The Phantom of the Opera - Chapter 7: Faust and What Followed

Julie G. (United Kingdom)
Words from Gaston Leroux's novel "The Phantom of the Opera" (English translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, 1911).

[The maker of this vocabulary list would like to add that although this is the best-known and most widely available English translation of Leroux's novel, it is in fact an abridged version, despite some publishers' claims to the contrary. It is, however, in the public domain, and has a very nice style to it. Personally, I recommend either Lowell Bair's or Mireille Ribiere's translations if you're looking for the full text in English.]
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. concierge
    a caretaker in an apartment complex or hotel
    "`Those,' my dear fellow, are my concierge, her husband and her brother."
  2. cabal
    a clique that seeks power usually through intrigue
    She pretended that a wicked plot was being hatched against her, a cabal which would come to a head one of those days; but she added that she was not the woman to be intimidated.
  3. diva
    a distinguished female operatic singer
    Lastly, in the theater itself, the celebrated, but heartless and soulless diva made the most scandalous remarks about Christine and tried to cause her endless minor unpleasantnesses.
  4. chandelier
    an ornate branched lighting fixture
    The chandelier, the immense mass of the chandelier was slipping down, coming toward them, at the call of that fiendish voice.
  5. hearse
    a vehicle for carrying a coffin to a church or a cemetery
    The first thing she saw, when looking out of her window, was a hearse.
  6. eventuality
    a possible event or occurrence or result
    She relied upon them to hold themselves prepared for any eventuality and to silence the adversaries, if, as she feared, they created a disturbance.
  7. catastrophe
    a sudden violent change in the earth's surface
    But everybody knew how perfect an instrument her voice was; and there was no display of anger, but only of horror and dismay, the sort of dismay which men would have felt if they had witnessed the catastrophe that broke the arms of the Venus de Milo.
  8. manager
    someone who controls resources and expenditures
    On the Saturday morning, on reaching their office, the joint managers found a letter from O. G. worded in these terms:
  9. intimidated
    made scared or fearful as by threats
    She pretended that a wicked plot was being hatched against her, a cabal which would come to a head one of those days; but she added that she was not the woman to be intimidated.
  10. groom
    someone employed in a stable to take care of the horses
    "Yes, sir," explained Mercier, "there are several grooms at the Opera and M. Lachenel is at the head of them."
  11. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    When Carlotta heard of the astounding reception bestowed upon her understudy, she was at once cured of an incipient attack of bronchitis and a bad fit of sulking against the management and lost the slightest inclination to shirk her duties.
  12. missive
    a written message addressed to a person or organization
    Among them was an anonymous missive, written in red ink, in a hesitating, clumsy hand, which ran:
  13. viciously
    in a brutal manner
    The count, behind him, viciously gnawed his mustache, shrugged his shoulders and frowned.
  14. ovation
    enthusiastic recognition
    Christine Daae looked charming in her boy's clothes; and Carlotta's partisans expected to hear her greeted with an ovation which would have enlightened them as to the intentions of her friends.
  15. fiendish
    extremely evil or cruel
    The chandelier, the immense mass of the chandelier was slipping down, coming toward them, at the call of that fiendish voice.
  16. auditorium
    the area of a theater or hall where the audience sits
    M. Richard smiled and pointed to a fat, rather vulgar woman, dressed in black, sitting in a stall in the middle of the auditorium with a man in a broadcloth frock-coat on either side of her.
  17. imprudence
    a lack of caution in practical affairs
    The secretary urged her, in his chief's name, to commit no imprudence, to stay at home all day and to be careful of drafts; and Carlotta could not help, after he had gone, comparing this unusual and unexpected advice with the threats contained in the letter.
  18. ultimatum
    a final peremptory demand
    If you still care for peace, here is my ultimatum.
  19. consternation
    sudden shock or dismay that causes confusion
    There was consternation on Carlotta's face and consternation on the faces of all the audience.
  20. infernal
    characteristic of or resembling Hell
    So much so that, after some seconds spent in asking herself if she had really heard that note, that sound, that infernal noise issue from her throat, she tried to persuade herself that it was not so, that she was the victim of an illusion, an illusion of the ear, and not of an act of treachery on the part of her voice.
  21. shirk
    avoid one's assigned duties
    When Carlotta heard of the astounding reception bestowed upon her understudy, she was at once cured of an incipient attack of bronchitis and a bad fit of sulking against the management and lost the slightest inclination to shirk her duties.
  22. vigil
    a purposeful surveillance to guard or observe
    "Vain! In vain do I call, through my vigil weary, On creation and its Lord! Never reply will break the silence dreary! No sign! No single word!"
  23. imprint
    mark or stamp with or as if with pressure
    Next, his right foot imprinted its sole on the black taffeta of a skirt which certainly had never before undergone a similar outrage in a similar place.
  24. scandalous
    giving offense to moral sensibilities
    Lastly, in the theater itself, the celebrated, but heartless and soulless diva made the most scandalous remarks about Christine and tried to cause her endless minor unpleasantnesses.
  25. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    "Would she but deign to hear me And with one smile to cheer me..."
  26. gnaw
    bite or chew on with the teeth
    The count, behind him, viciously gnawed his mustache, shrugged his shoulders and frowned.
  27. conspirator
    a member of a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act
    They were all at the Opera that night, but looked round in vain for the fierce conspirators whom they were instructed to suppress.
  28. boyish
    befitting or characteristic of a young male
    Raoul, behind the curtain of his hands that veiled his boyish tears, thought only of the letter which he received on his return to Paris, where Christine, fleeing from Perros like a thief in the night, had arrived before him:
  29. ether
    compound with an oxygen atom linking two hydrocarbon groups
    "Let me gaze on the form below me, While from yonder ether blue Look how the star of eve, bright and tender, lingers o'er me, To love thy beauty too!"
  30. partisan
    a fervent and even militant proponent of something
    Christine Daae looked charming in her boy's clothes; and Carlotta's partisans expected to hear her greeted with an ovation which would have enlightened them as to the intentions of her friends.
  31. rumor
    gossip passed around by word of mouth
    It was so unexpected and so uncalled for that those who knew nothing about the rumors looked at one another and asked what was happening.
  32. dew
    water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight
    "Gentle flow'rs in the dew, Be message from me..."
  33. growl
    utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
    "The little baggage!" growled the count.
  34. vulgar
    of or associated with the great masses of people
    M. Richard smiled and pointed to a fat, rather vulgar woman, dressed in black, sitting in a stall in the middle of the auditorium with a man in a broadcloth frock-coat on either side of her.
  35. linger
    remain present although waning or gradually dying
    "Let me gaze on the form below me, While from yonder ether blue Look how the star of eve, bright and tender, lingers o'er me, To love thy beauty too!"
Created on Mon Aug 03 14:33:32 EDT 2015

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