Laurence Sterne

Novelist and clergyman, 1713-1768

Cited as Sterne. — 28 quotations

Bedevil

Bedeviled and used worse than St. Bartholomew.

Bemuffle

Bemuffled with the externals of religion.

Bubbler

The great Locke, who was seldom outwitted by false sounds, was nevertheless bubbled here.

Carousal

The swains were preparing for a carousal.

Contrist

To deject and contrist myself.

Daub

Did you . . . take a look at the grand picture? . . . 'T is a melancholy daub, my lord.

Disconsolated

A poor, disconsolated, drooping creature.

Draught

Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, Slavery, . . . still thou art a bitter draught.

Drop

The recording angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever.

Dulcinea

I must ever have some Dulcinea in my head.

Each

In short each man's happiness depends upon himself.

Generalship

An artful stroke of generalship in Trim to raise a dust.

Incarnate

My uncle Toby's wound was nearly well -- 't was just beginning to incarnate.

Lenitive

There is one sweet lenitive at least for evils, which Nature holds out; so I took it kindly at her hands, and fell asleep.

Lump

Not forgetting all others, . . . whom for brevity, but out of no resentment to you, I lump all together.

Obfuscate

His head, like a smokejack, the funnel unswept, and the ideas whirling round and round about in it, all obfuscated and darkened over with fuliginous matter.

oddity

That infinitude of oddities in him.

Pat

I foresaw then 't would come in pat hereafter.

Pencraft

I would not give a groat for that person's knowledge in pencraft.

Periclitate

Periclitating, pardi! the whole family.

Pocket

He would pocket the expense of the license.

Rout

This new book the whole world makes such a rout about.

Slavery

Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, slavery, said I, still thou art a bitter draught!

Squiralty

That such weight and influence be put thereby into the hands of the squiralty of my kingdom.

Stock-still

His whole work stands stock-still.

Valance

His old fringed chair valanced around with party-colored worsted bobs.

Whinny

A fine, large, whinny, . . . unimproved common.

Zigzaggery

The . . . zigzaggery of my father's approaches.