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Section 3: Words and Expressions from Module 2 Fantasy Literature—Philip Pullman
heroine
noun
1 a girl or woman who is admired by many for doing sth brave or good: the heroines of the revolution 2 the main female character in a story, novel, film/movie, etc.: The heroine is played by Demi Moore. Shakespeare’s heroines 3 a woman that you admire because of a particular quality or skill that she has: Madonna was her teenage heroine.
hero
noun (pl. -oes)
1 a person, especially a man, who is admired by many people for doing sth brave or good: a war hero (= sb who was very brave during a war) The Olympic team were given a hero’s welcome on their return home. one of the country’s national heroes 2 the main male character in a story, novel, film/movie etc.: The hero of the novel is a ten-year old boy. 3 a person, especially a man, that you admire because of a particular quality or skill that they have: my childhood hero
direction
noun
WHERE TO
1 [C, U] the general position a person or thing moves or points towards: Tom went off in the direction of home. She glanced in his direction. The aircraft was flying in a northerly direction. The road was blocked in both directions. They hit a truck coming in the opposite direction. Has the wind changed direction? When the police arrived, the crowd scattered in all directions. I lost all sense of direction (= I didn’t know which way to go).
DEVELOPMENT
2 [C, U] the general way in which a person or thing develops: The exhibition provides evidence of several new directions in her work. I am very unhappy with the direction the club is taking. It’s only a small improvement, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.
WHERE FROM
3 [C] the general position a person or thing comes or develops from: Support came from an unexpected direction. Let us approach the subject from a different direction.
PURPOSE
4 [U] a purpose; an aim: We are looking for somebody with a clear sense of direction. Once again her life felt lacking in direction.
INSTRUCTIONS
5 [C, usually pl.] instructions about how to do sth, where to go, etc.: Let’s stop and ask for directions. Simple directions for assembling the model are printed on the box.
CONTROL
6 [U] the art of managing or guiding sb/sth: All work was produced by the students under the direction of John Williams. She was entrusted with the direction of the project.
FILM / MOVIE
7 [U] the instructions given by sb directing a film/movie: There is some clever direction and the film is very well shot.
vanish
verb [v]
1 to disappear suddenly and/or in a way that you cannot explain: He turned around and vanished into the house. The magician vanished in a puff of smoke. My glasses seem to have vanished. He vanished without trace.2 to stop existing: the vanishing woodlands of Europe All hopes of a peaceful settlement had now vanished. All thoughts of leaving vanished from his mind.
comfortable
adj.
CLOTHES / FURNITURE
1 (of clothes, furniture, etc.) making you feel physically relaxed; pleasant to wear, sit on, etc.: It’s such a comfortable bed. These new shoes are not very comfortable. a warm comfortable house Let me slip into something more comfortable (= change into more comfortable clothing).
PHYSICALLY RELAXED
2 feeling pleasantly physically relaxed; warm enough, without pain, etc.: Are you comfortable? She shifted into a more comfortable position on the chair. Please make yourself comfortable while I get some coffee. The patient is comfortable (= not in pain) after his operation.
CONFIDENT
3 confident and not worried or afraid: He’s more comfortable with computers than with people. I never feel very comfortable in her presence.
HAVING MONEY
4 having enough money to buy what you want without worrying about the cost: They’re not millionaires, but they’re certainly very comfortable. He makes a comfortable living. They come from comfortable middle-class families.
VICTORY
5 quite large; allowing you to win easily: The party won with a comfortable majority. a comfortable 2-0 win
pat
verb (-tt-)
to touch sb/sth gently several times with your hand flat, especially as a sign of affection: [vn] She patted the dog on the head. He patted his sister’s hand consolingly. [vn-adj] Pat your face dry with a soft towel.
pat sb / yourself on the back to praise sb or yourself for doing sth well
noun
1 a gentle friendly touch with your open hand or with a flat object: a pat on the head He gave her knee an affectionate pat.2 ~ of butter a small, soft, flat lump of butter: baked potatoes with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of paprika
a pat on the back (for sth / for doing sth) praise or approval for sth that you have done well: He deserves a pat on the back for all his hard work. Give yourself a pat on the back!
adj.
(usually disapproving) (of an answer, a comment, etc.) too quick, easy or simple; not seeming natural or realistic: The ending of the novel is a little too pat to be convincing. There are no pat answers to these questions.
adv.
have / know sth off pat (BrE) (NAmE have / know sth down pat) to know sth perfectly so that you can repeat it at any time without having to think about it: He had all the answers off pat.
invisible
adj.
1 ~ (to sb/sth) that cannot be seen: stars invisible to the naked eye a wizard who could make himself invisible She felt invisible in the crowd. 2 (economics) connected with a service that a country provides, such as banks or tourism, rather than goods: invisible earnings
blink
verb
1 when you blink or blink your eyes or your eyes blink, you shut and open your eyes quickly: [v] He blinked in the bright sunlight. Lucy blinked at him in astonishment. I’ll be back before you can blink (= very quickly). When I told him the news he didn’t even blink (= showed no surprise at all). [also vn] 2 [v] to shine with an unsteady light; to flash on and off: Suddenly a warning light blinked.
blink sthaway / back to try to control tears or clear your eyes by blinking: She bravely blinked back her tears.
edge
noun
1 [C] the outside limit of an object, a surface or an area; the part furthest from the centre: He stood on the edge of the cliff. a big house on / at the edge of town Don’t put that glass so near the edge of the table. I sat down at the water’s edge. Stand the coin on its edge. She tore the page out roughly, leaving a ragged edge in the book
2 [C] the sharp part of a blade, knife or sword that is used for cutting: Be careful—it has a sharp edge. , carving knife 3 (usually the edge) [sing.] the point at which sth, especially sth bad, may begin to happen: They had brought the country to the edge of disaster. 4 [sing.] ~ (on / over sb/sth) a slight advantage over sb/sth: The company needs to improve its competitive edge. They have the edge on us.5 [sing.] a strong, often exciting, quality: Her show now has a hard political edge to it.6 [sing.] a sharp tone of voice, often showing anger: He did his best to remain calm, but there was a distinct edge to his voice.7 -edged (in adjectives) having the type of edge or edges mentioned: a lace-edged handkerchief
be on edge to be nervous, excited or bad-tempered
on the edge of one’s seat very excited and giving your full attention to sth: The game had the crowd on the edge of their seats. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened next.
take the edge off sth to make sth less strong, less bad, etc.: The sandwich took the edge off my appetite. I took an aspirin to take the edge off the pain. A squeeze of lemon takes the edge off the sweetness.
square
adj.
SHAPE
1 (geometry) having four straight equal sides and four angles of 90°: a square room 2 forming an angle of 90° exactly or approximately: The book had rounded, not square, corners. square shoulders He had a firm, square jaw.
MEASUREMENT
3 used after a unit of measurement to say that sth measures the same amount on each of four sides: a carpet four metres square 4 (abbr. sq) used after a number to give a measurement of area: an area of 36 square metres
BROAD / SOLID
5 used to describe sth that is broad or that looks solid in shape: a man of square build—see also four-square
LEVEL / PARALLEL
6 [not before noun] ~ (with sth) level with or parallel to sth: tables arranged square with the wall
WITH MONEY
7 (informal) if two people are square, neither of them owes money to the other: Here’s the £10 I owe you—now we’re square.
IN SPORT
8 ~ (with sb) if two teams are square, they have the same number of points: The teams were all square at half-time.
FAIR / HONEST
9 fair or honest, especially in business matters: a square deal Are you being square with me?
IN AGREEMENT
10 ~ with sth in agreement with sth: That isn’t quite square with what you said yesterday.
a square meal a good, satisfying meal: He looks as though he hasn’t had a square meal for weeks.
noun
SHAPE
1 [C] a shape with four straight sides of equal length and four angles of 90°; a piece of sth that has this shape: First break the chocolate into squares. The floor was tiled in squares of grey and white marble.
IN TOWN
2 [C] an open area in a town, usually with four sides, surrounded by buildings: The hotel is just off the main square. the market / town / village square
3 Square [sing.] (abbr. Sq.) (used in addresses): They live at 95 Russell Square.
MATHEMATICS
4 [C] the number obtained when you multiply a number by itself: The square of 7 is 49.
back to square one a return to the situation you were in at the beginning of a project, task, etc., because you have made no real progress: If this suggestion isn’t accepted, we’ll be back to square one.
verb [vn]
SHAPE
1 ~ sth (off) to make sth have straight edges and corners: It was like trying to square a circle. That is, it was impossible. The boat is rounded at the front but squared off at the back.
MATHEMATICS
2 [usually passive] to multiply a number by itself: Three squared is written 32. Four squared equals 16.
SHOULDERS
3 if you square yourself, or square your shoulders, you make your back and shoulders straight to show you are ready or determined to do sth: Bruno squared himself to face the waiting journalists.
IN SPORT
4 (especially BrE) to make the number of points you have scored in a game or competition equal to those of your opponents: His goal squared the game 1-1.
PAY MONEY
5 (informal) to pay money to sb in order to get their help: They must have squared the mayor before they got their plan underway.
square sthaway [usually passive] (NAmE) to put sth in order; to finish sth completely
square off (against sb) (NAmE) to fight or prepare to fight sb: The two candidates will square off on this issue in a debate tomorrow.
square up (to sb/sth)
1 to face a difficult situation and deal with it in a determined way
2 to face sb as if you are going to fight them
square up (with sb) to pay money that you owe: Can I leave you to square up with the waiter?
square sth with sth| square with sth to make two ideas, facts or situations agree or combine well with each other; to agree or be consistent with another idea, fact or situation: The interests of farmers need to be squared with those of consumers. How can you square this with your conscience? Your theory does not square with the facts. What she was being asked to do did not square with her political beliefs.
square sth with sb to ask permission or check with sb that they approve of what you want to do: I think I’ll be able to come, but I’ll square it with my parents first.
adv. (only used after the verb) directly; not at an angle: I looked her square in the face. He hit me square on the jaw.
shape
noun
1 [C, U] the form of the outer edges or surfaces of sth; an example of sth that has a particular form: a rectangular shape The pool was in the shape of a heart. The island was originally circular in shape. Squares, circles and triangles are types of shape. Candles come in all shapes and sizes. You can recognize the fish by the shape of their fins. This old T-shirt has completely lost its shape. (figurative) The government provides money in the shape of (= consisting of) grants and student loans.2 [C] a person or thing that is difficult to see clearly: Ghostly shapes moved around in the dark. I could just make out a dark shape in the distance.3 [U] the physical condition of sb/sth: What sort of shape was the car in after the accident? He’s in good shape for a man of his age. I like to keep in shape (= keep fit). He’s not in any shape (= not well enough) to be working.4 [U] the particular qualities or characteristics of sth: Will new technology change the shape of broadcasting? Prices vary according to the size and shape of each project.
get (yourself) into shape to take exercise, eat healthy food, etc. in order to become physically fit: I’m trying to get into shape before summer.
get / knock / lick sb into shape to train sb so that they do a particular job, task, etc. well: It took him just two weeks to knock the new recruits into shape.
get / knock / lick sth into shape to make sth more acceptable, organized or successful: I’ve got all the information together but it still needs knocking into shape. It shouldn’t take long to get the company back into shape.
give shape to sth (formal) to express or explain a particular idea, plan, etc.: Marie tried to find the right words to give shape to the confusion in her head.
in any (way,) shapeor form (informal) of any type: I don’t approve of violence in any shape or form.
out of shape
1 not having the normal shape: The wheel had been twisted out of shape.2 (of a person) not in good physical condition: I didn’t realize how out of shape I was!
the shape of things to come the way things are likely to develop in the future: Are solar-powered cars the shape of things to come?
take shape to develop and become more complete or organized: The garden is beginning to take shape. A new song began to take shape in her mind.
verb
1 [vn] ~ A (into B) to make sth into a particular shape: Shape the dough into a ball. This tool is used for shaping wood.2 [vn] to have an important influence on the way that sb/sth develops: His ideas had been shaped by his experiences during the war. She had a leading role in shaping party policy.3 [v to inf] to prepare to do sth, especially hit or kick sth: She was shaping to hit her second shot.
shape up or ship out (NAmE, informal) used to tell sb that if they do not improve, work harder, etc. they will have to leave their job, position, etc.: He finally faced up to his drug problem when his band told him to shape up or ship out.
shape up
1 to develop in a particular way, especially in a good way: Our plans are shaping up nicely (= showing signs that they will be successful).2 (informal) to improve your behaviour, work harder, etc.: If he doesn’t shape up, he’ll soon be out of a job.
doubt
noun
[U, C] ~ (about sth)| ~ (that ... )| ~ (as to sth) a feeling of being uncertain about sth or not believing sth: a feeling of doubt and uncertainty There is some doubt about the best way to do it. There is no doubt at all that we did the right thing. New evidence has cast doubt on the guilt of the man jailed for the crime. The article raised doubts about how effective the new drug really was. If you are in any doubt as to whether you should be doing these exercises, consult your doctor. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was lying to her. Whether he will continue to be successful in future is open to doubt.
beyond (any) doubt in a way that shows that sth is completely certain: The research showed beyond doubt that smoking contributes to heart disease. (law) The prosecution was able to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the woman had been lying.
be in doubt to be uncertain: The success of the system is not in doubt.
have your doubts (about sth) to have reasons why you are not certain about whether sth is good or whether sth good will happen: I’ve had my doubts about his work since he joined the firm. It may be all right. Personally, I have my doubts.
if in doubt used to give advice to sb who cannot decide what to do: If in doubt, wear black.
no doubt
1 used when you are saying that sth is probable: No doubt she’ll call us when she gets there.2 used when you are saying that sth is certainly true: He’s made some great movies. There’s no doubt about it.