The Plymouth Express Affair: 22 words to know before you read it
The 22 words Agatha Christie uses again and again in The Plymouth Express Affair 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.
maid/ˈmeɪd/14× in the book
My daughter traveled alone in her carriage, which was reserved as far as Bristol, her maid being in a third-class carriage in the next coach.”
monsieur/məsˈjɝ/10× in the book
“I accept, monsieur, all the more willingly that I saw your daughter in Paris several times.
jewel/ˈdʒuəɫ/10× in the book
… with several balls, and in consequence my daughter had with her nearly all her jewels—amounting in value perhaps, to about a hundred thousand dollars.”
mistress/ˈmɪstɹəs/8× in the book
She could have tea in the refreshment-room, but she was to wait at the station for her mistress, who would return to Bristol by an up-train in the course of the afternoon.
carriage/ˈkæɹɪdʒ/8× in the book
Lieutenant Simpson had the carriage to himself.
accomplice/əˈkɑmpɫəs/5× in the book
Now, Mr. Halliday, let me introduce you to Grace Kidd, otherwise Jane Mason, who will shortly rejoin her accomplice, Red Narky, under the kind escort of Japp.”
luggage/ˈɫəɡədʒ/5× in the book
She directed Mason to get out the luggage and put it in the cloak-room.
compartment/kəmˈpɑɹtmənt/5× in the book
N., stepped from the platform at Newton Abbot into a first-class compartment of the Plymouth Express.
wont/ˈwoʊnt/4× in the book
“Why the devil wont it go in?”
cloak/ˈkɫoʊk/4× in the book
She put the luggage in the cloak-room and had some tea.
chloroform/ˈkɫɔɹəˌfɔɹm/3× in the book
Yes, chloroform; that was it!
dollar/ˈdɑɫɝ/3× in the book
He’d pretty well run through his own money on the turf, and I should imagine old man Halliday’s dollars came along in the nick of time.
scoundrel/ˈskaʊndɹəɫ/3× in the book
I should say that for a good-looking, well-mannered, utterly unscrupulous young scoundrel, it would be hard to find his match!”
footman/ˈfʊtmən/3× in the book
Halliday rang the bell, and gave a short order to the footman.
toque3× in the book
“She was wearing a white fox fur toque, sir, with a white spotted veil, and a blue frieze coat and skirt—the shade of blue they call electric.”
millionaire/ˌmɪɫjəˈnɛɹ/3× in the book
The millionaire hesitated for a moment, and then replied.
murmur/ˈmɝmɝ/3× in the book
“That good Inspector believes in matter in motion,” murmured Poirot as our friend departed.
stab/ˈstæb/3× in the book
A young naval officer returning to Plymouth found under the seat of his compartment, the body of a woman, stabbed through the heart.
aloud/əˈɫaʊd/3× in the book
For answer he took up the newspaper and read aloud:
suitcase/ˈsutˌkeɪs/3× in the book
A porter followed him with a heavy suitcase.
fourteen/ˈfɔɹˈtin/3× in the book
She left London by the twelve-fourteen from Paddington, arriving at Bristol (where she had to change) at two-fifty.
frown/ˈfɹaʊn/3× in the book
Then he sniffed vaguely, and frowned.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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