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Varlet   Listen
Varlet

noun
1.
A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.  Synonyms: knave, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scalawag, scallywag.
2.
In medieval times a youth acting as a knight's attendant as the first stage in training for knighthood.  Synonym: page.






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"Varlet" Quotes from Famous Books



... have often more respect for a varlet, than for God. A man who firmly believes, that God sees every thing, and that he is omniscient and omnipresent, will be guilty, when alone, of actions, which he would never do in presence of the meanest ...
— Good Sense - 1772 • Paul Henri Thiry, Baron D'Holbach

... varlet, stand you forth and speak to him, Like a philosopher: answer in the language. Name the vexations, and the martyrisations Of metals in ...
— The Alchemist • Ben Jonson

... trial. An investigation had been gone into regarding the Calle de Plateros affair—private, however, before Santa Anna himself, the world not being made the wiser for it. Its results were all in their favour, thanks to the stern, stubborn fidelity of Jose, who lied like a very varlet. Such a circumstantial story told he, no one could suspect him of complicity in the escape of the forsados; far less that his mistress, or the Condesa Almonte had to ...
— The Free Lances - A Romance of the Mexican Valley • Mayne Reid

... Sir Godfrey, and uttered much more horrible language entirely unfit for general use. "What the Jeofailes does the varlet mean by threatening an Englishman in his own house? I should like to know who lives here? I should like to ...
— The Dragon of Wantley - His Tale • Owen Wister

... Ay, thou varlet!—Laugh away! All the world's a holiday! Laugh away, and roar and shout Till thy hoarse tongue lolleth out! Bloat thy cheeks, and bulge thine eyes Unto bursting; pelt thy thighs With thy swollen palms, and roar As thou never hast before! Lustier! ...
— Riley Songs of Home • James Whitcomb Riley

... Christ's body and blood to be in the sacrament of the altar?' To whom I—'My Lord, I do believe verily, as Christ hath said, that where two or three be gathered together in His name, there is He in the midst of them.'—'Ho, thou crafty varlet!' quoth he, 'wouldst turn the corner after that manner? By Saint Mary her kirtle, but it shall not serve thy turn. Tell me now, thou pestilent companion; when the priest layeth the bread and wine upon ...
— Robin Tremain - A Story of the Marian Persecution • Emily Sarah Holt

... the dart, but fully as quickly sank that varlet, the head of the spear scraping his skull, to pass on and smite with death one even more evil, if ...
— The Lost City • Joseph E. Badger, Jr.

... aunswer: Within this hower, she will, &c. with the rest in so vncleanly termes, as might not now become me by the rule of Decorum to vtter writing to so great a Maiestie, but the king tooke them in so euill part, as he bid Flamock auaunt varlet, and that he should no more be so neere vnto him. And wherein I would faine learne, lay this vndecencie? in the skurrill and filthy termes not meete for a kings eare? perchance so. For the king was a wise and graue man, and though he hated not a faire ...
— The Arte of English Poesie • George Puttenham

... Varlet, Sirrah, Sirrah, thank my Lady here I do not cudgel thee.—Well, I will settle the rest of my Estate upon her to morrow, I will, Sir; and thank God you have what you have, Sir, make ...
— The Works of Aphra Behn - Volume IV. • Aphra Behn

... above, heard very angrie Voices in the Courtyard, my Father's especiallie, louder than common; and distinguished the Words "Knave," and "Varlet," and "begone." Lookt from my Window and beheld a Man, booted and cloaked, with two Horses, at the Gate, parleying with my Father, who stood in an offensive Attitude, and woulde not let him in. I could catch such Fragments as, "But, Sir?" "What! in such Weather as this?" ...
— Mary Powell & Deborah's Diary • Anne Manning

... from fresh informations of this sorry varlet Everard. I wished him to suffer; but I wished him not to be so very great a sufferer as it seems he is. Sharpers have bit his head off, quite close to his shoulders: they have not left it him to ...
— The History of Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 4 (of 7) • Samuel Richardson

... them came the people fell back in dread, and no one would touch it. It made him laugh, and he scoffed at the people and called them cowards and old women. Then he turned and saw the tight-rope, and said foolish people were daily wasting their money to see a clumsy and ignorant varlet degrade that beautiful art; now they should see the work of a master. With that he made a spring into the air and lit firm on his feet on the rope. Then he hopped the whole length of it back and forth on one foot, with his hands clasped over his eyes; and ...
— The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories • Mark Twain

... the door-bell of the castle rang, and soon a varlet came to fast inform my lord the dwarf that in the parlor waited now a giant, and on the card he gave his name was written, "S.T. Mate." The dwarf unto his parlor quick repaired, and there, upon some dozen chairs the giant ...
— Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 9, 1870 • Various

... leave them as I became, there was but one way. It involved the slaying of my gaoler, a step which was, I confess, to me distasteful. I was getting on in life, and had grown tired of killing people. Yet, to mature deliberation, the life of a graceless varlet, void of all gentleness and with no bowels of compassion, and deaf to suggestions of bribery, appeared of ...
— Jurgen - A Comedy of Justice • James Branch Cabell

... knew not when to stop. Arriving in a town one day, He on his string began to play; And mounted on a brandy cask With noisy speech went through his task. The barrel on whose head he stood At length gave vent in warmth of blood: "Ungracious varlet—stay thy hand: "What! run down those on whom you stand?" Then, utterance-choked, he tumbled o'er, Casting the speaker on the floor. And as he rolled along the street— "Let me consistent teachers meet!" He said—"or give me none at all To teach me how to stand or ...
— The Death of Saul and other Eisteddfod Prize Poems and Miscellaneous Verses • J. C. Manning

... lord! I am his man, blood and body, and his will is my law and his faith is my faith. I have served him loyally, and so shall I continue to serve. What is this you would have me do? Turn rascal, even as you? Holy gods, I'll show you, knave and varlet—" ...
— Nicanor - Teller of Tales - A Story of Roman Britain • C. Bryson Taylor

... inn-keeper, up before the magistrate and fined for selling liquor in opposition to law. He proclaimed it highly immoral to sell liquor at all, and told Bright to his teeth that no honest man would do it. For this he had been twice kicked out of the inn by Bright, who damned him as a meddling varlet, not to be tolerated in a peaceable village. Again he had Bright up before the magistrate, who justified the aggression, but fined the aggressor ten dollars a kick, which Bright considered cheap enough considering what was got for his money. Bright declared it a principle with him to give ...
— The Von Toodleburgs - Or, The History of a Very Distinguished Family • F. Colburn Adams

... as if the little varlet mocked at me as he flew by in full song, and sought to taunt me with his happier lot. Oh, how I envied him! No lessons, no task, no school; nothing but holiday, frolic, green fields, and fine weather. Had I been then more versed ...
— McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader • William Holmes McGuffey

... and the moaning of Boris, the great wolfhound. Lord Almeric had ridden far, and was tired, and the gloominess of his ancestral home weighed on his spirits, which were naturally buoyant and high. Flinging himself from his gaily comparisoned horse, and tossing the rein with a muttered, 'Here, varlet!' to the waiting groom, he opened the massive doors and entered the hall. What was his ...
— The Slowcoach • E. V. Lucas

... the guests lifted up their hands in astonishment and horror. No punishment seemed severe enough for this wicked little varlet, who had dared to resent a blow from the king's own son. Some of the courtiers were of opinion that Noll should be sent prisoner to the Tower of London and brought to trial for high treason. Others, in their great zeal for the king's service, were about to lay hands on the ...
— Biographical Stories - (From: "True Stories of History and Biography") • Nathaniel Hawthorne

... I, 'doubt not their valor for can I give surety for it. For Holy Grail, every varlet, let alone those of true blood, would give his life and count ...
— In the Court of King Arthur • Samuel Lowe

... infidelity, the youth's rage and consternation were nearly equal to Lady Lake's; a circumstance that added considerable zest to the comedy. But I see it does not divert you so much as I expected, and therefore, to relieve your mind, I may tell you that the jealous varlet soon repented of his rash determination, and pursuing his mistress, whom Do Gondomar had considerately taken under his protection, prevailed upon her to give the amorous ambassador the slip, and return with him to her father's abode ...
— The Star-Chamber, Volume 1 - An Historical Romance • W. Harrison Ainsworth

... I better pleased," said Prianius, "than if thou hadst given me all the province of Paris the rich. I had rather have been torn by wild horses than that any varlet should have won such victory over me as thou hast done. But now, Sir knight, I warn thee that close by is the Duke of Lorraine, with sixty thousand good men of war; and we had both best flee at once, for he will ...
— The Legends Of King Arthur And His Knights • James Knowles

... Varlet or Squire carrying a Halberd, Fifteenth Century View of Alexandria, Sixteenth Century Village Feast, Sixteenth Century Village pillaged by Soldiers Villain, the Covetous and Avaricious Villain, the Egotistical and Envious Villain ...
— Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period • Paul Lacroix

... reminding me. I have many a knight and varlet here to pay you off for Laupen, and for the ill turn you did me at Morgarten; now you must wait here till I am ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 57, July, 1862 - A Magazine Of Literature, Art, And Politics • Various

... coin were forthwith presented to the functionary. "Bow, wow, wow," or something like it, uttered by our Mahometan friend, made us look up, and we saw him unaccepting and unsmiling. "Why, thou greedy varlet," (friend, the words were innocuous, because unintelligible,) "'tis by so much exactly too ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCLXXVI. February, 1847. Vol. LXI. • Various

... and one varlet in our travelling outfit, Maternus and six more habited as imitation Praetorians. Two of the ruffians had a pretty taste in drollery and amused the crowd with buffooneries. Strange to say the crowds seemed to think that they travestied ...
— Andivius Hedulio • Edward Lucas White

... [Coll.]; disorderly person, misdemeanant [Law]; outlaw; scofflaw; vandal; felon, (convicted criminal); criminal; convict, prisoner, inmate, jail bird, ticket of leave man; multiple offender. blackguard, polisson^, loafer, sneak; rapscallion, rascallion^; cullion^, mean wretch, varlet, kern^, ame-de-boue [Fr.], drole^; cur, dog, hound^, whelp^, mongrel^; lown^, loon, runnion^, outcast, vagabond; rogue &c (knave) 941; ronian^; scum of the earth, riffraff; Arcades ambo^. Int. sirrah!^, Phr. Acherontis pabulum^; gibier ...
— Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: Body • Roget

... autocrat of all the Russias feels grander than these livery servants. The butler, who is really above the livery servants in position, looked meek in his black suit and white vest and cravat, though he had a right to look down on the varlet in small-clothes. This last, however, was much the most imposing, in figure, and fair round red cheeks, and splendid shining black hair. Dear me, what is man! At the sound of a bell, when the dessert was put upon the table, the children came in. They never ...
— Memories of Hawthorne • Rose Hawthorne Lathrop

... the harlot, Who put me to death; My father, the varlet, Who eaten me hath! Little sister, so good, Laid my bones in the wood, In the damp moss and clay: Then was I a beautiful bird o' the wood; ...
— Faust • Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

... portans leurs sourplis et capperons vestus a toult la croix et banniere et clochette, et sy luy feroit l'en semblable service comme a ung trespasse en l'eglise ou il seroit demourant en lad. ville et sy seroit led. varlet tenu crier par les carfours comme pour ...
— The Story of Rouen • Sir Theodore Andrea Cook

... enough wonder, whither this varlet can possibly have betaken himself to any distance from here; unless perhaps he has returned home to ...
— The Comedies of Terence - Literally Translated into English Prose, with Notes • Publius Terentius Afer, (AKA) Terence

... bought the newspaper, and no news At all for his money he had. Lying varlet, thought he, thus to take in old Nick! But it's some satisfaction, my lad To know thou art paid beforehand for the trick, For the sixpence I gave thee ...
— The Humourous Poetry of the English Language • James Parton

... round, and stick forward like a weasel's; his form is square and supple, and he stands more than perpendicular. Ready and sharp is he for a joke, cold and unfeeling in manner, and troublesome as the varlet blackbirds that sit on a tree and gabble and moot, while other birds give ...
— Summerfield - or, Life on a Farm • Day Kellogg Lee

... asked Gomez Arias. "Thou graceless varlet, hast thou a wish that I should fulfil the promise I made ...
— Gomez Arias - The Moors of the Alpujarras, A Spanish Historical Romance. • Joaquin Telesforo de Trueba y Cosio

... our Cases; she the charming Injured can sweetly sleep, whilst the varlet Injurer cannot close his Eyes, and has been trying to no purpose the whole Night to divert his Melancholy, and ...
— Remarks on Clarissa (1749) • Sarah Fielding

... "this is the burgher-bred, burgher-fed varlet, that calls himself of Adlerstein! Boy, thou had best be warned. Wert thou true-blooded, it were worth my while to maintain my rights against thee. Craven as thou art, not even with spirit to accept my feud, I would fain not have the trouble ...
— The Dove in the Eagle's Nest • Charlotte M. Yonge

... attempt it is for a man to endeavor to do himself honor among those who are out of all degree of equality or comparison with him. And yet I have seen the moral of my own behavior very frequent in England since my return, where a little contemptible varlet,[72] without the least title to birth, person, wit, or common-sense, shall presume to look with importance, and put himself upon a foot with the greatest persons ...
— Gulliver's Travels - Into Several Remote Regions of the World • Jonathan Swift

... this Hebrew name with sense doth sound, A fool's my brother,[11a] though in wit profound! Most wicked wits are the devil's chiefest tools, Which, ever in the issue, God befools. Can they compare, vile varlet, once hold true, Of the loyal lord, and this disloyal Jew? Was e'er our English earl under disgrace, And, unconscionable; put out of place? Hath he laid lurking in his country-house To plot rebellions, as one factious? ...
— The Dramatic Works of John Dryden Vol. I. - With a Life of the Author • Sir Walter Scott

... a bull, a red neck, straight up and down with the back of his head, and a fist like a seal's flipper, proclaimed him the prize-fighter; and his bright grey eye, and ugly laughing face, proclaimed him the merry, good-humoured varlet that ...
— The Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn • Henry Kingsley

... the smooth varlet's neck that sold me mine," shouted Denys, in huge wrath, and confirmed the threat with singular oaths peculiar to the mediaeval military. The landlady put her fingers in her ears, thereby exhibiting the hand in a fresh attitude. "Tell me when he has done his ...
— The Cloister and the Hearth • Charles Reade

... confusion! speakest thou to me of halfpence! Know that thou art a mercenary varlet; yes, knave, mark that, a mercenary varlet." The sleepy Ganymede replied not, and the wrath of Mr. Gordon subsided into a low, interrupted, internal muttering of strange oaths, which rolled and grumbled, and rattled in his ...
— Pelham, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... press the sod About the quiet weedy moat, Where unscared did the great fish float; Because men dreaded there to see The uncouth things of faerie; Nathless by some few fathers old These tales about the place were told That neither squire nor seneschal Or varlet came in bower or hall, Yet all things were in order due, Hangings of gold and red and blue, And tables with fair service set; Cups that had paid the Caesar's debt Could he have laid his hands on them; Dorsars, with pearls in every hem, And fair embroidered gold-wrought things, ...
— The Earthly Paradise - A Poem • William Morris

... varlet," cried Norman of Torn, "an' lest ye should forget again so soon who be thy master, take that, as a reminder," and he struck the red giant full upon the mouth with his clenched fist—so that the fellow ...
— The Outlaw of Torn • Edgar Rice Burroughs

... of this solitary work lies in the fact that it is a series of terrific and fascinating tableaux, embodying the idea of inflexible poetic justice impartially administered upon king and varlet, pope and beggar, oppressor and victim, projected amidst the unalterable necessities of eternity, and moving athwart the lurid abyss and the azure cope with an intense distinctness that sears the gazer's eyeballs. The Divina Commedia, with a wonderful truth, also reflects ...
— The Destiny of the Soul - A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life • William Rounseville Alger



Words linked to "Varlet" :   attendant, attender, tender, villain, scoundrel



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