Wordie [wûrd • ē]
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29 wordies list
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first listed by:
colleen (4679 words)
appears in these lists:
Abbie's Words, by Abbie
man's Words, by man
Mythical, by roseandivy
at the zoo, by elfflame
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'If you had seen him drink and smoke, as I did, you couldn`t have kept anything from him. He's a Salamander you know, that's what he is.'
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Having revolved these things in his mind and arrived at this conclusion, he communicated to Mr Swiveller as much of his meditations as he thought proper (Dick would have been perfectly satisfied with less), and giving him the day to recover himself from his late salamandering, accompanied him at evening to Mr Quilp's house.
—The Old Curiosity Shop, ch. 23
Two nearby quotes, the first being Dick Swiveller's explanation of the smoking and drinking habits of Mr Quilp, in which he had been compelled to join; the second is pleasing for the gerundial noun 'salamandering'.
'Ella! It speaks! It's a Pict and it speaks!'
'Hold your hush or I'll lambast you with the salamander!' she shouted.
—Joan Aiken, Black Hearts in Battersea
3. Applied to various articles used in fire or capable of withstanding great heat.
b. An iron or poker used red-hot for lighting a pipe, igniting gunpowder, etc.
It was once thought that salamanders were immune to fire. I recall Augustine made mention of it in the City of God. He also said the peacock's flesh was incorruptable