All Creatures Great and Small: Chapters 1–12

by James Herriot
This classic novel, inspired by the author's own life, recounts the daily life of a veterinary surgeon living and working in the Yorkshire Dales of England.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–12, Chapters 13–27, Chapters 28–41, Chapters 42–54, Chapters 55–67
15 words 1 learner

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. wan
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    I managed a wan smile.
  2. deference
    a courteous expression of esteem or regard
    Like now, for instance; Uncle was obviously an accepted sage and the Dinsdales listened with deference to everything he said.
  3. strident
    being sharply insistent on being heard
    As I plodded down the slope, Uncle’s voice, strident and undefeated, reached me for the last time.
  4. stodgy
    excessively conventional and unimaginative and hence dull
    I had never been in Yorkshire before but the name had always raised a picture of a county as stodgy and unromantic as its pudding; I was prepared for solid worth, dullness and a total lack of charm.
  5. unkempt
    not properly maintained or cared for
    I could see unkempt lawns, a rockery and many fruit trees.
  6. captivated
    filled with wonder and delight
    Apparently captivated by the scene, he drove slowly down the hill, elbows resting on the wheel, his chin cupped in his hands.
  7. reverie
    an abstracted state of absorption
    At the bottom of the hill he came out of his reverie and spurted to seventy miles an hour.
  8. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
    Then, overcome by his own wit, he rested his forehead on the cow’s back and went into a long paroxysm of silent mirth.
  9. mirth
    great merriment
    Then, overcome by his own wit, he rested his forehead on the cow’s back and went into a long paroxysm of silent mirth.
  10. effusive
    uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm
    I got no effusive welcomes and when I started to tell them what I thought about the case they listened with open scepticism, but I found that if I got my jacket off and really worked at the job they began to thaw a little.
  11. factotum
    a servant employed to do a variety of jobs
    But it soon became clear that he was a factotum who dispensed and delivered medicines, washed the cars, answered the phone and even, in an emergency, went to a case.
  12. thoroughfare
    a public road from one place to another
    Some of them opened off the market place and many more were scattered behind the main thoroughfares in the old part of the town.
  13. matter-of-fact
    concerned with practical matters
    I always aimed at a brisk, matter-of-fact approach, but the old clichés had an empty ring.
  14. sang-froid
    great coolness and composure under strain
    For once, his sang-froid had deserted him.
  15. jocular
    characterized by jokes and good humor
    A month later, also in the Swan, he ran into Billy Breckenridge again. This time, Billy wasn’t so jocular.
Created on Tue Apr 14 08:27:44 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Apr 21 15:22:03 EDT 2026)

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