AnnaDostoyevskaya

cunning /ˈkʌnɪŋ/
Only after signing the contract did Dostoyevsky find out that it was his publisher, a cunning exploiter who often took advantage of artists down on their luck, who had purchased the promissory notes of his brother's debt for next to nothing, using two intermediaries to bully Dostoyevsky into paying the full amount.

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Terms in this set (14)

cunning /ˈkʌnɪŋ/
Only after signing the contract did Dostoyevsky find out that it was his publisher, a cunning exploiter who often took advantage of artists down on their luck, who had purchased the promissory notes of his brother's debt for next to nothing, using two intermediaries to bully Dostoyevsky into paying the full amount.

sly, clever at being deceitful.
The coach quickly came up with a __________________ counterattack.

bespeak
The following day, she presented herself at Dostoyevsky's house at eleven-thirty, "no earlier and no later," as Dostoyevsky had instructed — a favorite expression of his, bespeaking his stringency.

suggesting; ordering or reserving something in advance.
His letter __________________his willingness to help

stringency /ˈstrɪn.dʒən.si/
The following day, she presented herself at Dostoyevsky's house at eleven-thirty, "no earlier and no later," as Dostoyevsky had instructed — a favorite expression of his, bespeaking his stringency.

strictness or tight controls; the quality of being very strict, severe, or limiting.
The _______________________of the rules has irritated some companies.

enraged /ɪnˈreɪdʒ/
Enraged but without recourse, he set out to fulfill his contract.

very angry; furious.
Plans to build a new nightclub in the neighborhood have __________________local residents.

recourse /ˈriː.kɔːrs/
Enraged but without recourse, he set out to fulfill his contract.

(n.) a person or thing turned to for help or advice; the act of seeking help or protection; something that you do to achieve something or deal with a situation, or the act of doing it.
Surgery may be the only _____________________.

resolute /ˈrezəluːt/
But, a resolute idealist even at his lowest low, Dostoyevsky thought it dishonorable to put his name on someone else's work and refused.

(adj.) bold, determined; firm.
This situation requires our ___________________ action.

distracted /dɪˈstræktɪd/
Distracted and irritable, he asked her a series of questions about her training.

unable to concentrate or focus.
Amanda is very easily _____________________, she takes forever to do anything.

dryly /ˈdraɪli/
Although she answered each of them seriously and almost dryly, so as to appear maximally businesslike, he somehow softened over the course of the conversation.

in a matter-of-fact or ironically humorous way.
"If you're lucky, " said Harrison ________________, "they'll only hang you."

luminous /ˈluːmɪnəs/
He cherished her seriousness, her extraordinary powers of sympathy, how her luminous spirit dissipated even his darkest moods and lifted him out of his obsessive thoughts.

(adj.) emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminating.
He couldn't tell what time it was since his watch didn't have a _______________________ dial.

mournful /ˈmɔːnfəl $ ˈmɔːrn-/
His stories, however, were so mournful that on one occasion I couldn't restrain myself from asking, "Why is it, Fyodor Mikhailovich, that you remember only the unhappy times? Tell me instead about how you were happy."

feeling, expressing, or inducing sadness, regret, or grief.
She even seems to root for him, in a _________________ and bitter way.