The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Robert Louis Stevenson uses again and again in The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 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.
butler/ˈbətɫɝ/12× in the book
The solemn butler knew and welcomed him; he was subjected to no stage of delay, but ushered direct from the door to the dining-room where Dr. Lanyon sat alone over his wine.
theatre/ˈθiətɝ/11× in the book
… to mortify a taste for vintages; and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years.
cheque/ˈtʃɛk/10× in the book
… in real life, walk into a cellar door at four in the morning and come out with another man’s cheque for close upon a hundred pounds.
drawer/ˈdɹɔɹ/10× in the book
From this he was recalled by Mr. Utterson asking rather suddenly: “And you don’t know if the drawer of the cheque lives there?”
seal/ˈsiɫ/10× in the book
… but no cards or papers, except a sealed and stamped envelope, which he had been probably carrying to the post …
maid/ˈmeɪd/9× in the book
A maid servant living alone in a house not far from the river, had gone upstairs to bed about eleven.
murderer/ˈmɝdɝɝ/9× in the book
The murderer was gone long ago; but there lay his victim in the middle of the lane, incredibly mangled.
curiosity/ˌkjʊɹiˈɑsəti/9× in the book
… almost an inordinate, curiosity to behold the features of the real Mr. Hyde.
countenance/ˈkaʊntənəns/8× in the book
Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold …
recognise/ˈɹɛkəɡˌnaɪz/8× in the book
Presently her eye wandered to the other, and she was surprised to recognise in him a certain Mr. Hyde, who had once visited her master and for whom she had conceived a dislike.
lighted/ˈɫaɪtəd/8× in the book
Street after street and all the folks asleep—street after street, all lighted up as if for a procession and all as empty as a church—till at last I got into that state of mind when a man listens and listens and begins to long for the sight of a policeman.
scarce/ˈskɛɹs/8× in the book
I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why.
colour/ˈkəɫɝ/7× in the book
He was the usual cut and dry apothecary, of no particular age and colour, with a strong Edinburgh accent and about as emotional as a bagpipe.
inquire/ˌɪnˈkwaɪɹ/7× in the book
he inquired at last.
disappearance/ˌdɪsəˈpiɹəns/7× in the book
“And now one word more: it was Hyde who dictated the terms in your will about that disappearance?”
startle/ˈstɑɹtəɫ/7× in the book
He might see a reason for his friend’s strange preference or bondage (call it which you please) and even for the startling clauses of the will.
till/ˈtɪɫ/7× in the book
‘Set your mind at rest,’ says he, ‘I will stay with you till the banks open and cash the cheque myself.’
conscience/ˈkɑnʃəns/7× in the book
Ah, it’s an ill conscience that’s such an enemy to rest!
draught/ˈdɹæft/6× in the book
Let me but escape into my laboratory door, give me but a second or two to mix and swallow the draught that I had always standing ready; and whatever he had done …
pang/ˈpæŋ/6× in the book
I put him back, conscious at his touch of a certain icy pang along my blood.
hatred/ˈheɪtɹəd/6× in the book
… in the mind of the unimpressionable Enfield, a spirit of enduring hatred.
distress/dɪˈstɹɛs/6× in the book
I never saw a man so distressed as you were by my will; unless it were that hide-bound pedant, Lanyon, at what he called my scientific heresies.
stamp/ˈstæmp/6× in the book
And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane …
deformity/dɪˈfɔɹməti/5× in the book
He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point.
hitherto/ˈhɪˌðɝˈtu/5× in the book
And hitherto it was his ignorance of Mr. Hyde that had swelled his indignation; now, by a sudden turn, it was his knowledge.
honour/ˈɑnɝ/5× in the book
I bind my honour to you that I am done with him in this world.
slumber/ˈsɫəmbɝ/5× in the book
… black as it was, was nearly ripe for the conception of the day—the inmates of my house were locked in the most rigorous hours of slumber; and I determined …
din/ˈdɪn/5× in the book
or shall I give you a light in the dining-room?”
singular/ˈsɪŋɡjəɫɝ/5× in the book
It was reported by those who encountered them in their Sunday walks, that they said nothing, looked singularly dull and would hail with obvious relief the appearance of a friend.
shudder/ˈʃədɝ/5× in the book
But tonight there was a shudder in his blood; the face of Hyde sat heavy on his memory …
stature/ˈstætʃɝ/5× in the book
“Is this Mr. Hyde a person of small stature?”
doom/ˈdum/5× in the book
And yet when Utterson remarked on his ill looks, it was with an air of great firmness that Lanyon declared himself a doomed man.
swiftly/ˈswɪftɫi/5× in the book
He would be aware of the great field of lamps of a nocturnal city; then of the figure of a man walking swiftly; then of a child running from the doctor’s …
tempt/ˈtɛmpt/5× in the book
It was unlikely that the doctor should fear death; and yet that was what Utterson was tempted to suspect.
despair/dɪˈspɛɹ/5× in the book
But the words were hardly uttered, before the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below.
tremble/ˈtɹɛmbəɫ/5× in the book
But Lanyon’s face changed, and he held up a trembling hand.
conceal/kənˈsiɫ/5× in the book
Ah, it must be that; the ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace: punishment coming, pede claudo, years after memory has forgotten and self-love condoned the fault.”
fancy/ˈfænsi/5× in the book
… in which he was now left alone, was a pet fancy of his friend the doctor’s; and Utterson himself was wont to speak of it as the pleasantest room in London.
glow/ˈɡɫoʊ/5× in the book
… as the colour grows richer in stained windows; and the glow of hot autumn afternoons on hillside vineyards, was ready to be set free and to disperse the fogs of London.
unhappy/ənˈhæpi/5× in the book
… complaining of his exclusion from the house, and asking the cause of this unhappy break with Lanyon; and the next day brought him a long answer …
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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