Hall and continue the good work which has been so sadly interrupted.
telegram/ˈtɛɫəˌɡɹæm/12× in the book
You will say that an important telegram has miscarried and that you are looking for it.
singular/ˈsɪŋɡjəɫɝ/12× in the book
When Dr. Mortimer had finished reading this singular narrative he pushed his spectacles up on his forehead and stared across at Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
keen/ˈkin/12× in the book
He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had made to give publicity to his methods.
presume/pɹɪˈzum/12× in the book
I presume that it is Mr. Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not—”
lonely/ˈɫoʊnɫi/12× in the book
… as I walked back along the grey, lonely road, that my friend might soon be freed from his preoccupations and able to come down to take this heavy burden of responsibility from my shoulders.
mil/ˈmɪɫ/11× in the book
With the exception of Mr. Frankland, of Lafter Hall, and Mr. Stapleton, the naturalist, there are no other men of education within many miles.
yonder/ˈjɑndɝ/11× in the book
“A false step yonder means death to man or beast.
mire/ˈmaɪɝ/11× in the book
“The mire has him.
swiftly/ˈswɪftɫi/11× in the book
The moon shone clear above them, and they rode swiftly abreast, taking that course which the maid must needs have taken if she were to reach her own home.
granite/ˈɡɹænət/11× in the book
In a very few hours the brown earth had become ruddy, the brick had changed to granite, and red cows grazed in well-hedged fields where the lush grasses and more luxuriant vegetation spoke of a richer …
flush/ˈfɫəʃ/11× in the book
His dark brows knitted and his face flushed to a dusky red as he spoke.
devil/ˈdɛvəɫ/11× in the book
… as it would seem, he became as one that hath a devil, for …
beast/ˈbist/11× in the book
… a great, black beast, shaped like a hound …
moorland/ˈmʊɹˌɫænd/10× in the book
But anon their bemused wits awoke to the nature of the deed which was like to be done upon the moorlands.
centre/ˈsɛntɝ/10× in the book
The moon was shining bright upon the clearing, and there in the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had fallen, dead of fear and of fatigue.
melancholy/ˈmɛɫənˌkɑɫi/10× in the book
Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood there rose in the distance a grey, melancholy hill, with a strange jagged summit …
exceedingly/ɪkˈsidɪŋɫi/10× in the book
I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases.
lurk/ˈɫɝk/10× in the book
… on that desolate plain, was lurking this fiendish man, hiding in a burrow like a wild beast …
boulder/ˈboʊɫdɝ/10× in the book
Still steadily rising, we passed over a narrow granite bridge and skirted a noisy stream which gushed swiftly down, foaming and roaring amid the grey boulders.
hut/ˈhət/10× in the book
As you look at their grey stone huts against the scarred hillsides you leave your own age behind you, and if you were to see a skin-clad …
vague/ˈveɪɡ/10× in the book
Through the haze I had a vague vision of Holmes in his dressing-gown coiled up in an armchair with his black clay pipe between his lips.
cabman9× in the book
“It puts him in the power of the cabman.”
naturalist/ˈnætʃɝəɫəst/9× in the book
There is a house indicated here which may be the residence of the naturalist—Stapleton, if I remember right, was his name.
gloom/ˈɡɫum/9× in the book
“The recent sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose name has been mentioned as the probable Liberal candidate for Mid-Devon at the next election, has cast a gloom over the county.
dreadful/ˈdɹɛdfəɫ/9× in the book
… Mr. Holmes, he was honestly convinced that a dreadful fate overhung his family, and certainly the records which he was able to give of his ancestors were not encouraging.
cigar/sɪˈɡɑɹ/9× in the book
That night he went out as usual for his nocturnal walk, in the course of which he was in the habit of smoking a cigar.
afterwards/ˈæftɝwɝdz/9× in the book
An instant afterwards he gave a little cry of satisfaction, and …
countryside/ˈkəntɹiˌsaɪd/9× in the book
Being himself childless, it was his openly expressed desire that the whole countryside should, within his own lifetime …
dull/ˈdəɫ/9× in the book
A dull light shone through heavy mullioned windows, and from the high chimneys which rose from the steep, high-angled roof there sprang a single black column of smoke.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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