Great Expectations
What sort of exilir does Mrs.Joe give pip?
exilir is a a sweetened, aromatic solution of alcohol and water containing, or used as a vehicle for, medicinal substances.
exilir is a a sweetened, aromatic solution of alcohol and water containing, or used as a vehicle for, medicinal substances.
The elixir is called tar water and it was pretty vile stuff,
"Some medical beast had revived tar-water in those days as a fine medicine, and Mrs. Joe always kept a supply of it in the cupboard; having a belief in its virtues correspondent to its nastiness. At the best of times, so much of this elixir was administered to me as a choice restorative, that I was conscious of going about, smelling like a new fence."
Tar water was "a Medieval medicine consisting of pine tar and water".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_water Great Expectations