О. Шаповалова: Лучшие расследования Шерлока Холмса / The Best of Sherlock Holmes

Sealing-wax knifeswere knives used for cutting off pieces of sealing-wax sticks and for opening letters.

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magnum opus – great work ( Latin ); refers to the best and most important masterpiece of a scientist or an artist.

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Coptic – referring to the Coptic Orthodox Church; Copts are Egyptian Christians.

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Right wing three-quarterin the game of rugby is a back player positioned near the right edge of the field.

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Trinity College, Cambridge – Trinity College founded in 1546 by Henry III is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is among the biggest and oldest colleges of the UK.

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three-quarter line – there are four three-quarter players in the game of rugby: two wingers (right and left) and two centres (there was only one centre till 1886). Wingers should be speedy and capable of carrying out long runs as their main goal is to get into the rival team’s part of the field and score tries. At the same time wingers are responsible for the defence of their field.

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Scrumin the game of rugby is a method of restarting the game when the ball left the field. Players of both teams push together in three circles with their heads down and fight for the ball.

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Touch-linesbound the longer sides of playing area in the games of rugby and soccer.

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Place-kickhere refers to a player who is responsible for kick offs and kicks for goal.

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the twenty-five line – two twenty-five yard lines (now called twenty-two meters lines) are located at twenty-five yards from each goal-line on the rugby pitch.

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A skipperis a capitan of a sport team.

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Red taperefers to excessive regulation that seems unnecessary and bureaucratic. The etymology of the term is uncertain. It is believed to originate from the red tape used to tie official documents.

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Grange is a mediaeval term for a small farm. It could derive from mediaeval Latin word “granica” – grain storage.

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London reekhere refers to smog, mixture of fog and air pollution from the burning of large amounts of coal.

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Palladio – Andrea Palladio, original name Andrea di Pietro della Gondola (1508–1580) was one of the greatest Italian architects of the 16th century, the author of “The Four Books of Architecture.” Palladio’s works influenced the Western architecture for centuries and gave rise to the English baroque style.

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your ladyshipis the form of addressing a woman holding the title of Lady.

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The window is a long French one – French window is a large door size lattice window. French windows are generally used in pairs and overlook terraces or lawns.

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beeswing– filmy substance that forms in bottles containing old wines

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de novo— anew ( Latin )

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We have not yet met our Waterloo, Watson, but this is our Marengo – the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1818) resulted in Napoleon Bonaparte final defeat and exile. The Battle of Marengo (June 14, 1800) was successful for Napoleon, but at first his forces were overpowered by the the Austrian army and the French got a very narrow victory.

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vox populi, vox dei – the voice of the people is the voice of God ( Latin )

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Right Honourableis a title that is applied to certain high-ranked persons in the UK, such as members of Her/His Majesty Privy Council.

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Despatch-boxis a lockable wooden box for keeping important papers.

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The great Chancelleries of Europe —the phrase refers to the governments of the most influential European countries of the time: the Russian Empire, the German Empire, France.

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The Abbeyhere refers to Westminster Abbey where coronations and other ceremonies of great importance take place. Westminster Abbey is lockated right to the West of the Houses of Parliament.

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The great Tower of the Houses of Parliamentrefers to the Victoria Tower, one of the tallest and largest stone square towers in the world. The Houses of Parliament (aka The Palace of Westminster) are located on the Thames River, just south of Westminster Bridge.

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alibi – elsewhere ( Latin ); a legal term that refers to the evidence that a person was in another place at the time the crime was commited and therefore couldn’t have done it.

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Creoleis a term that generally denominates a mixed-race person, often of French or Spanish origing. In Victorian Britain people of races other than Caucasian were believed to be prone to emotional extremes.

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hearth-rugis a thick rug laid nearby a fireplace, of which “hearth” is the basis.

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M.R.C.S. – Member(ship) of the Royal College of Surgeons; it is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and Ireland.

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Family practitioneror family doctor is a physician who does not have any medical speciality but covers a variety of medical problems in patients of all ages instead.

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Ferruleis a metal ring or cap placed around a pole or shaft for reinforcement or to prevent splitting.

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Huntis a club or party of hunters.

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Charing Cross Hospitalwas started as hospital for the poor (West London Infirmary and Dispensary) in 1818, but by the end of the century it grew much bigger, treating about 20 000 patients a year.

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house-surgeon or a house-physician – in the UK, a house surgeon is the senior member of the surgical house staff responsible for execution of the orders of the attending surgeon, and who also substitutes when the attending surgeon is not present. House here refers to hospital. A house-physician is a resident physician of a hospital who cares for patients under the direction of the attending staff.

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Grimpenis a fictitious place. The name probably consists of words “grim” (dark, dangerous) and “pen” (fence for keeping cattle, sheep etc / prison, penitentiary facility).

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Dartmooris a county in Devonshire. The name contains the words “to dart” (to move quickly) and “moor” (type of swamp, containing peat, partially carbonized vegetable matter, usually mosses, used as fertilizer and fuel); hence, it is a “swiftly growing swamp.” Today Dartmoor is a national park.

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High Barrowis a fictitious place. The name is probably used to make gloomy impression of the scene of action, since a barrow is a large mound of earth or stones placed over a burial site.

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Visiting-cardwas a rectangular piece of paper used to inform the host of the house of the arrival of card’s owner. In the 19th century the standard visiting card in the United Kingdom was a plain card with nothing more than a bearer’s name on it. Sometimes the name of a gentlemen’s club might be added, but addresses were not otherwise included. Visiting cards were kept in highly decorated card cases.

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A frock coatwas a man’s coat popular during the Victorian period. It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back and knee-length skirts all around the base. Some features of it are quite unusual for post-Victorian dress: reverse collar and lapels, and also high degree of waist suppression (that is, coat’s diameter round the waist is much less than round the chest).