Kingdom of Knuffel

So this is one of those books that makes me realize my vocabulary isn't actually as good as I think it is.

I'm going to use this to write down some of the words I had to look up, embedded in their original context, in case anyone else wants to play along without having to read the whole book.

I'll add more as I go, since I'm not actually that far yet.


Current vocabulary words:

'He seemed to see, ranked indomitably behind her, all those bold, outspoken, competent, middle-aged women whose kind is peculiar to the higher levels of the English bourgeoisie, organizing charity bazaars, visiting the sick and impoverished, training callow maidservants, implacably gardening.'

...

'It was a tradition fruitful of annoyances to all concerned, the only palliating circumstance being that these annoyances were predictable and ran in well-worn grooves.'

...

'The headmaster meditated briefly, scrutinizing as he did so the familiar objects of the room: the rich blue Aubusson carpet, the reproductions of Constable and Corot on the walls, the comfortable leather-covered armchairs, and the big flat-topped desk at which he sat.'

...

'He paused on this mildly plebian mode of expression, and Miss Parry completed the sentence for him.'

...

'Miss Parry smiled -a small, nervous smile so out of keeping with her habitual candor that it was a kind of revelation to him; he realized suddenly that she found such topics objectionable not out of prudery or obscurantism but because their discussion was a real derogation of some unacknowledged ideal of decency to which she subscribed.'

...

'The whole affair is probably an ignis fatuus.'

...

'The problem of that lasciva puella, Brenda Boyce, had aroused in him a mild curiosity -and since the matter had to be dealt with, it might as well be dealt with now.'




And those are all just from the first chapter.

Replying to the poll question: I usually ignore them if I can understand them in their context.
But I may check them up if the context is unclear or if they appear repeatedly.


That said it sometimes happens that unusual English words have Latin roots, so they translate quite easily into Spanish.
Paliativo (noun or adjective) and paliar (verb) are common words in Spanish - so palliating just makes perfect sense to me even though I may have never heard it in English.
Same with plebeyo (plebian), obscurantismo (obscurantism), derogación (derogation).

Ignis fatuus and lasciva puella are plain Latin.
The first one translates into Spanish literally (fuego fatuo).
In the second one the adjective has not changed, while the noun is very well known - it was easy for simple sentences such as "Ubi est parva puella?"


Definetely Latin is a must

Concerning the poll.

I look it up immediately if I am reading on my tablet, or have my tablet right at hand. Else I just simply can not be bothered.

I didn't know Aubusson, ignis fatuus, fuego fatuo, or lasciva puella. They didn't mean what I expected based on the look of the words either... I don't mind pulling out a dictionary for a few words here and there, but occasionally I'll run into an old book with way too many words to look up for it to be worthwhile. Lolita is so bad vocabulary wise that I didn't make it past the pre-story pages.