Vocabulary

giant star

to get strong; to gain strength

to teach thoroughly; to instill (into); to instil; to inculcate; to drum (into); to drill (into)

lunatic; madman

to narrow; to contract

one's heart

dresser; dressing table; vanity table

general delivery; counter collection; poste restante

symmetry; balance; proportion; uniformity

confinement (indoors, to quarters, etc.)

(wandering) minstrel; troubadour

punctuation mark

working one's way through school; earning one's own school fees

to run through (a crowd, gate, etc.); to sweep through (e.g. of news through a city)

gang of young toughs; hooligans; hoodlums; hoods; yobbos

listening closely

column; beam; girder; crossbeam; spar; yard

expression; looks

weariness; fatigue; languor; boredom; tedium; ennui

powerful pen; facile pen

to approach; to draw near; to come near; to be close to

illness that one had in the past; previous illness; medical history; anamnesis

to send (someone) back; to send (someone) home

becoming a devout believer; (religious) conversion

chivalry

vanity; vainglory

empty space; empty sky

bad luck; ill fortune; misfortune

mad dog

tendency to become totally absorbed in something; monomania; perfectionism; fastidiousness; meticulousness

taboo word; forbidden topic

golden wedding (anniversary); 50th wedding anniversary

to suffer; to groan; to be worried

vacant post; vacancy

air cooling

bending and stretching; flexing and extending

to dig down

to dig up; to unearth; to uncover

shoe store; shoe shop; shoemaker

to defer; to postpone; to move down