sack
verb, transitive. To dismiss from employment. To put into a sack or sacks. To plunder and destroy a captured town, building or other place.
When the news crews were finally able to enter the area, the video they aired was staggering: a swath of land half a mile wide--fields, suburbs, strip malls--looked as if a host of giants had sacked it. Topsoil and young crops had been sucked away, houses were reduced to splinters, rows of prosperous businesses were demolished, leaving empty slabs. Cars and trucks lay tumbled about like the toys of an unruly child, their bodywork so battered and their paint so scoured they appeared to have aged thirty years. Where the tornado had crossed roads, the asphault had been vacuumed up. When we saw that, we couldn’t help but wonder where those chunks had come down, for surely they must have fallen somewhere.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Rack
rack
verb, transitive. To cause extreme physical or mental pain to. To subject to extreme stress. To place something in or on a rack: “The shoes were racked neatly beneath the dresses.”
“What did I do to you to make you hate me?” Anna’s boss demanded.
Of all the things he could have said to her, nothing could have surprised her more. “I--I don’t!” she stammered. Whatever could have given him that idea?
“Then why are you trying to sabotage a million-dollar account?” he persisted.
“I’m not.” Even to her, her protest sounded weak and unconvincing.
“I can’t think of any other explanation for the way you’ve mishandled things....” He went on and she began to have trouble concentrating on what he was saying as she tried to review what she might have done with the Troy Pharmaceuticals account that was so objectionable. Only yesterday afternoon, she had talked with their marketing manager on the phone and brought him up to date on the production schedule. He had been cheerful when she rang off. Who had complained about her actions? And why?
“I’m dumbfounded that you would take this over and screw it up like this,” her boss was saying.
Racked with confusion and fear, she broke down.
“You told me to!” she cried, sobbing now. “You assigned me to take over that account.”
His only response was silence.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To cause extreme physical or mental pain to. To subject to extreme stress. To place something in or on a rack: “The shoes were racked neatly beneath the dresses.”
“What did I do to you to make you hate me?” Anna’s boss demanded.
Of all the things he could have said to her, nothing could have surprised her more. “I--I don’t!” she stammered. Whatever could have given him that idea?
“Then why are you trying to sabotage a million-dollar account?” he persisted.
“I’m not.” Even to her, her protest sounded weak and unconvincing.
“I can’t think of any other explanation for the way you’ve mishandled things....” He went on and she began to have trouble concentrating on what he was saying as she tried to review what she might have done with the Troy Pharmaceuticals account that was so objectionable. Only yesterday afternoon, she had talked with their marketing manager on the phone and brought him up to date on the production schedule. He had been cheerful when she rang off. Who had complained about her actions? And why?
“I’m dumbfounded that you would take this over and screw it up like this,” her boss was saying.
Racked with confusion and fear, she broke down.
“You told me to!” she cried, sobbing now. “You assigned me to take over that account.”
His only response was silence.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Quaff
quaff
verb, transitive. To drink something, especially an alcoholic beverage, heartily.
The moment he waited for--every day when he cultivated the fields in early summer--was the mid-morning break. He didn’t wear a watch. He waited until the sun was positioned just so in the sky, about two fingers’ width above the hickory tree of the east windbreak. That was break time.
He shut down the engine and climbed down from the steel seat, molded to cup a man’s behind and pierced for a little ventilation, but not padded. He would walk to the fence along the row he had just disced, looking side to side to assess his progress; thinking about the deep prints he was leaving in the fluffed earth the tractor had left hehind. When he reached the fence he would open the cooler he had left there in the shade, open it, and remove a quart jar of cold tea. With one swift, thirsty wrench he would remove the two-piece Ball lid, tip the jar to his lips, and quaff it, not pausing for breath until the contents were half-gone. He would survey the entire field then, letting the cold of the jar’s contents penetrate the palm of his hand, thinking about how much more he would cultivate before the long break he took for lunch. He sipped at the jar in this ruminating state, enjoying the dappling shade and sunlight, until it was drained. Then he would make sure the cooler was closed up before he trudged back to the tractor, started it, and resumed his toil.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To drink something, especially an alcoholic beverage, heartily.
The moment he waited for--every day when he cultivated the fields in early summer--was the mid-morning break. He didn’t wear a watch. He waited until the sun was positioned just so in the sky, about two fingers’ width above the hickory tree of the east windbreak. That was break time.
He shut down the engine and climbed down from the steel seat, molded to cup a man’s behind and pierced for a little ventilation, but not padded. He would walk to the fence along the row he had just disced, looking side to side to assess his progress; thinking about the deep prints he was leaving in the fluffed earth the tractor had left hehind. When he reached the fence he would open the cooler he had left there in the shade, open it, and remove a quart jar of cold tea. With one swift, thirsty wrench he would remove the two-piece Ball lid, tip the jar to his lips, and quaff it, not pausing for breath until the contents were half-gone. He would survey the entire field then, letting the cold of the jar’s contents penetrate the palm of his hand, thinking about how much more he would cultivate before the long break he took for lunch. He sipped at the jar in this ruminating state, enjoying the dappling shade and sunlight, until it was drained. Then he would make sure the cooler was closed up before he trudged back to the tractor, started it, and resumed his toil.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Pace
pace
verb, intransitive. To walk at a steady and consistent speed, especially back and forth and as an expression of anxiety or annoyance.
verb, transitive. To measure a distance by walking it and counting the number of steps taken. To lead another runner in a race in order to establish a competitive speed.
“Pace oneself”: to do something at a slow and steady rate or speed in order to avoid overexerting oneself.
To move or develop something at a particular rate or speed.
Marcy had been shopping for fifteen minutes before she became aware of the man who was pacing her as she moved up and down the aisles. At first, she assumed it was just her imagination, but soon acknowledged that she had acquired a shadow.
Still thinking she could be wrong about him, she continued to consult her list and fill her cart, keeping the dark-clothed figure in her peripheral vision. He stayed about four yards away, stopping when she stopped, moving when she moved. Her sense of alarm increased, and she was glad there were so many people in the store.
What about the parking lot? She had parked some distance from the entrance and it had already been dark when she entered the store. Should she ask for the manager and tell him she wanted an escort to her car? Should she call Jim at home and ask him to meet her here? He wouldn’t be happy about that, but it would be preferable to having his wife abducted by a serial killer. She mulled her choices as she worked her way from Produce to Dairy.
In Frozen Foods, her patience snapped. She spun on one foot and looked directly at the man. He was ordinary-looking, in jeans, a t-shirt, with a jean jacket over that. He had dark hair and wore glasses. Even though the two of them were close to each other, he stared into the ice-cream case before him, refusing to meet her gaze. She stood her ground, determined to keep looking at him until he responded in some way. She studied the part in his hair, the pale cast of the skin on his face, the stubble on his cheeks and upper lip, the set of his mouth. If he did attack her later, she wanted to be able to give a detailed description of the creep.
He could only tolerate her scrutiny for one or two minutes. Suddenly, he turned away from her and hurried to the end of the aisle. It was only then that she noticed that he had no cart and nothing in his hands.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, intransitive. To walk at a steady and consistent speed, especially back and forth and as an expression of anxiety or annoyance.
verb, transitive. To measure a distance by walking it and counting the number of steps taken. To lead another runner in a race in order to establish a competitive speed.
“Pace oneself”: to do something at a slow and steady rate or speed in order to avoid overexerting oneself.
To move or develop something at a particular rate or speed.
Marcy had been shopping for fifteen minutes before she became aware of the man who was pacing her as she moved up and down the aisles. At first, she assumed it was just her imagination, but soon acknowledged that she had acquired a shadow.
Still thinking she could be wrong about him, she continued to consult her list and fill her cart, keeping the dark-clothed figure in her peripheral vision. He stayed about four yards away, stopping when she stopped, moving when she moved. Her sense of alarm increased, and she was glad there were so many people in the store.
What about the parking lot? She had parked some distance from the entrance and it had already been dark when she entered the store. Should she ask for the manager and tell him she wanted an escort to her car? Should she call Jim at home and ask him to meet her here? He wouldn’t be happy about that, but it would be preferable to having his wife abducted by a serial killer. She mulled her choices as she worked her way from Produce to Dairy.
In Frozen Foods, her patience snapped. She spun on one foot and looked directly at the man. He was ordinary-looking, in jeans, a t-shirt, with a jean jacket over that. He had dark hair and wore glasses. Even though the two of them were close to each other, he stared into the ice-cream case before him, refusing to meet her gaze. She stood her ground, determined to keep looking at him until he responded in some way. She studied the part in his hair, the pale cast of the skin on his face, the stubble on his cheeks and upper lip, the set of his mouth. If he did attack her later, she wanted to be able to give a detailed description of the creep.
He could only tolerate her scrutiny for one or two minutes. Suddenly, he turned away from her and hurried to the end of the aisle. It was only then that she noticed that he had no cart and nothing in his hands.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Oar
oar
noun. A pole with a flat blade used to row or steer a boat through water.
verb, transitive. Row or propel with or as with oars. Move something, especially the hands, like oars.
She glanced toward the overhead door. “Oh, no,” she murmured, then looked down at her clipboard again. Josh looked at the opening in turn, just in time to see the company president oar his way through the plastic strips that hung across the opening and pause, glaring at the workers who were stationed here and there in the vast space.
“Mrs. Anderson,” the president stated.
Josh’s companion sighed, lowered her clipboard, and approached the suit-clad man, who had not moved from his position. It was one of the ways he exercised power, Josh decided: summoning an employee to him instead of walking to her and starting a conversation while she continued what she was doing. By interrupting her work, he made her life a little more unpleasant than it would be if he had stayed in his office and issued a memo. Josh guessed that the executive was one of those people who can’t feel good unless he impacts another person’s life in some way--usually for the worse.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
noun. A pole with a flat blade used to row or steer a boat through water.
verb, transitive. Row or propel with or as with oars. Move something, especially the hands, like oars.
She glanced toward the overhead door. “Oh, no,” she murmured, then looked down at her clipboard again. Josh looked at the opening in turn, just in time to see the company president oar his way through the plastic strips that hung across the opening and pause, glaring at the workers who were stationed here and there in the vast space.
“Mrs. Anderson,” the president stated.
Josh’s companion sighed, lowered her clipboard, and approached the suit-clad man, who had not moved from his position. It was one of the ways he exercised power, Josh decided: summoning an employee to him instead of walking to her and starting a conversation while she continued what she was doing. By interrupting her work, he made her life a little more unpleasant than it would be if he had stayed in his office and issued a memo. Josh guessed that the executive was one of those people who can’t feel good unless he impacts another person’s life in some way--usually for the worse.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Nag
nag
verb, transitive. To annoy or irritate someone with persistent fault-finding or continuous urging. To be persistently painful, troublesome, or worrying to, as in “a nagging pain.”
He locked the car, then hurried down the street, pelted by rain. He was distracted; unable to ignore an uneasiness that nagged him. It convinced him that he had forgotten to do something important. The omission would be serious--he just knew it. Probably grounds for termination.
The light over his building’s entryway was burned out. He turned toward the feeble glow of the only streetlamp as he sorted his keys, feeling the dampness soak deeper into his clothes as he stood there, finally locating the door key by feel.
He heard a faint sound as he inserted the key into the lock and began to turn toward it when the blow struck the back of his head. Light flared inside his vision, then he knew no more.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To annoy or irritate someone with persistent fault-finding or continuous urging. To be persistently painful, troublesome, or worrying to, as in “a nagging pain.”
He locked the car, then hurried down the street, pelted by rain. He was distracted; unable to ignore an uneasiness that nagged him. It convinced him that he had forgotten to do something important. The omission would be serious--he just knew it. Probably grounds for termination.
The light over his building’s entryway was burned out. He turned toward the feeble glow of the only streetlamp as he sorted his keys, feeling the dampness soak deeper into his clothes as he stood there, finally locating the door key by feel.
He heard a faint sound as he inserted the key into the lock and began to turn toward it when the blow struck the back of his head. Light flared inside his vision, then he knew no more.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Mangle
mangle
verb, transitive. To mutiliate, disfigure or damage by cutting, tearing or crushing. Possibly derived from an Anglo-Norman French word meaning To maim.
verb, transitive. To mutiliate, disfigure or damage by cutting, tearing or crushing. Possibly derived from an Anglo-Norman French word meaning To maim.
Lana tapped at the dressmaker’s door breathlessly, barely able to contain her excitement. She had rushed here after work after the woman had called and reported that the skirt was ready for a fitting. As she waited on the stoop, she recalled the day she had first come here, the precious parcel of fabric in her arms. “I bought this while on vacation in Scotland,” she had told the dressmaker. “It’s my family tartan.” She had felt reassured when Mrs. Abernathy lifted the folds of woolen cloth almost reverently, eyes alit with admiration. They had looked at designers’ drawings of skirt styles until she had settled on one. Abernathy had measured her, then she had left.
That had been three weeks ago: a long stretch to cut out and baste a skirt, she thought, but perhaps Abernathy was swamped in work. The office manager who had recommended her had praised her highly.
At last, the elderly woman opened the door and smiled as she invited Lana in. When they reached the studio, Lana recognized her fabric, made up into a garment that was spread on the big cutting table, but she didn’t recognize the garment. It was nothing like the gored, bias-cut skirt she had chosen. It was ... a toga? She wasn’t sure. She moved to the table and stared at it, trying to understand. Abernathy had mangled the beautiful plaid, reducing it to patches of irregular sizes and shapes, then reassembled them into a large, shapeless drape that Lana was certain she would never want to wear in public. Mrs. Abernathy picked up the ... garment ... and held it out to her.
“Go ahead, try it on,” she told Lana with an eager smile.
Lana took it, unsure where the neckline was; not knowing how to react. She looked at the dressmaker uneasily. Did Abernathy actually believe she had made the garment Lana had ordered? Had the woman gone mad?
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Lambaste
lambaste
verb, transitive. To criticize someone or something harshly.
The meeting broke up and the crowd that comprised the customer moved away to their cars, discussing their plans for lunch. She gathered her notes after a final glance-over and headed back to her office, pleased about all the information that had been exchanged and about all the plans that had been made. Everyone was going to make money when this project got rolling. As she walked, she began to smile.
Her boss was blocking the entrance to her room, glaring as she approached. She began to feel a foreboding. She paused when she was facing him. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he began to lambaste her:
“I can’t believe what you told them about those ads,” he cried. “I was struck speechless!” Mentally, she reviewed the few statements she had ventured during the meeting. She didn’t think any of the information she had volunteered had been erroneous--in fact, she was sure of it.
He went on: “I’m getting more and more frustrated with you. I’m reaching the end of my rope!” With that, he turned and charged down the hall toward his own office.
She watched him, her smile having fled along with her positive mood. She should have confronted him and demanded that he specify exactly what he thought she had done that was so wrong. Again, as occurred more and more often these days, she wondered whether this tirade was evidence of the onset of dementia. Should she call his wife and broach the subject? That might lead to worse problems for her. He wasn’t threatening to fire her--not yet.
She sighed and entered her small sanctum, knowing she would succumb to tears at some point, very soon.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To criticize someone or something harshly.
The meeting broke up and the crowd that comprised the customer moved away to their cars, discussing their plans for lunch. She gathered her notes after a final glance-over and headed back to her office, pleased about all the information that had been exchanged and about all the plans that had been made. Everyone was going to make money when this project got rolling. As she walked, she began to smile.
Her boss was blocking the entrance to her room, glaring as she approached. She began to feel a foreboding. She paused when she was facing him. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he began to lambaste her:
“I can’t believe what you told them about those ads,” he cried. “I was struck speechless!” Mentally, she reviewed the few statements she had ventured during the meeting. She didn’t think any of the information she had volunteered had been erroneous--in fact, she was sure of it.
He went on: “I’m getting more and more frustrated with you. I’m reaching the end of my rope!” With that, he turned and charged down the hall toward his own office.
She watched him, her smile having fled along with her positive mood. She should have confronted him and demanded that he specify exactly what he thought she had done that was so wrong. Again, as occurred more and more often these days, she wondered whether this tirade was evidence of the onset of dementia. Should she call his wife and broach the subject? That might lead to worse problems for her. He wasn’t threatening to fire her--not yet.
She sighed and entered her small sanctum, knowing she would succumb to tears at some point, very soon.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Keel
keel
verb, intransitive. To keel over, of a boat or ship. To turn over on its side. To capsize. Of a person or thing, to fall over, to collapse.
The last thing one would expect to see in the woods is a massive, healthy hickory tree that had snapped off near the ground, then keeled over. It must have been eighteen inches thick. Hickory is tough wood. That’s why tool handles are made of it. Once seasoned, it’s impossible to drive a nail into it.
It’s not quite that tough while it’s still alive, but it’s not weak, either. Since the damage occurred during a spring storm, in tornado season, the conclusion is that a tornado touched down briefly at that tree’s location, did its work in a second or two, then retracted its funnel and moved on. The sound of that trunk breaking must have been nearly deafening, but no one was in the woods during that storm--no one but birds and animals.
The downed tree is a testament to the power of those storms. One lives through countless thunderstorms in a lifetime; numerous incidents of high wind. But not even hurricane winds reach the speed of winds in a large tornado. Such force is almost unimaginable. Whatever it touches, it breaks.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, intransitive. To keel over, of a boat or ship. To turn over on its side. To capsize. Of a person or thing, to fall over, to collapse.
The last thing one would expect to see in the woods is a massive, healthy hickory tree that had snapped off near the ground, then keeled over. It must have been eighteen inches thick. Hickory is tough wood. That’s why tool handles are made of it. Once seasoned, it’s impossible to drive a nail into it.
It’s not quite that tough while it’s still alive, but it’s not weak, either. Since the damage occurred during a spring storm, in tornado season, the conclusion is that a tornado touched down briefly at that tree’s location, did its work in a second or two, then retracted its funnel and moved on. The sound of that trunk breaking must have been nearly deafening, but no one was in the woods during that storm--no one but birds and animals.
The downed tree is a testament to the power of those storms. One lives through countless thunderstorms in a lifetime; numerous incidents of high wind. But not even hurricane winds reach the speed of winds in a large tornado. Such force is almost unimaginable. Whatever it touches, it breaks.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Hack
hack
verb, transitive. To cut with rough or heavy blows. verb, intransitive. To use a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system. To gain unauthorized access to (data in a computer). To manage. To cope. To ride a horse for pleasure or exercise.
phrasal verb. To pass one’s time idly or with no definite purpose, as in “hack around.” To annoy or infuriate someone, as in “hack someone off.”
verb, transitive. To cut with rough or heavy blows. verb, intransitive. To use a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system. To gain unauthorized access to (data in a computer). To manage. To cope. To ride a horse for pleasure or exercise.
phrasal verb. To pass one’s time idly or with no definite purpose, as in “hack around.” To annoy or infuriate someone, as in “hack someone off.”
When the sky began to clear, she was relieved. He had been in her way since first light, unable to till or cultivate because of the rain. Unused to her housekeeping routines and bored, he followed her as she swept and dusted, persisting even after she told him uncounted times that no, she didn’t need any help. He had resorted to re-reading an old issue of one of his stockman’s journals, but that distraction wore out by the time she called him for lunch.
She declined his offer to help with the dishes, leaving him sipping the last of his tea at the kitchen table. She noticed that the rain had stopped before he did, since she was standing at the sink, looking out the window. “Finally,” she heard him mutter, then his chair scraped and he brought his glass and placed it on the counter beside her. Without a further word, he left the kitchen by the screen door and headed for the barn.
Ten minutes later, she glimpsed him astride the bay gelding as they crossed the fallow field at a brisk walk. She knew he would be hacking the game trails that threaded the orchard and woodlot for an hour or two before returning to pester her again, and she relaxed. In another woman, her attitude might be taken as evidence that she was anxious for him to leave the house so she could call her lover, but that was not the case. She had held sway in this house with her own thoughts for companionship for so many years that she had stopped longing for that of another person.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
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