The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, List 1

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson follow a trail from a lost Christmas goose to a priceless stolen gem to uncover a clever web of theft and deceit. Read the full text here.

This list covers vocabulary from the beginning of the story to "...the one which your family is now devouring."

Here is the link to List 2.
15 words 2 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. trivial
    concerned only with minor or unimportant things
    “The matter is a perfectly trivial one”—he jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat—“but there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.”
  2. devoid
    completely wanting or lacking
    “The matter is a perfectly trivial one”—he jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat—“but there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.”
  3. whimsical
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
    “Only one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles.”
  4. allude
    make an indirect reference to
    “Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the adventure of the man with the twisted lip.”
  5. assailant
    someone who attacks
    Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and seeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him, dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished...
  6. foresight
    providence by virtue of planning prudently for the future
    He had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence...
  7. sedentary
    requiring sitting or little activity
    “He is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream.”
  8. grizzled
    having gray or partially gray hair
    “He is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream.”
  9. patent
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
    “These are the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also, by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid on in his house.”
  10. assuredly
    without a doubt
    “If this man could afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world.”
  11. plausible
    apparently reasonable, valid, or truthful
    “Your reasoning is certainly plausible.”
  12. scintillating
    having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
    He held out his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric point in the dark hollow of his hand.
  13. depose
    declare under oath
    Catherine Cusack, maid to the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder’s cry of dismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room, where she found matters as described by the last witness.
  14. magistrate
    a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law
    Evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarily with the offense, but referred it to the Assizes.
  15. concise
    expressing much in few words
    "That is clear and concise.”
Created on Tue May 05 17:29:41 EDT 2026 (updated Tue May 26 12:19:32 EDT 2026)

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