Dubliners (Webster's Thesaurus Edition)

309 Pages·2006·4.09 MB·English

by  James Joyce

Dubliners

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

James Joyce

PSAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance ExaminationBoard and the National Merit Scholarship
Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT is a registered trademark of the College
Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE, AP and Advanced Placement are registered
trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book
nor endorses this book, LSAT is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither
sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
Dubliners

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

James Joyce

PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the
College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are
registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book,
GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated
with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council
which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
ICON CLASSICS

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www.icongrouponline.com

Dubliners: Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and AP® English
Test Preparation

This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005
Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright ©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc.
Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a
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PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the
National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book;
SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses
this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the
Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither
affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law
School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights
reserved.

ISBN 0-497-25279-1
iii
Contents

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR..........................................................................................1

THE SISTERS...................................................................................................................3

AN ENCOUNTER.............................................................................................................13

ARABY............................................................................................................................23

EVELINE........................................................................................................................31

AFTER THE RACE...........................................................................................................37

TWO GALLANTS..............................................................................................................45

THE BOARDING HOUSE.................................................................................................57

A LITTLE CLOUD............................................................................................................65

COUNTERPARTS............................................................................................................81

CLAY..............................................................................................................................93

A PAINFUL CASE..........................................................................................................101

IVY DAY IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM............................................................................111

A MOTHER...................................................................................................................131

GRACE.........................................................................................................................145

THE DEAD....................................................................................................................181

GLOSSARY...................................................................................................................217

James Joyce 1

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR

Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on
standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently
assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this
edition of Dubliners by James Joyce was edited for students who are actively building their
vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced Placement®), GRE®,
LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations.1

Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of
synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in
other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic
words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are “difficult,
and often encountered” in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided
for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language,
and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within
context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not
already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it
has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the
book; Synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary.

Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-online-
dictionary.org. Please send suggestions to [email protected]

The Editor
Webster’s Online Dictionary
www.websters-online-dictionary.org
1 P S A T ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the
College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are
registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book,
GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated
with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council
which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.

James Joyce 3

THE SISTERS

THERE was no hope for him this time: it was the third stroke. Night after
night I had passed the house (it was vacation time) and studied the lighted
square of window: and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way,
faintly and evenly. If he was dead, I thought, I would see the reflection of candles
on the darkened blind for I knew that two candles must be set at the head of a
corpse. He had often said to me: "I am not long for this world," and I had thought
his words idle. Now I knew they were true. Every night as I gazed up at the
window I said softly to myself the word paralysis. It had always sounded
strangely in my ears, like the word gnomon in the Euclid and the word simony
in the Catechism. But now it sounded to me like the name of some maleficent
and sinful being. It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to
look upon its deadly work.%
Old Cotter was sitting at the fire, smoking, when I came downstairs to
supper. While my aunt was ladling out my stirabout he said, as if returning to
some former remark of his:
"No, I wouldn't say he was exactly... but there was something queer... there
was something uncanny about him. I'll tell you my opinion..."
He began to puff at his pipe, no doubt arranging his opinion in his mind.
Tiresome old fool! When we knew him first he used to be rather interesting,

Thesaurus
gnomon: (n) dial, horologe, apoplexy, akinesia, alalia, tiresome: (adj) tedious, dull, laborious,
pendulum, hourglass, indicator, paralyzation, disability; (adj) irksome, monotonous, annoying,
sundial, clepsydra. consumption, decline, syncope, slow, dreary, bothersome; (adj, v)
lighted: (adj) illuminated, lit, light, sideration. wearisome, troublesome.
ablaze, bright, ignited, burn, burning, puff: (adj, n, v) gasp; (n, v) blow, whiff, ANTONYMS: (adj) stimulating, fun,
ignite, kindled, lighten. gust, drag; (v) boast, inflate, huff, varied, soothing, pleasant, brisk,
maleficent: (adj) malign, pernicious, heave, brag, distend. exciting, convenient, refreshing.
venomous, mischievous, malevolent, sinful: (adj) wicked, impious, bad, uncanny: (adj) weird, eerie, strange,
malefic, baneful, baleful, harmful, iniquitous, ungodly, depraved, ghostly, unearthly, unnatural,
ominous, galling. ANTONYM: (adj) immoral, profane, criminal, wrong, eldritch, mysterious, odd, frightful,
beneficent. unholy. ANTONYMS: (adj) pious, hideous. ANTONYMS: (adj) normal,
paralysis: (n) anaesthesia, numbness, virtuous, moral, right, pure. common, ordinary.
4 Dubliners
talking of faints and worms; but I soon grew tired of him and his endless stories
about the distillery.%
"I have my own theory about it," he said. "I think it was one of those...
peculiar cases... But it's hard to say..."
He began to puff again at his pipe without giving us his theory. My uncle
saw me staring and said to me:
"Well, so your old friend is gone, you'll be sorry to hear."
"Who?" said I.
"Father Flynn."
"Is he dead?"
"Mr. Cotter here has just told us. He was passing by the house."
I knew that I was under observation so I continued eating as if the news had
not interested me. My uncle explained to old Cotter.
"The youngster and he were great friends. The old chap taught him a great
deal, mind you; and they say he had a great wish for him."
"God have mercy on his soul," said my aunt piously.
Old Cotter looked at me for a while. I felt that his little beady black eyes were
examining me but I would not satisfy him by looking up from my plate. He
returned to his pipe and finally spat rudely into the grate.
"I wouldn't like children of mine," he said, "to have too much to say to a man
like that."
"How do you mean, Mr. Cotter?" asked my aunt.
"What I mean is," said old Cotter, "it's bad for children. My idea is: let a
young lad run about and play with young lads of his own age and not be... Am I
right, Jack?"
"That's my principle, too," said my uncle. "Let him learn to box his corner.
That's what I'm always saying to that Rosicrucian there: take exercise. Why,
when I was a nipper every morning of my life I had a cold bath, winter and

Thesaurus
beady: (adj) beaded, bejewelled, provoke; (n) lattice. respectfully, graciously, decently,
gemmed, spangly, spangled, nipper: (n) kid, clamp, kiddy, chela, civilly, properly, attentively,
sequined, jewelled, jeweled, buttony, nippers, child, youngster, shaver, tot, agreeably, tactfully, thoughtfully,
buttonlike, bespangled. urchin, waif. acceptably, gently.
cotter: (n) cottier, cottager, wedge, piously: (adv) religiously, reverently, spat: (n, v) squabble, altercation, tiff,
cottar, chock, holdfast, fastening, godly, spiritually, devotedly, bicker, dispute, wrangle, row; (n)
helot, serf, provincial, fastener. righteously, sacredly, earnestly, gaiter, argument, bickering, fuss.
examining: (v) examine, investigate; saintly, purely, devotionally. ANTONYM: (n) agreement.
(adj) investigative, curious, rudely: (adv) crudely, coarsely, youngster: (n) lad, juvenile, kid, child,
disquisitive, exploratory, inquiring. uncivilly, indelicately, impolitely, urchin, toddler, youth, adolescent,
grate: (v) grind, creak, scrape, abrade, roughly, harshly, vulgarly, brutally, bairn, baby, tot. ANTONYMS: (n)
gall, gnash, fret, rub, aggravate, meanly, wildly. ANTONYMS: (adv) adult, elder.
James Joyce 5
summer. And that's what stands to me now. Education is all very fine and large...
Mr. Cotter might take a pick of that leg mutton," he added to my aunt.%
"No, no, not for me," said old Cotter.
My aunt brought the dish from the safe and put it on the table.
"But why do you think it's not good for children, Mr. Cotter?" she asked.
"It's bad for children," said old Cotter, "because their mind are so
impressionable. When children see things like that, you know, it has an effect..."
I crammed my mouth with stirabout for fear I might give utterance to my
anger. Tiresome old red-nosed imbecile!
It was late when I fell asleep. Though I was angry with old Cotter for
alluding to me as a child, I puzzled my head to extract meaning from his
unfinished sentences. In the dark of my room I imagined that I saw again the
heavy grey face of the paralytic. I drew the blankets over my head and tried to
think of Christmas. But the grey face still followed me. It murmured, and I
understood that it desired to confess something. I felt my soul receding into
some pleasant and vicious region; and there again I found it waiting for me. It
began to confess to me in a murmuring voice and I wondered why it smiled
continually and why the lips were so moist with spittle. But then I remembered
that it had died of paralysis and I felt that I too was smiling feebly as if to
absolve the simoniac of his sin.
The next morning after breakfast I went down to look at the little house in
Great Britain Street. It was an unassuming shop, registered under the vague
name of Drapery . The drapery consisted mainly of children's bootees and
umbrellas; and on ordinary days a notice used to hang in the window, saying:
Umbrellas Re-covered . No notice was visible now for the shutters were up. A
crape bouquet was tied to the doorknocker with ribbon. Two poor women and a
telegram boy were reading the card pinned on the crape. I also approached and
read:

July 1st, 1895

Thesaurus
absolve: (adj, v) justify; (v) forgive, (adj, v) crimp; (adj) deep mourning, (adj) genius.
exculpate, exonerate, acquit, free, weeds. paralytic: (adj) paralytical, paralyzed,
pardon, remit, clear, redeem, doorknocker: (n) rapper, boob, breast, torpid, comatose; (n) paretic,
discharge. ANTONYMS: (v) convict, detractor, bosom, device, disparager, handicapped person, invalid; (v)
blame, condemn, sentence, punish, depreciator. withered.
obligate, incriminate, impeach, hold, drapery: (n) drape, clothing, dress, receding: (n) disappearance, fadeout,
charge, bind. blind, raiment, costume, toilette, recession, niche; (adj) moving back,
began: (v) Gan. furnishings, trim, guise, toilet. low, hairless, balding, going out,
bootees: (n) bootie, booties. drew: (n) move, John Drew. recessive, retiring.
crape: (n, v) curl; (n) French pancake, imbecile: (adj) foolish, idiotic, fatuous, spittle: (n) slaver, slobber, spit,
hotcake, flapcake, flapjack, dumb, imbecilic, simple; (n) idiot, phlegm, sputum, drivel, dribble,
griddlecake, pancake, battercake; moron, cretin, ass, oaf. ANTONYM: drool, spital, mucus, expectoration.