All 33 Uses of

direct
in
A Tale of Two Cities

…we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—
Chpt 1.1

direct = straight (without going anywhere else first)

…we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—
Chpt 1.1

The keeper of the wine-shop stopped to strike the wall with his hand,
and mutter a tremendous curse. No direct answer could have been half so forcible.
Chpt 1.5 *

direct = straightforward (specific and to the point)

He, and his old canvas frock, and his loose stockings, and all his poor tatters of clothes, had, in a long seclusion from direct light and air, faded down to such a dull uniformity of parchment-yellow, that it would have been hard to say which was which.
Chpt 1.6 *

direct = unobstructed (with nothing in between)

She will be home directly, and it is better she should not see us together to-night.†
Chpt 2.10

directly = immediately

Let me carry through the rest of my misdirected life, the remembrance that I opened my heart to you, last of all the world; and that there was something left in me at this time which you could deplore and pity.†
Chpt 2.13

standard prefix: The prefix "mis-" in misdirected means wrong and reverses the meaning of directed. This is the same pattern you see in words like misunderstand, misbehave, and misuse.

If your sagacity, knowledge, and experience, could put me on the right track, I might be able to do so much; unenlightened and undirected, I can do so little.†
Chpt 2.19

standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in undirected means not and reverses the meaning of directed. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.

The polite rejection of the three lumps of bread-and-cheese had quite bloated Mr. Stryver with indignation, which he afterwards turned to account in the training of the young gentlemen, by directing them to beware of the pride of Beggars, like that tutor-fellow.
Chpt 2.21 *

directing = instructing

The English customer paid for what he had had, perplexedly counted his change, and asked, as a stranger, to be directed towards the National Palace.†
Chpt 3.12

directed = aimed or focused

Without directly answering to this appeal, she sat so still when he had very gently raised her, and the hands that had not ceased to clasp his wrists were so much more steady than they had been, that she communicated some reassurance to Mr. Jarvis Lorry.†
Chpt 1.4

Others, men and women, dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earthenware, or even with handkerchiefs from women's heads, which were squeezed dry into infants' mouths; others made small mud-embankments, to stem the wine as it ran; others, directed by lookers-on up at high windows, darted here and there, to cut off little streams of wine that started away in new directions; others devoted themselves to the sodden and lee-dyed pieces of the cask, licking, and even champing the moister wine-rotted fragments with eager relish.†
Chpt 1.5

Mr. Jarvis Lorry and Miss Manette, emerging from the wine-shop thus, joined Monsieur Defarge in the doorway to which he had directed his own company just before.†
Chpt 1.5

Any strongly marked expression of face on the part of a chief actor in a scene of great interest to whom many eyes are directed, will be unconsciously imitated by the spectators.†
Chpt 2.3

The prisoner came forward directly.†
Chpt 2.3

Sadly, sadly, the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away.†
Chpt 2.5

"It will die out," said Monsieur the Marquis, glancing at his hands, "directly."†
Chpt 2.8

I come direct.†
Chpt 2.9

On the contrary; I come direct.†
Chpt 2.9

If there were—Charles Darnay, if there were—" The young man had taken his hand gratefully; their hands were joined as the Doctor spoke: "—any fancies, any reasons, any apprehensions, anything whatsoever, new or old, against the man she really loved—the direct responsibility thereof not lying on his head—they should all be obliterated for her sake.†
Chpt 2.10

Nor, how the lightest echo of their united home, directed by herself with such a wise and elegant thrift that it was more abundant than any waste, was music to her.†
Chpt 2.21

At length the sun rose so high that it struck a kindly ray as of hope or protection, directly down upon the old prisoner's head.†
Chpt 2.22

It was known directly, to the furthest confines of the crowd.†
Chpt 2.22

He was fast asleep directly.†
Chpt 2.23

When he had sat in his saddle some half-hour, taking note of these things, Darnay found himself confronted by the same man in authority, who directed the guard to open the barrier.†
Chpt 3.1

And as the frantic wielders of these weapons snatched them from the stream of sparks and tore away into the streets, the same red hue was red in their frenzied eyes;—eyes which any unbrutalised beholder would have given twenty years of life, to petrify with a well-directed gun.†
Chpt 3.2

The lowest, cruelest, and worst populace of a city, never without its quantity of low, cruel, and bad, were the directing spirits of the scene: noisily commenting, applauding, disapproving, anticipating, and precipitating the result, without a check.†
Chpt 3.6

She was in a front row, by the side of a man whom he had never seen since his arrival at the Barrier, but whom he directly remembered as Defarge.†
Chpt 3.6

The same cautious counsel directed every step that lay before him, and had prepared every inch of his road.†
Chpt 3.6

I am going now, directly.†
Chpt 3.9

I mount to the cell, with a fellow-citizen who is one of the Jury, directed by a gaoler.†
Chpt 3.9

This done, he went on direct to Defarge's, and went in.†
Chpt 3.12

How high it was from the ground, how many steps it had, where he would be stood, how he would be touched, whether the touching hands would be dyed red, which way his face would be turned, whether he would be the first, or might be the last: these and many similar questions, in nowise directed by his will, obtruded themselves over and over again, countless times.†
Chpt 3.13

You shall know directly.†
Chpt 3.13

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From Other Sources
Grouped by 3 Meanings

Definitions:

(1) (direct as in: directly above; or buy direct)
without anything in between -- whether in time, space, or involvement
(2) (direct as in: gave a direct answer)
straightforward -- often clear, open, or blunt in speech or behavior
(3) (direct as in: direct a question; or direct a film)
to guide, aim, or manage -- such as actions, attention, speech, a project or company
(4) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

Direct can take on many specialized meanings not included in this dictionary.
As an adjective or adverb, direct usually means there is a clear or straight connection with nothing in the way. It can also mean easy to understand, without confusion. For example:
- Direct action – taking quick and clear steps to make something happen
- Direct descendant – someone who comes straight from an ancestor, like a grandchild
- Direct line (in genealogy) – a family connection that goes straight from one generation to the next
- Direct deposit – money that is sent straight into a bank account
- Direct object – in a sentence, the person or thing that receives the action of the verb
- Direct kick – in sports, a kick where the ball can go straight into the goal without touching another player
- Direct cost – a cost that comes straight from making a product or providing a service
- Direct investment – putting money directly into a company or project
- Direct elections – when people vote for leaders without going through an extra step
- Direct current (DC) – a type of electric flow that moves in only one direction
As a verb, most all of the senses of direct involve giving orders or aiming.

Page Numbers by Book Edition

direct in A Tale of Two Cities

direct
in
A Tale of Two Cities