Glossary

bandage a band of white cotton for binding wounds; to bandage = to cover with bandages.

brandy a strong drink.

cab a one-horse carriage, hired in towns, like a taxi.

carpenter a man who makes or repairs wooden things (floors, furniture, and so on).

catalepsy a kind of brain-disease. A person who has it often falls unconscious with his eyes open.

cellar an underground room used for storing coal, wine etc.

chloroform a kind of medicine which makes a person unconscious when he or she breathes it in.

cigar-end the end of a cigar (a thick brown cigarette); cigar-holder = a tube through which a cigar can be smoked.

client a person who employs the services of a professional man.

clue one of the small facts that help in the solving of mysteries.

coffin the box into which a dead person is put.

cripple a person whose body, through disease or accident, is very badly shaped.

encyclopaedia a book (often in the form of many separate books) containing information arranged from the letter A to the letter Z; Encyclopaedia Britannica = a famous encyclopaedia, containing information on all subjects.

fine an amount of money which one is ordered to pay as a punishment for breaking the law.

forger a man who makes false money or false papers.

fuller's earth a kind of sandy clay, with various industrial and medical uses.

gang a group of criminals.

handcuffs a lock with two large rings for the criminal's wrists.

hydraulic concerned with, or worked by means of, the force of water.

jewelry jewels in settings of precious metal.

league a society.

magnifying-glass a glass that makes small details easy to see.

opium addict a person who has the habit of smoking opium, a substance that comes from the red flower called a poppy: opium causes dreaming and pleasant feelings.

patient a sick or wounded person; resident patient: one who lives with a doctor.

pawnbroker a shopkeeper who lends money to people who leave property with him.

Red-Headed League a society for men who have red hair.

resident see patient.

Scotland Yard the most important police station in England. It is in Westminster, London.

search warrant a law-paper giving permission to search a house.

sill the shelf (often made of stone) at the base of a window frame.

sleeve the arm (of clothing).

specialist a doctor who deals with only one disease or with only one part of the body.

tattoo a drawing done under the surface of the skin with a needle and coloured inks.

tunnel a passage dug under the ground.

undertaker a man who arranges funerals.

van a kind of large covered car, here pulled by a horse, used for carrying goods.

will a law-paper by means of which one arranges what is to be done with one's property after one's death.

Window sill see sill.