begob = begorra - Anglo-Irish alteration of the expletive by God
sinister - relating to the use of the left hand (rare.)
testimonial* - a writing testifying to one's qualifications and character, written usually by a present or former employer, or by some responsible person who is competent to judge.
annis (l) - years
orf - a vulgar or affected pronunciation of off; give off - to relinquish; to cease, leave off.
to show the white feather* - (in allusion to the fact, that a white feather in a game-bird's tail is a mark of inferior breeding) to show signs of cowardice.
home cured - cured 'at home'
sealevel - a level or flat surface of the sea
bearer - one who brings a letter; the actual holder or presenter of a cheque, draft, or other order to pay money.
lictor - an officer whose functions were to attend upon a magistrate, bearing the fasces before him, and to execute sentence of judgement upon offenders.
sneaking - not openly declared or shown, undemonstrative
alter ego* - a second self
Oxonian* - of or belonging to Oxford; a member of the University of Oxford.
Romeo - a lover, a passionate admirer; a seducer, a habitual pursuer of women.
crack - to utter, pronounce, or tell aloud, briskly, or with éclat; formerly in crack a boast, word, jest; and still in crack a joke.
quip - a sharp or sarcastic remark directed against a person; a clever gird or hit. In later use also without implication of sharpness: A clever, smart, or witty saying; a verbal conceit. Freq. in phr. quips and cranks.
bedew* - to be wetted with dew; hence active, To cover with dew-like moisture.
lafter - dial. form of laughter
impediment* - something that impedes, hinders, or obstructs; a hindrance, an obstruction.
jarry - abounding in jarring or jars very
betimes - at times, occasionally
grant - to bestow or confer as a favour, or in answer to a request
cantankerous*- showing an ill-natured disposition; ill-conditioned and quarrelsome, perverse, cross-grained.
posioner - one who or that which poisons (lit. and fig.)
stained glass - transparent coloured glass, formed into decorative mosaics, used in windows (esp. of churches). Also, less correctly, glass which has been decorated with vitrified pigments.
goat - fig. A licentious man
suckle - to cause to take milk from the breast or udder
nanna - forms of address used by a child to a grandmother; occas., a children's nurse.
twitch - a quick, involuntary, usually slight movement of a muscle, etc., esp. of nervous origin; a convulsive or spasmodic jerk or quiver.
oldworld - of or pertaining to the old world or ancient order of things; of or pertaining to the Old World or continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, as opposed to the New World or America.
kin - a group of persons descended from a common ancestor, and so connected by blood-relationship.
thick and thin - adherence to some course, principle, or party, under all circumstances; that adheres or is ready to follow in all circumstances.
tubular bells* - a series of tuned metal tubes of graded length vertically suspended and struck by hammers.
patent - clear, plain, evident, manifest, obvious
amorist - a devotee of love, esp. sexual love
nasturtium - a genus of cruciferous plants having a pungent taste, of which the best-known representative is the Watercress (N. officinale).
manny = many (obs.)
sinker - one who sinks (rare.) sinner
watery grave* - the place in which a person lies drowned
diaspora* - the body of Jewish Christians outside of Palestine desperation
quin* - five of the kind
Basilius - St. Basil the Great; basileus (gr) - king.
...the Fianna flourished under the reign of Cormac mac Airt in the 3rd century AD.
camouflage* - to conceal by or as by camouflage
to be after - to be in pursuit of, trying to get or do (a thing)
alba - a dawn-song of the Provençal poets Albania
touch - to 'come down upon', 'get at', or 'tap' (a person) for money, to succeed in getting money from, to obtain a loan or gift of money from (colloq.)
customary - commonly used or practised; usual, habitual
halp - obs. pa. tense of help half
piece* - a coin; popularly applied to an English gold coin
aged - old
pebbled - Of spectacles, etc.: made with or having the appearance of pebble lenses.
jolly* - very, remarkably
pidgin - a language as spoken in a simplified or altered form by non-natives, spec. as a means of communication between people not sharing a common language pigeon
puffin - a sea-bird of the genus Fratercula, of the family Alcidæ or Auks
slander* - to defame or calumniate; to assail with slander; to spread slanderous reports about, speak evil of, traduce (a person, etc.)
eyot = ait - a little island
farout - remote, distant
Jonah**
wrecked* - that has undergone or suffered shipwreck; destroyed, lost, or cast ashore by shipwreck.
senior chief - second ship's officer
famose - famous
in touch - near enough to touch or be touched, within reach (of), accessible (also fig.)
chef - the man who presides over the kitchen of a large household; a head cook.
sheer - pure
dare - an act of daring or defying; a defiance, challenge; daring, boldness (obs.)
pot still - a still to which heat is applied directly as to a pot, not by means of a steam-jacket; attrib. applied to whisky distilled in a pot-still.
Spanish bean* - a variety of broad bean; the scarlet runner
knave - a boy or lad employed as a servant; hence, a male servant or menial in general; one of low condition (Freq. opposed to knight.); In playing-cards: The lowest court card of each suit, bearing the representation of a soldier or servant.
trifle - a matter of little value or importance
demented - out of one's mind, crazed, mad; infatuated
brick - a good fellow, one whom one approves for his genuine good qualities.
filip - to urge on, stimulate