| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| magnificent | Impressively beautiful, elaborate or extravagant. "He was a truly magnificent father." |
| poaching | Hunting or catching game or fish illegally on someone else's land. Poaching is central to the plot and has a long tradition in the area. |
| contemptuous | Showing contempt; scornful and disrespectful. Mr Hazell is contemptuous of everyone he considers beneath him. |
| cunning | Skilled at achieving ends through clever means; sly. The sleeping-powder plan is the product of cunning thinking. |
| audacious | Showing a willingness to take bold risks; daring. The poaching plan is delightfully audacious. |
| humiliate | To make someone feel ashamed and foolish. Humiliating Hazell is the goal of the whole plan. |
| ancestral | Relating to or inherited from ancestors. "Poaching is an ancestral skill." |
| marvellous | Causing great wonder; extraordinarily good. "The most marvellous and exciting father any boy ever had." |