I do love you both together!

I love to mark sad faces in fair weather;

And hear a merry laughter amid the thunder;

Fair and foul I love together.

(From A Song of Opposites by J. Keats)

... The writer should seek his reward in the plea­sure of his work and in release from the burden of his thought; and indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure, failure or success.

(From The Moon and Sixpence by W. S. Maugham)

They [the Victorians] were busy erecting, of course; and we have been busy demolishing for so long that now erection seems as ephemeral an activ­ity as bubble-blowing.

(From The French Lieutenant's Woman by J. Fowles)*

Exercises

I. Consider your answers to the following.

1. 1 For information on Hyponymy see Supplementary Mate­rial, p. 280.

   Which word in a synonymic group is considered to be the dominant synonym? What are its characteristic features?

2. Can the dominant synonym be substituted for cer­tain other members of a group of synonyms? Is the cri­terion of interchangeabitity applicable in this case?

3. Which words are called euphemisms? What are their two main types? What function do they perform in speech? What is the effect of overusing euphemisms in speech?

4. Show that euphemisms may be regarded as a sub­type of synonyms. Which type of connotation is charac­teristic for them?

5. Which words do we usually classify as antonyms? Give your own examples of such words.

6. To which parts of speech do most antonyms be­long? How do you account for this?

7. Antonyms characterized by common occurrences may be said to possess certain "reflected associations". Explain what is meant by this phrase.

8. Explain why antonyms can be regarded as an im­portant group of the language's expressive means. Il­lustrate your answer with your own examples.

II. Find the dominant synonym in the following groups of synonyms. Explain your choice.

1. to glimmer — to glisten — to blaze — to shine — to sparkle— to flash— to gleam. 2. to glare — to gaze — to peep — to look — to stare — to glance. 3. to astound — to surprise — to amaze — to puzzle — to as­tonish. 4. strange— quaint— odd— queer. 5. to saunter — to stroll — to wander — to walk — to roam. 6. scent — perfume — smell — odour — aroma. 7. to brood— to reflect — to meditate— to think. 8. to fabricate — to manufacture — to produce — to create — to make. 9. furious — enraged — angry. 10. to sob — to weep — to cry.

III. The following sentences and jokes contain members of groups of synonyms. Provide as many synonyms as you can for each, explaining the difference between them; single out their dominant synonyms giving reasons for your choice.

1. "Why is it, Bob," asked George of a very stout friend, "that you fat fellows are always good-natured?" "We have to be," answered Bob. "You see, we can't ei­ther fight or run."

2. A teacher was giving a lesson on the weather idio­syncrasies of March. "What is it," she asked, "that comes in like a lion and goes out like a Iamb?" And little Julia, in the back row, replied: "Father."

3. "Just why do you want a married man to work for you, rather, than a bachelor?" asked the curious chap. "Well," sighed the boss, "the married men don't get so upset if I yell at them."

4. A kind-hearted English Vicar one day observed an old woman laboriously pushing a perambulator up a steep hill. He volunteered his assistance and when they reached the top of the hill, said, in answer to her thanks: "Oh, it's nothing at all. I'm delighted to do it. But as a little reward, may I kiss the baby?" "Baby? Lord bless you, sir, it ain't no baby, it's the old man's beer."

5. "The cheek of that red cap! He glared at me as if I hadn't my pass." "And what did you do?" "I glared back as if I had."

6. Comic Dictionary: ADULT — a person who has stopped growing at both ends and started growing in the middle. ADVERTISING — makes you think you've longed all your life for something you never even heard of before. BORE — one who insists upon talking about himself when you want to talk about yourself. FAME — chiefly a matter of dying at the right moment. PHILOSOPHER — one who instead of crying over spilt milk consoles himself with the thought that it was over bur-fifths water.

IV. Find the dominant synonyms for the following itali­cized words and prove that they can be used as substitutes. Are they interchangeable? What is lost if we make the sub-⁸titution?

1. Never for a moment did he interrupt or glance at his watch. 2. The girl looked astonished at my igno­rance. 3. Sometimes perhaps a tramp will wander there, seeking shelter from a sudden shower of rain. 4.1 am very different from that self who drove to Manderley for the first time filled with an intense de­sire to please. 5. The stony vineyards shimmer in the sun. 6. The restaurant was filled now with people who chatted and laughed. 7. I've got a sister and an ancient grandmother. 8. A bowl of roses in a drawing-room had a depth of colour and scent they had not possessed in the open. 9. He saw our newcomers, arms wound round each other, literally staggering from the bus.

10. Chicken-pox may be a mild children's disease.

11. In a funny way she wanted to reach out for that friendliness as if she needed it. Which was odd. 12. It could be a dream world. So pretty, yet so sad.

V. Reread Ch. 11 and find the euphemistic substitutes for the following words: die, drunk, prison, mad, liar, devil, lavatory, god, eat, pregnant, stupid. Write them out into two columns: A. euphemistic substitutes for social taboos. B. euphemistic substitutes for superstitious taboos.

VI. Find the euphemisms in the following sentences and jokes. Name the words for which they serve as euphemistic substitutes.

1.Policeman {to intoxicated man who is trying to fit his key to a lamp-post): I'm afraid there's nobody home there tonight. Man: Mus' be. Mus' be. Theresh a light upstairsh. 2. "Johnny, where do you think God is this morning?" asked the Sunday-school teacher. "In our bathroom," was the reply. "What on earth makes you say that?" asked the amazed teacher. "Because just before I left I heard pa say, "My Lord! How long are you going to be in there?" 3. The doctor had an inveterate punster and wit among his patients. One day he was late in making his rounds, and explained to the incorrigible humourist that he had stopped to attend a man who had fallen down a well. With a groan of agony, the wit mus­tered up strength enough to murmur: "Did he kick the bucket, doctor7" 4, A girl was to visit her serviceman brother at a military hospital. While stopping at the desk of the officer of the day for directions to the pa­tient's ward she asked: "Would you kindly tell me where the powder room is?" "Miss," the corpsman on duty replied with dignity, "this is a hospital, not an ar­senal." 5. First Student: Great ScottI I've forgot­ten who wrote Ivanhoe. Second Ditto: I'll tell you if you tell me who the dickens wrote The Tale of Two Cities. 6. So, for the love of Mike, come across to our table and help things along. 7. He was high and didn't know what he was saying. 8. "You never know with lu­natics," said the young man chattily. "They don't al­ways look balmy, you know." 9. "But what I mean was, it sounds more like a rather idiotic kind of hoax. Per­haps some convivial idiot who had had one over the eight." "Nine? Nine what?" "Nothing -- just an ex­pression. I meant a fellow who was tight." 10. "Funny old thing," said Lily Marbury indulgently. "Looks half batty to my mind." 11. "I think the fellow's half a loony. He needs some one to look after him."

VII. Find antonyms for the words given below.

Good, adj.; deep, adj.; narrow, adj., clever, adj.; young, adj.; to love, v.; to reject, v.; to give, v.; strong, adj.; to laugh, v.; joy, п.; evil, п.; up, adv., slowly, adj.; black, adj.; sad, adj.; to die, v.; to open, v.; clean, ^adj.; darkness, п.; big, adj.

VIII. Find antonyms in the following jokes and extracts and describe the resultant stylistic effect.