shrewd - сообразительный, быстро и легко схватывающий, проницательный, прозорливый; умный, рассудительный - having or showing sharp powers of judgement; astute
she was shrewd enough to guess the motive behind his gesture
jolly - жизнерадостный; общительный; любящий веселье и компании - happy and cheerful:
he was a jolly man full of jokes
simple - простодушный, наивный; доверчивый, легковерный - of very low intelligence
portly - дородный, полный, тучный, представительный; внушительный, осанистый - (especially of a man) rather fat \ archaic of a stately or dignified appearance and manner
common - частый, обыкновенный; обычный - occurring, found, or done often; prevalent
to accept a snub from (no man) – (пренебрежительное обхождение) - to tolerate an act of rebuffing or ignoring someone or something
automaton – автоматизация - the use or introduction of automatic equipment in a manufacturing or other process or facility:
unemployment due to the spread of automation
the automation of office tasks
to deign to do… - снизойти; соблаговолить; соизволить; удостоить - do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity:
she did not deign to answer the maid’s question
the rag, tag and bob-tail of the town - is an uncomplimentary way of referring to a group or class of people
- Today ragtag and bobtail still denotes the rabble or the riffraff, as defined, at least, by the user of the expression. The phrase sometimes functions as an adjective, as in "They have a ragtag and bobtail club."
to take something amiss – обижаться, неправильно понимать что-л. - be offended by something that is said, especially through misinterpreting the intentions behind it:
don’t take this amiss, it’s all good-humoured teasing
a turnstile man at matches - a mechanical gate consisting of revolving horizontal arms fixed to a vertical post, allowing only one person at a time to pass through.
a chucker-out - вышибала (в казино, ночном клубе, дискотеке) - a person employed to expel troublemakers from a place of entertainment:
the chucker-out came to see what the commotion was
a chamberlain – казначей, управляющий - an officer who managed the household of a monarch or noble.
British an officer who received revenue on behalf of a corporation or public body.
to smile with effulgence - блеск, лучезарность, сияние - (of a person or their expression) emanating joy or goodness:
standing there was my father with the most effulgent smile on his face
a beatific smile – блаженный - feeling or expressing blissful happiness:
rogue - негодяй, мерзавец - [rəug] - a dishonest or unprincipled man, a person whose behaviour one disapproves of but who is nonetheless likeable or attractive:
Cenzo, you old rogue!
a rapt expression - восхищённый, восторженный - completely fascinated or absorbed by what one is seeing or hearing, filled with an intense and pleasurable emotion; enraptured
she shut her eyes and seemed rapt with desire
(to speak) in one’s best unctuous voice - елейный, вкрадчивый - excessively flattering or ingratiating; oily:
he seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way
a martyr to (the cause) - мученик; мученица; страдалец; страдалица - a constant sufferer from (an ailment):
I’m a martyr to migraine!
to be a character - informal an unusual or amusing person:
she’s a right character with a will of her own
to sail close to the wind - быть на грани порядочности или пристойности, на скользком пути, быть на грани опасности - informal verge on indecency, dishonesty, or disaster.
to outvie smb - [ˌaut'vaɪ] - превзойти (в состязании) – to compete eagerly with someone in order to do or achieve something and win
to go short - продавать ценные бумаги без наличия; продавать фьючерсные контракты - not have enough of something, especially food:
you won’t go short when I die
into the bargain - кроме того; сверх того; в придачу, вдобавок - in addition to what has already been mentioned or was expected:
I am now tired and extremely hungry—with a headache into the bargain
to bring influence to bear in high quarters - принести влияние в высоких кругах -
to bear malice – злоба – to have the desire to harm someone; ill will:
I bear no malice towards anybody
to be a sublime fool in one’s idle folly - гордый, надменный \ бесполезный, тщетный, неосновательный, пустой \ неосмотрительность, недальновидность, непредусмотрительность, глупость; недомыслие, прихоть, причуда (особенно какое-л. дорогостоящее и невыгодное предприятие; здание, которое выглядит нелепо) -
impertinent - дерзкий, наглый, нахальный, грубый \ неуместный, нелепый; не относящийся к делу - not showing proper respect; rude, formal not pertinent to a particular matter; irrelevant
talk of ‘rhetoric’ and ‘strategy’ is impertinent to this process
to be dignified in smth/doing smth - having or showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respect in smth
to remain unimpaired - незатронутый, непострадавший, нетронутый - not weakened or damaged:
unimpaired mobility
to be one’s somewhat spectacular-self -
to board the car - get on or into the car
gossip (n) - casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details which are not confirmed as true \ a person who likes talking about other people’s private lives
(v) - engage in casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details which are not confirmed as true
imperial attitude - величественный, величавый - a majestic or magnificent settled way of thinking or feeling about something
to feel oneself avenged – to feel as if one has done their justice
to do solemnly and meticulously – серьёзно и [mə'tɪkjələslɪ] (мелочно; дотошно; тщательно; педантично) - not cheerful, without smiling and with showing great attention to detail; very carefully and precisely
to be fully authorized – to have an official permission or approval to do smth, to have every right to do sth
the unique (singular) conductor -
to cherish one’s ideas - лелеять (что-л. в мыслях) ; питать (надежду, чувство) ; воодушевлять – to keep (a hope or ambition) in one’s mind
to be heroically loyal to one’s ideal -
constitution – телосложение, склад ума; нрав, характер - a person’s physical state as regards vitality, health, and strength; a person’s character
cf.: to glare – to look at in an angry or fierce way / to stare - look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something with one’s eyes wide open / to glower - have an angry or sullen look on one’s face; scowl (сердито смотреть)/ to gaze - look steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, or thought
to wax on misfortune - begin to speak or write about something in the specified manner
they waxed lyrical about the old days
Here is the story of how the expression” the rag, tag and bob-tail of the town” got put together by bits and pieces.
In the 16th century, the word rag, with the basic meaning of a small worthless fragment of cloth, came to be used as a contemptuous name for a person.
During that same time, tag, meaning a hanging ragged or torn piece of cloth, developed the same extended sense: a contemptuous name for a person.
Sometimes each word was used independently. But by far the most common function of the words was in the phrase tag and rag, meaning the rabble, the riffraff, the lower classes, or the members of any group held in low esteem. The exact form could vary, as in "tagge and rag" (c. 1535, Oxford English Dictionary) and "tag, rag" (1609, Oxford).
Meanwhile, at about the same time, the early 17th century, the word bobtail, with the basic meaning of a horse or a dog with its tail cut short, came to be used, like rag and tag, as a contemptuous name for a person.
Soon the three words were being put together as a triple-decker intensive phrase to denote the rabble. One early version was "tag ragge and bobtaile" (1645, Oxford). A more common form was this: "The dining-room...was full of tag, rag, and bobtail, dancing, singing, and drinking" (1659, Oxford).
The tag, rag, and bobtail form remained in place from the 17th to the 19th centuries. During the 19th century, the first two words came to be reversed.
Here is an early example of that reversal: "The rag, tag, and bobtail of those they call 'Blues'"(1820, Oxford). Sometimes the first two words were spelled solid, as in "The Journal cuts up the ragtag and bobtail of the faction" (1820, Oxford). The popular author Charles Dickens used the solid spelling in his novel Barnaby Rudge (1841): "We don't take in no ragtag and bobtail at our house" (Oxford).
For quite some time the separation of rag and tag continued to be used, as in "He shall have them all, rag, tag, and bobtail (1887, Oxford). But by the mid-20th century, the solid form had become the norm.