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What does "...they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets..." mean?
It says in Great Expectations,
To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine,—who gave up trying to get a…
yogazefish
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Has the text of Premchand's banned short-story collection Soz-e-Watan survived?
In 1907, Dhanpat Rai, who later adopted the pen name Premchand, published his first collection of short stories, entitled Soz-e-Watan. These stories were "full of patriotic fervour" (Mahmud, page 129). According to Wikipedia,
[around 1909],…
Tsundoku
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What does "epesthai to logo" mean in this letter from Charles Kingsley to Charles Darwin?
Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, volume 2 includes the following letter to Darwin from Charles Kingsley, written shortly after the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859:
[With regard to the attitude of the more liberal representatives of…
Ahmed Samir
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What is the unmentionable Italian instrument in Tristram Shandy?
In Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy (Volume 1, Chapter XXIII) Shandy is discussing - if I am not mistaken - how people's character may be inferred from external appearances.
Some, for instance, draw all their characters…
mikado
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What is a "roomy heart"?
There's a phrase in "Alms-Giving" that I'm confused about. First, here's the original, untranslated text:
Wel bið þam eorle þe him on innan hafað,
reþehygdig wer, rume heortan;
þæt him biþ for worulde weorðmynda mæst,
ond for ussum…
bobble
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'Classical' horror short story in which overwork is linked to a supernatural demon
Having just had an exceptionally busy week, I've been trying to recall the details of a relevant short story whose name escapes me. I have the feeling it was a fairly old, 'classical' horror story - probably not by Edgar Allan Poe, but in his kind…
Rand al'Thor
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Fantasy novel with a skilled female assassin enrolling in a contest
I read this novel somewhere around 2010 (2006-2016, can't be much more precise than that). It was in English, probably an American writer. It might have been the first in a series, probably for young adults.
The main character is a young woman who's…
Rand al'Thor
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Pre-2010 book: "Jaws" in a library
I read a book a while back (probably just before 2010) that I'm trying to find again.
It's set in a somewhat surreal library, and I recall that the story line was very strongly based on Jaws, with similar characters and a shark-like creature roaming…
David Goldfarb
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Earliest second-person novel
What is the earliest novel that makes use of second-person narration through the entire book, excluding choose-your-own-adventure books?
Pete
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Why was Fontane's copy of Thackeray's Vanity Fair confiscated by English customs?
When Theodor Fontane travelled to London in September 1855, the three volumes of his copy of William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair were confiscated by customs. As far as I can tell, Vanity Fair was not censored or prohibited in England; for…
Tsundoku
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How fictionalised is "Dust Tracks on a Road"?
I just finished reading Zora Neale Hurston's memoir Dust Tracks on a Road and I thought it seemed to be full of tall tales as well as omissions, though obviously it is based on her real life. In his afterword to the edition I read, Henry Louis Gates…
Zanna
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What is a "three-part moon"?
This is from Book 2, Chapter 23 of Salamandastron. Samkin, Arula, and Spriggat are sneaking at night into a vermin camp, planning to steal back the sword of Martin the Warrior.
Under a burgeoning three-part moon they set off through the woodland,…
bobble
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Do I need to read the Hardy Boys books in order?
The Hardy Boys books are a bunch of mystery novels, written by Franklin W. Dixon. They all focus on the Hardy Brothers, Frank and Joe.
I have some of the series, but not all of them (especially not the paperback ones), and I'd like to know if I can…
Mithical
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Origin and significance of E-I-E-I-O in the Old MacDonald song
The well-known children's song "Old MacDonald had a Farm" has lyrics in the following format:
Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O !
And on that farm he had {article} {singular or plural creatures}
E-I-E-I-O !
With a {creature-appropriate sound}…
verbose
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How many of Shakespeare's words in his plays were new?
William Shakespeare is famous for using many words in his plays which were new introductions to the English language. According to Shakespeare Online:
The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words…
Rand al'Thor
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