HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. '' It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. 'Living in Ancient Greece in the 5th Century BC, Aesop was said to be a slave and story-teller. His much-loved, enduring fables are revered the world over and remain popular as moral tales for children. With infamous vignettes, such as the race between the hare and the tortoise, the vain jackdaw, and the wolf in sheep's clothing, the themes of the fables remain as fresh today as when they were first told and give an insight into the Ancient Greek world. Living in Ancient Greece in the 5th Century BC, Aesop was said to be a slave and story-teller. His much-loved, enduring fables are revered the world over and remain popular as moral tales for children. With infamous vignettes, such as the race between the hare and the tortoise, the vain jackdaw, and the wolf in sheep' s clothing, the themes of the fables remain as fresh today as when they were first told and give an insight into the Ancient Greek world.
CLASSIC LITERATURE: WORDS AND PHRASES adapted from the Collins English Dictionary
AccoucheurNOUN a male midwife or doctor
I think my sister must have had some general idea that I was a young offender whom an Accoucheur Policemen had taken up (on my birthday) and delivered over to her (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
addledADJ confused and unable to think properly
But she counted and counted till she got that addled (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
admirationNOUN amazement or wonder
lifting up his hands and eyes by way of admiration (Gulliverâs Travels by Jonathan Swift)
afeardADJ afeard means afraid
shake it â and donât be afeard (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
affectedVERB affected means followed
Hadst thou affected sweet divinity (Doctor Faustus 5.2 by Christopher Marlowe)
agroundADV when a boat runs aground, it touches the ground in a shallow part of the water and gets stuck
what kepâ you? â boat get aground? (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
agueNOUN a fever in which the patient has alternate hot and cold shivering fits
his exposure to the wet and cold had brought on fever and ague (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
alchemyADJ false or worthless
all wealth alchemy (The Sun Rising by John Donne)
all alikePHRASE the same all the time
Love, all alike (The Sun Rising by John Donne)
alow and aloftPHRASE alow means in the lower part or bottom, and aloft means on the top, so alow and aloft means on the top and in the bottom or throughout
Someoneâs turned the chest out alow and aloft (Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)
ambuscadeNOUN ambuscade is not a proper word. Tom means an ambush, which is when a group of people attack their enemies, after hiding and waiting for them
and so we would lie in ambuscade, as he called it (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
amiableADJ likeable or pleasant
Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
amuletNOUN an amulet is a charm thought to drive away evil spirits.
uttered phrases at once occult and familiar, like the amulet worn on the heart (Silas Marner by George Eliot)
amusementNOUN here amusement means a strange and disturbing puzzle
this was an amusement the other way (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)
ancientNOUN an ancient was the flag displayed on a ship to show which country it belongs to. It is also called the ensign
her ancient and pendants out (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)
anticADJ here antic means horrible or grotesque
armed and dressed after a very antic manner (Gulliverâs Travels by Jonathan Swift)
anticsNOUN antics is an old word meaning clowns, or people who do silly things to make other people laugh
And point like antics at his triple crown (Doctor Faustus 3.2 by Christopher Marlowe)
