Lady Windermere's Fan

Lady Windermere's Fan Glossary

Astounding

Surprisingly impressive

Console

To comfort someone or raise somebody's spirits

Degraded

Ruined, reduced in status, treated with contempt

Entreaties

Requests

Glides

To move smoothly in a quiet, continuous motion

Ignominy

Public shame or disgrace

Impertinent

Impolite, inappropriate, disrespectful

Indiscretion

Carelessness, lack of caution

Irony

Using language which expresses the opposite meaning as a means of sarcasm; a technique originally used in Greek tragedy whereby a character is left in the unknown yet the audience or reader knows the outcome

Optimism

Positive attitude towards a situation; hopefulness

Puritan

English Protestants of the 16th and 17th century who practiced extreme moral restriction

Scoundrel

Dishonest and unprincipled person

Speculation

Conjecture without evidence

Wretched

Miserable or unfortunate state

Vile

Awful, disgusting

Extravagant

Over the top

Mercenary

Primarily concerned with making money, even at the expense of ethics

Demmed

An archaic pronunciation of "damned"

Dowager

A widow with a title or property derived from her late husband

Edition de luxe

An edition of a book specifically printed and bound for its fine appearance

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