A lot of words I couldn't find

[Tetsuo]

I'm reading a book and there a few words I couldn't find to translate:
-scrollery
-sheep-gazed neatness (I know neatness but together it might be another meaning..)
-scutched
-rosebay willowherb

Would be nice if someone could help me out.

//EDIT

Another one:
-expiation

[MrPedantic]

Hello Tetsuo

"Scrollery": I'm not sure, without knowing the context; but it may relate to wood-carving in the form of a scroll.

"Sheep-gazed neatness": this appears to be the author's own coinage. Again, it's difficult to tell without context; but it may mean "a tidy area overlooked by sheep" (!). Alternatively, it may be a typo for "sheep-grazed neatness", which would mean "an tidy area of grass which sheep have grazed".

"Scutched": this may mean "struck with a stick", esp. in the context of striking corn with a stick to obtain the grain.

"Rosebay willowherb": this is a tall plant with attractive pink flowers (Chamerion angustifolium), often grown in gardens in Victorian times, incl. in white forms, and common in the English countryside since the Second World War, though rare before (it particularly liked bomb sites and railway lines, and spread rapidly after the war). It's a member of the family Onagraceae, and so is related to fuchsias (though it doesn't look like a fuchsia).

Here's a picture of it in a characteristic location.

"Expiation": atonement for a sin or other offence (either in a religious context, or metaphorically).

Where did you find these unusual words, out of interest?

All the best,

MrP

[Tetsuo]

Hello MrPedantic

About all those words: Thank you for helping me out, you're right with your guess of every word, it fits very well.

In relation to your question: As I wrote I'm reading right now and it's a book by Reginald Hill called "The Stranger House", it's context, don't know whether I'm right or not because I'm still at the beginning of the book, its very religious, the books printing inside told me this:
"Things move slowly in the village of Illthwaite, but that's about to change with the arrival of two strangers intent on digging up bits of the past the locals would rather keep buried. Sam Flood is a young Australian mathematician whose grandmother was dispatched from Illthwaite four decades ago, courtesy of the CHild Migrant scheme. Miguel Madero, a dropout from a Spanish seminary, has come to the Stranger House in pursuit of an ancestor last seen setting sail with the Great Armada.
The antipathy between them is instant and mutual, but as they follow their seperate quests their paths become increasingly entangled, with clashes physical and metaphysical, and shock natural and supernatural, as the tension mounts to an explosive climax.
All the elements we have come to expect from Reginald Hill's writing - mystery, humour, elegant style, intricate plotting, fascinating characters, and a strong sense of history - combine here to create what must be his finest novel yet."

Released by HarperCollings UK

Best and hope that helps.

Tetsuo

[Tetsuo]

Another word:
-shop

yeah stop laughing.. I know what that means but not in this context I only can imagine but want to be proved right ;) Just for my ego *laugh*
The context is that a customer were talking to the woman who handle the house and deal with anything while you're a guest. Then customer and woman talk and then the following sentence appear:
"The ringing of the bell and cries of "Shop!" had already been audible from the bar..:"

I imagined that "Shop" mean in this case someone who's there for service at the bar, hotel..

//EDIT

Some more:
-daresay
-"She met her gaze square one."

Another which don't appear in the until now but came to my mind:
"Be there or be square."

[MrPedantic]

Hello Tetsuo

Thanks for the information about Hill - I don't know anything about his books before. (Certainly I know of very few novels where rosebay willowherb makes an appearance.)

You're right about "shop": it's a (humorously old-fashioned) call for service at the bar.

"daresay": if someone makes a statement, and you reply "I daresay", it means "I don't deny the truth of your statement; but I have some mild reservations about its implications". (It can also simply mean "I'm inclined to agree".)

"She met her gaze square one": this is a little odd; it seems to mean "frankly". Perhaps it's a typo for "square on", which is the more usual phrase.

"Be there or be square": this means "if you are not present at that event, it will prove that you are irremediably old-fashioned or un-chic". It was quite common in the late 80s and 90s, but is now a little old-fashioned, even when used ironically!

All the best,

MrP

[Tetsuo]

Hello MrPedantic,

thanks again for explaining. It helped me a lot.

Tetsuo

[Tetsuo]

I guess I can use this thread again for words I'm looking for it's a more common I used, so hope that's okay, why spamming a forum ;)

I know the meaning "flush" but can't catch its meaning in the following sentence. The context is that someone were in room who shouldn't be in it while the owner was away then the owner thought:

"A postcard home she'd been scribbling was a couple of inches to the left of where she'd set it down the dressing table, one of the drawers which had protruded slightly was now completely flush, and her rucksack leaned against the wall at an altered angle."

Hope that someone could help me out.

[Tetsuo]

Originally Posted by Tetsuo

I guess I can use this thread again for words I'm looking for it's a more common I used, so hope that's okay, why spamming a forum ;)
I know the meaning "flush" but can't catch its meaning in the following sentence. The context is that someone were in room who shouldn't be in it while the owner was away then the owner thought:
"A postcard home she'd been scribbling was a couple of inches to the left of where she'd set it down the dressing table, one of the drawers which had protruded slightly was now completely flush, and her rucksack leaned against the wall at an altered angle."
Hope that someone could help me out.

Anyone could help me out?

[mykwyner]

In this case, flushmeans that the drawer is closed all the way so that its front is even [flush] with the other drawers.

[Tetsuo]

Okay, thanks.