67 words to know before reading The Innocence of Father Brown

1. A fictional character known for hiding in crowded scenes in the "Where's Waldo?" books.
2. Slang for someone who is hard to find or elusive.

To Waldo and Mildred D’Avigdor

1. Packages or bundles of goods for transport or delivery.
2. Divisions of land, often for sale or ownership.

amused the Frenchman till the priest arrived (somehow) at Tottenham with all his parcels, and came back for his umbrella. When he did the last, Valentin even had the good nature to warn

1. A portable device used for rain protection, consisting of a collapsible canopy on a central rod.
2. Something that covers or includes a broad range of elements or functions.

they both stood an instant uncovered while the little Essex priest blinked about for his umbrella.

1. Ordained members of the clergy, especially in Christian churches.
2. Religious leaders who perform spiritual duties, such as priests or ministers.

association which connects the idea of nuts marked as oranges with the idea of two clergymen, one tall and the other short?” The eyes of the tradesman stood out of his head like a snail’s;

1. A clergyman, especially a Protestant minister.
2. A surname of English origin.

you’re one of their friends, you can tell ’em from me that I’ll knock their silly ’eads off, parsons or no parsons, if they upset my apples again.” “Indeed?” asked the detective, with great

1. Officers responsible for enforcing laws and maintaining public order.
2. Members of a police force who patrol and investigate crimes.

in his stride forward. “Behind that tree,” said Father Brown, pointing, “are two strong policemen and the greatest detective alive. How did they come here, do you ask? Why, I brought them, of

1. An area of open uncultivated land with poor soil, typically covered with low shrubs.
2. A small flowering shrub, especially of the genus Erica.

however, was pretty certain that they would eventually strike some part of Hampstead Heath. Abruptly one bulging gas-lit window broke the blue twilight like a bull’s-eye lantern; and

1. A breed of hardy, black, hornless cattle originating from Scotland.
2. A region in southwestern Scotland known for its cattle and rural landscape.

become a domestic problem, and he was sent with all speed into the dining-room with Lady Galloway on his arm. Except on one point the Galloways were genial and casual enough. So long as Lady

1. A curved, single-edged sword used historically by cavalry.
2. A fencing weapon with a flat blade and knuckle guard.

Valentin. “I’ll show you,” said his servant, and reappeared with a flashing naked cavalry sabre, streaked with blood about the point and edge. Everyone in the room eyed it as if it were a

1. Used to emphasize a statement or response.
2. Truly or certainly (often expressing agreement).

I’ll knock their silly ’eads off, parsons or no parsons, if they upset my apples again.” “Indeed?” asked the detective, with great sympathy. “Did they upset your apples?” “One of ’em did,” said

1. Small, slender branches of a tree or shrub.
2. To notice or observe something carefully.

and turned to the window which looked on the scene of death. “No one saw the point of the twigs. Why should they lie on that lawn (look at it) so far from any tree? They were not snapped off;

1. Past tense of "fling" – threw or tossed something forcefully.
2. Moved or pushed suddenly and violently.

were a thunderbolt; but the experienced Ivan went on quite quietly: “I found this,” he said, “flung among the bushes fifty yards up the road to Paris. In other words, I found it just where your

1. A device with a sharp blade for beheading people, used historically for executions.
2. A paper-cutting tool with a descending blade.

Louis Becker, whom we had a great deal to do with. In fact, we found it necessary to guillotine him only yesterday. Well, it’s a rum thing, gentlemen, but when I saw that fellow flat on the

1. Relating to sexual or gender identities that are not heterosexual or cisgender.
2. Strange, odd, or unconventional.

act as he acted. All we can do is to keep our eyes skinned for a queer thing.” “What sort of queer thing do you mean?” asked the inspector. “Any sort of queer thing,” answered Valentin, and

1. People who catch fish for a living or as a hobby.
2. Individuals engaged in fishing activities, often using nets, rods, or traps.

The Queer Feet If you meet a member of that select club, “The Twelve True Fishermen,” entering the Vernon Hotel for the annual club dinner, you will observe, as he takes off his

1. The owner of a business or property.
2. A person who holds legal title to something.

on the white paper; “threw it over there on the wall.” Valentin looked his query at the proprietor, who came to his rescue with fuller reports. “Yes, sir,” he said, “it’s quite true, though I

1. A loose outer garment without sleeves, worn over other clothing.
2. Something that hides or covers, like a disguise or concealment.

outlet on the passage, but let on one side into the glass office, and on the other into the cloak room beyond. He tried the door into the office, and found it locked. Then he looked at the

1. A long passage in a building with doors leading to rooms on either side.
2. A narrow strip of land connecting two larger areas.

walked. This time he ran. One could hear the swift, soft, bounding steps coming along the corridor, like the pads of a fleeing and leaping panther. Whoever was coming was a very strong, active

1. Not bright or clear; lacking light.
2. Having faint or indistinct vision.

to the servants’ quarters, as the more likely line of escape. As they did so they passed the dim alcove or cavern of the cloak room, and saw a short, black-coated figure, presumably an

1. Honors or recognition for achievement.
2. Leaves of the laurel tree, used as a symbol of victory.

side you are on,” said the young man named Crook. As they went together through the laurels towards the front garden a motor horn sounded thrice, coming nearer and nearer, and a car of

1. A dishonest or unscrupulous person.
2. A bend or curve, especially in a road or river.

hung the colonel’s sword, the process was completed and the company, including the saturnine Crook, presented to Sir Leopold Fischer. That venerable financier, however, still seemed struggling

1. A theatrical performance using gestures and movements without speech.
2. A traditional British Christmas entertainment with music, slapstick comedy, and audience participation.

crystals. In fact he would certainly have done so, had not Ruby unearthed some old pantomime paste jewels she had worn at a fancy dress party as the Queen of Diamonds. Indeed, her uncle,

1. A flowering plant of the genus Aquilegia, known for its spurred petals.
2. Relating to a dove or pigeon (from Latin "columbinus").

through the very tameness of the bourgeois conventions from which it had to create. The columbine looked charming in an outstanding skirt that strangely resembled the large lampshade in the

1. A character in Italian comedy, often portrayed as a foolish old man.
2. A type of trousers, especially loose-fitting or baggy ones.

“I think, my dear,” he said, “you must get someone else for pantaloon.” “I will be pantaloon, if you like,” said Colonel Adams, taking his cigar out of his mouth, and speaking for the first

1. A comic character in traditional pantomime, typically wearing a checkered costume.
2. A clown or buffoon.

said Crook. “I am only the clown who makes the old jokes.” “I wish you were the harlequin,” she said, and left the string of sausages swinging. Father Brown, though he knew every detail

1. A person who makes or sells sweets, candies, and other confections.
2. A professional skilled in creating decorative sugar or chocolate items.

1. The sky or heavens, especially when regarded as a vault or arch.
2. (Poetic) The upper air; the firmament.

hesitation. “Smythe’s first letter was simply to say that he had started out walking with Welkin to London; but Welkin was such a good walker that the little man dropped out of it, and took a

1. Large, impressive houses, often with historical or architectural significance.
2. In some contexts, refers to apartment buildings or blocks of flats (British usage).

is odd,” said the little man, arching his black eyebrows. “I live, myself, in Himylaya Mansions, round the corner. Perhaps you might care to come with me; I can go to my rooms and sort out

1. A curved shape resembling a segment of a ring, tapering to points at the ends.
2. The figure of the moon in its first or last quarter.

a sort of canal, like the moat of that embowered fortress. As the car swept round the crescent it passed, at one corner, the stray stall of a man selling chestnuts; and right away at the other

1. Simplified models or replicas used for practice or display.
2. Inexperienced or unintelligent people (informal, often derogatory).

the rows of tall half-human mechanical figures that stood up on both sides like tailors’ dummies. Like tailors’ dummies they were headless; and like tailors’ dummies they had a handsome

1. To prevent or stop something from happening.
2. A type of whisky made in Scotland.

man.” Angus looked round at the dim room full of dummies, and in some Celtic corner of his Scotch soul a shudder started. One of the life-size dolls stood immediately overshadowing the blood

1. A type of evergreen tree with needle-like leaves and cones.
2. To feel a lingering sadness or longing for something.

are the only two instruments with which you can cut out a pane of glass.” The bough of a broken pine tree lashed heavily in the blast against the windowpane behind them, as if in parody of a

1. A tool with a sharp-edged metal blade used for digging or cutting earth.
2. A playing card in the suit of spades, marked with a black symbol resembling a pointed leaf.

the halo round the head of the Child Jesus. Therefore, I say, let us get our warrant and our spade and our hatchet, and go up and break open that coffin.” “What do you mean?” demanded the London

1. A person who is contemptibly timid.

turn round. Their eyes were fastened on Father Brown. “Diamonds and small wheels,” repeated Craven ruminating. “Is that all that makes you think it the true explanation?” “I don’t think it the

1. Cylindrical blocks of wax with a wick, burned for light or fragrance.
2. Units measuring light intensity (obsolete).

darkening room and rapidly rising wind, Brown went along the table to where a bundle of wax candles lay among the other scrappy exhibits. As he did so he bent accidentally over the heap of

1. Powdered tobacco inhaled through the nose (historical usage).
2. To extinguish a candle or flame.

régime, and was trying to reenact literally the family life of the last Bourbons. He had snuff because it was the eighteenth century luxury; wax candles, because they were the eighteenth

1. A roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor.
2. An open-air gallery or porch, often partly enclosed by a railing.

to you. Or, perhaps, be silent with you.” They established themselves comfortably in the veranda seat; Father Brown, against his common habit, accepted a good cigar and smoked it steadily in

1. A person who writes poetry.
2. Someone skilled in the art of verse.

together through the gorgeous unnatural beauty of cactus and azalea and found Leonard Quinton, poet and romancer, with his head hanging downward off his ottoman and his red curls sweeping the

1. A type of felt hat with a rounded crown and narrow brim, typically worn by men in the 19th century.
2. A slang term for a bowler hat.

inexpressibly ordinary, yet giving an impression of capacity. The young man in the billycock, who did not seem to be gifted with any tact in dealing with people beyond the general idea of

1. Not straight; bent or twisted.
2. Irregular or uneven in shape or arrangement.

that does not belong to the straight bolts either of heaven or hell. As one knows the crooked track of a snail, I know the crooked track of a man.” The white lightning opened its enormous eye

1. Cut or trimmed with scissors or shears.
2. Shortened or removed a part of something.

be damned!” cried Flambeau. “What has the shape to do with it?” “There were twenty-three snipped papers,” resumed Brown unmoved, “and only twenty-two pieces snipped off. Therefore one of the

1. Lacking strength or clarity; barely perceptible.
2. A sudden loss of consciousness.

and the Commandant still walking there.” “You have to remember,” replied Margaret, with a faint irony in her voice, “that I had just refused him, so we should scarcely have come back arm in

1. Magnificent or impressive in appearance.
2. Excellent or very good.

the front garden a motor horn sounded thrice, coming nearer and nearer, and a car of splendid speed, great elegance, and a pale green colour swept up to the front doors like a bird and stood

1. A magical realm where fairies and mythical creatures live.
2. An imaginary or idealized place of beauty and enchantment.

like an elf upon his dwarfish drum. The same singular sentiment of some sad and evil fairyland crossed the priest’s mind again like a little grey cloud. “I wish Flambeau were back,” he

1. Spoke quietly or indistinctly, often in a grumbling or complaining tone.
2. Expressed something in a low or suppressed voice.

and his eyes were empty and his forehead full of wrinkles. “If one could only conceive,” he muttered, “the meaning of this last monstrosity.” And leaning on the large spade handle, he buried his

1. A blacksmith's workshop where metal is forged.
2. A person who works as a blacksmith.

Bohun saw the tragedy in one glance, flat underneath him like a plan. In the yard of the smithy were standing five or six men mostly in black, one in an inspector’s uniform. They included the

1. A member of the clergy in charge of a parish.
2. To select, organize, and present content or items.

flock, you know!” said Father Brown, arching his eyebrows rather blankly. “When I was a curate in Hartlepool, there were three of them with spiked bracelets. So, as I suspected you from the

1. A person who forges and shapes iron or steel by hand.
2. A craftsman who makes and repairs metal objects, tools, and horseshoes.

I am going to call on the blacksmith.” Wilfred looked at the ground, and said: “The blacksmith is out. He is over at Greenford.” “I know,” answered the other with silent laughter; “that is why

1. Relating to the Goths or their extinct East Germanic language.
2. A style of medieval architecture with pointed arches and ornate details.

were some who said (notably the blacksmith, who was a Presbyterian) that it was a love of Gothic architecture rather than of God, and that his haunting of the church like a ghost was only

1. A person who repairs shoes.
2. A fruit pie or dessert with a crust on top.

does it mean? What is this horrible mystery?” There was an unhappy silence; and then the cobbler, the most outspoken man present, answered: “Plenty of horror, sir,” he said; “but not much

1. In Greek mythology, Apollo is the god of music, poetry, prophecy, and healing.
2. NASA's Apollo program (1961–1972) aimed to land humans on the Moon.

himself Kalon was a magnificent creature, worthy, in a physical sense, to be the pontiff of Apollo. He was nearly as tall even as Flambeau, and very much better looking, with a golden beard,

1. Relating to office work or workers, such as filing or record-keeping.
2. Pertaining to clergy or religious officials.

with rolling eyes and writhing features just after execution; for Valentin was an anti-clerical of some note. But O’Brien was an Irishman, with a kind of chastity even in his sins; and his

1. A point of access or entry, such as a door or gate.
2. The act of entering or coming in.

he groped his way to the dark back parts of the mansion, and eventually found a servants’ entrance that opened on to the garden. The moon with her scimitar had now ripped up and rolled away all

1. Located on a lower floor of a building.
2. Toward or on a lower floor.

was always in his line, especially when it was good-looking; moreover, the ladies downstairs were characters in their way. The office was kept by two sisters, both slight and dark, one of

1. On or to a higher floor of a building.
2. The upper floor(s) of a building.

“Well, we want him back pretty soon,” said Angus abruptly, “for the wretched man upstairs has not only been murdered, but wiped out.” “How?” asked the priest. “Father,” said Flambeau,

1. A platform projecting from the wall of a building, enclosed by a railing or parapet.
2. An upper level in a theater or auditorium with seating.

on their lips. For three times in the day the new sun-worshipper went out on his little balcony, in the face of all Westminster, to say some litany to his shining lord: once at daybreak, once

1. A structure or statue built to honor a person or event.
2. A significant historical or cultural landmark.

replied Brown, with frank regret. “There’s a great marble monument on top of it; a monument to the heroic Major Murray, who fell fighting gloriously at the famous Battle of the Black

1. Used as a reflexive pronoun to refer to a group previously mentioned.
2. Used for emphasis to refer to a group previously mentioned.

in long rooms panelled with oak; while Jews, on the other hand, should rather find themselves unexpectedly penniless among the lights and screens of the Café Riche. Thus, in England, if I

1. To thrust or dive quickly into something (e.g., water).
2. To fall or drop suddenly.

it up, glanced at it, handed it to Father Brown, and crying, “Good God, look at that!” plunged toward the glass room beyond, where the terrible tropic flowers still seemed to keep a crimson

1. A book where personal experiences and thoughts are recorded daily.
2. A daily record of events or transactions.

on top of each other rather like lumber in the minds of men such as our friend with the diary. With the dazed excitement of a dream, they found themselves falling—literally falling—into

1. A large bird of prey that feeds on dead animals.
2. A person who profits from the misfortune of others.

that entry is full of jokes, evidently flung about among the men, about somebody called the Vulture. It does not seem as if this person, whoever he was, was one of themselves, nor even an

1. A distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash, such as barley, corn, rye, or wheat.
2. Typically aged in wooden casks, giving it a distinct flavor and color.

and pulpits, how he had been, when only a boy, drawn away from Scotch theology to Scotch whisky, and how he had risen out of both and become (as he modestly put it) what he was. Yet his wide

1. A male servant employed to assist with domestic duties.
2. A personal attendant or valet for a gentleman.

features of the tragedy. The man in black on the green bank was Sir Aaron Armstrong’s manservant Magnus. The baronet in his optimism had often laughed at the black gloves of this dismal

1. A Latin word meaning "great" or "large."
2. A given name of Scandinavian origin.

Then he added: “At least, not here.” “Which is the inspector, please?” asked the man called Magnus. When he spoke everyone instantly understood how this voice had stopped a train. He was a

1. A person, often an artist or writer, who lives an unconventional, free-spirited lifestyle.
2. Relating to a socially unconventional or artistic way of living.

Father Brown had been thus rapidly summoned at the request of Patrick Royce, the big ex-Bohemian secretary. Royce was an Irishman by birth; and that casual kind of Catholic that never remembers

1. A person who applies gold leaf or gold-colored material to surfaces.
2. A tool or machine used in the gilding process.

Mr. Gilder, have you got much farther with the mystery?” “There is no mystery,” replied Gilder, as he looked under dreamy eyelids at the rooks. “Well, there is for me, at any rate,” said

1. A handgun with a revolving cylinder holding multiple bullets.
2. A person or thing that revolves or turns.

There was nothing about him to indicate the fact that the grey jacket covered a loaded revolver, that the white waistcoat covered a police card, or that the straw hat covered one of the most