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yegg yeg noun crook; safecracker 1909P. G. WodehouseThe Gem CollectorNaturally, you don't like the idea of my marrying your daughter. You can't believe that I'm not simply an ordinary yegg, like the rest of the crooks you used to know. I promise you, I'm not. Can't you see that it doesn't matter what a man has been? It's what he is and what he means to be that counts.1914Edgar Rice BurroughsThe MuckerWhy the devil should I take all this swag back to that yellow-faced yegg?1926Max BrandBlack JackThe yegg raised an expostulatory hand…1972Donald E. WestlakeBank ShotHe was a lockman-that was his specialty—he could open safes better than Jimmy Valentine. But this safe was already standing open, and there was nothing in it of any value anyway. He was along simply as a yegg this time, part of the team.Labels: Donald E. Westlake, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Max Brand, P. G. Wodehouse
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Entry By: CJ Cooney
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in hoc signo vinces in hok SIG-no WIN-kays phrase by this sign you shall conquer; with this sign you shall win 1890J. H. HillAstral WorshipHelena, good at finding lost things, also claimed to have discovered the veritable cross upon which the Saviour had been crucified; and her son, worthy of such a mother, claimed, as recorded by Eusebius, that he had seen with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, bearing the inscription: 'In Hoc Signo Vinces,' signifying 'Under this sign, conquer.'1903Joseph FurphySuch is LifeThe—standard is the Labarum of modern civilisation. By this sign shall we conquer. Since that night by the Murray, methinks each pair of—I see hanging in front of a draper's shop seems to bear aright, in hoc signo vinces! scrolled in haughty blazonry across its widest part1917Edgar Rice BurroughsThe Oakdale Affair'Some artist!' cried the man. 'And to think that I doubted your ability to make a successful touch! Forgive me! You are the ne plus ultra, non est cumquidibus, in hoc signo vinces, only and original kind of hand-out compellers.'Labels: Edgar Rice Burroughs, J. H. Hill, Joseph Furphy
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parsimony PAR-suh-mo-nee noun overly economical; thrifty; the state of being a cheapskate 1897H. G. WellsThe Invisible Man...he has a reputation for wisdom and for a respectable parsimony in the village…1915Rafael SabatiniThe Sea HawkThrough parsimony this treasure-galley was to be afforded no escort, but was under orders to hug the coast of Europe, where she should be safe from all piratical surprise.1916Edgar Rice BurroughsThe Lost ContinentEven when I took command, she was fit only for the junk pile; but the world-old parsimony of government retained her in active service, and sent two hundred men to sea in her, with myself, a mere boy, in command of her, to patrol thirty from Iceland to the Azores.Labels: Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. G. Wells, Rafael Sabatini
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vestige VES-tij noun tangible evidence left by something; a smidgen of something; the remainder of something 1902Joseph ConradEnd of the TetherHe had long since parted with the last vestige of incredulity; of the original emotions, set into a tumult by the discovery, some trace of the first awe alone remained.1912Edgar Rice BurroughsTarzan of the ApesIn the middle of the floor lay a skeleton, every vestige of flesh gone from the bones to which still clung the mildewed and moldered remnants of what had once been clothing.1925F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Great GatsbyThey were sitting at either end of the couch, looking at each other as if some question had been asked, or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.1936Margaret MitchellGone With the WindHe went on speaking and there was a quality in his voice, a sadness, a resignation, that increased her fear until every vestige of anger and disappointment was blotted out.Labels: Edgar Rice Burroughs, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Conrad, Margaret Mitchell
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effete e-FEET adjective infertile; not virile; weak; decadent; effeminate 1914Edgar Rice BurroughsAt the Earth's CoreUncouth, perhaps, and brutal, too, if judged too harshly by the standards of effete twentieth-century civilization, but withal noble, dignified, chivalrous, and loveable.1969Michael CrichtonThe Andromeda StrainManchek disliked Jaggers, who was effete and precious.1992Holly LisleFire In the MistThe smoke cleared to reveal an old, battered, downtrodden saje; a portly, effete scholar; and a muscular young redhead who had Medwind licking her lips.Labels: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Holly Lisle, Michael Crichton
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