Wuthering Heights — Page 7
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Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depths of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me _vis-à-vis_ the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs, who shared with her a jealous guardianship over all my movements.
Joseph borbottava indistintamente nelle profondità della cantina, ma non dava alcun segno di voler salire; così il suo padrone scese giù da lui, lasciandomi _vis-à-vis_ con la cagnaccia prepotente e un paio di cupi cani da pastore arruffati, che condividevano con lei una gelosa sorveglianza su tutti i miei movimenti.
Not anxious to come in contact with their fangs, I sat still; but, imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, I unfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio, and some turn of my physiognomy so irritated madam, that she suddenly broke into a fury and leapt on my knees.
Non avendo alcuna voglia di venire a contatto con i loro denti, rimasi seduto immobile; ma, immaginando che difficilmente avrebbero capito gli insulti taciti, mi lasciai purtroppo andare ad ammiccare e fare smorfie al trio, e qualche espressione del mio volto irritò talmente la signora, che all'improvviso scattò in una furia e mi saltò sulle ginocchia.
I flung her back, and hastened to interpose the table between us.
La scagliai indietro, e mi affrettai a interporre il tavolo tra noi.
This proceeding aroused the whole hive: half-a-dozen four-footed fiends, of various sizes and ages, issued from hidden dens to the common centre.
Questa mossa svegliò l'intero alveare: una mezza dozzina di demoni a quattro zampe, di varie dimensioni ed età, uscirono da tane nascoste verso il centro comune.
I felt my heels and coat-laps peculiar subjects of assault; and parrying off the larger combatants as effectually as I could with the poker, I was constrained to demand, aloud, assistance from some of the household in re-establishing peace.
Sentivo i miei talloni e le falde del cappotto come oggetti peculiari di assalto; e parando i combattenti più grandi nel modo più efficace possibile con l'attizzatoio, fui costretto a chiedere ad alta voce l'aiuto di qualcuno della casa per ristabilire la pace.
Mr. Heathcliff and his man climbed the cellar steps with vexatious phlegm: I don't think they moved one second faster than usual, though the hearth was an absolute tempest of worrying and yelping.
Il signor Heathcliff e il suo servo salirono i gradini della cantina con fastidiosa flemma: non credo si siano mossi un secondo più velocemente del solito, sebbene il focolare fosse una vera e propria tempesta di morsi e guaiti.
Vocabulary
- borbottava
- Was muttering or grumbling indistinctly under breath.
- indistintamente
- In an indistinct, unclear, or confused manner.
- nelle
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'le'.
- profondità
- Depth; the state of being deep or profound.
- della
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'la'.
- cantina
- Cellar or basement; underground storage area.
- ma
- But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
- non
- Not; negation particle used before verbs.
- dava
- Was giving; imperfect third person singular of dare.
- alcun
- Any; some; used in negative or interrogative contexts.
- segno
- Sign or signal; indication of something.
- di
- Of; preposition indicating possession or relationship.
- voler
- To want; to wish or desire something.
- salire
- To climb or go up; ascend stairs or height.
- così
- So; thus; in this manner or way.
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- suo
- His, her, its; possessive adjective third person.
- padrone
- Master or owner; one who employs others.
- scese
- Descended or went down; past tense of scendere.
- giù
- Down; downward direction or movement.
- da
- From; by; preposition of origin or agency.
- lui
- Him; male third person singular pronoun.
- lasciandomi
- Leaving me; leaving behind in a situation.
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or possession.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- prepotente
- Overbearing, domineering, or arrogant in behavior.
- un
- A or an; masculine singular indefinite article.
- paio
- A pair; two things of similar type.
- cupi
- Dark, gloomy, or somber in color or mood.
- cani
- Dogs; plural of cane.
- pastore
- Shepherd; one who tends to animals.
- arruffati
- Tousled, disheveled, or tangled in appearance.
- che
- That, which; relative pronoun connecting clauses.
- condividevano
- Were sharing; past imperfect of condividere.
- lei
- She; female third person singular pronoun.
- una
- A or an; feminine singular indefinite article.
- gelosa
- Jealous; possessive or envious of others.
- sorveglianza
- Surveillance or supervision; watchful observation.
- su
- On; upon; preposition of position or direction.
- tutti
- All; every; everyone without exception.
- miei
- My; possessive adjective plural masculine.
- movimenti
- Movements; actions of motion or change.
- Non
- Not; negation particle beginning a sentence.
- avendo
- Having; present participle of avere.
- alcuna
- Any; some; feminine form of alcun.
- voglia
- Desire, wish, or inclination to do something.
- venire
- To come; to arrive or approach.
- contatto
- Contact; physical touching or connection.
- loro
- Their; possessive adjective third person plural.
- denti
- Teeth; plural of dente.
- rimasi
- Remained; past tense of rimanere.
- seduto
- Seated, sitting; past participle of sedere.
- immobile
- Motionless, still; unable to move.
- immaginando
- Imagining; present participle of immaginare.
- difficilmente
- Hardly, scarcely, with difficulty.
- avrebbero
- Would have; conditional past of avere.
- capito
- Understood; past participle of capire.
- gli
- The; masculine plural definite article.
- insulti
- Insults; offensive remarks or abusive language.
- taciti
- Silent, unspoken; implied without being expressed.
- mi
- Me; first person singular object pronoun.
- lasciai
- Left, allowed; past tense of lasciare.
- purtroppo
- Unfortunately, regrettably; expressing sorrow or regret.
- andare
- To go; to move from one place.
- ad
- To; variant of 'a' before vowels.
- ammiccare
- To wink; to blink or gesture with eye.
- fare
- To make, do; perform an action or activity.
- smorfie
- Grimaces, faces; exaggerated facial expressions.
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'il'.
- trio
- Trio; group of three people or things.
- qualche
- Some; a few; an unspecified amount.
- espressione
- Expression; manifestation or display of emotion.
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'il'.
- mio
- My; possessive adjective masculine singular.
- volto
- Face; the front of the head.
- irritò
- Irritated, annoyed; past tense of irritare.
- talmente
- So much, to such an extent or degree.
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