All 45 Uses
expedient
in
The Deerslayer
(Auto-generated)
- Step by step did he look into the construction of the singular abode, investigate its fastenings and strength, ascertain its means of defence, and make every inquiry that would be likely to occur to one whose thoughts dwelt principally on such expedients.†
Chpt 4expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- In consequence of this expedient, the ark floated clear of the incumbrances of the shore, against which it would otherwise have been unavoidably hauled at every turn, producing embarrassments that Hutter, single-handed, would have found it very difficult to overcome.†
Chpt 4expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- Then, again, there was some truth, and a good deal of expediency, in the principle of retaliation, of which they both availed themselves, in particular, to answer the objections of their juster-minded and more scrupulous companion.†
Chpt 5
- This expedient had been adopted, in both cases, under the certainty that the drift could not carry the light barks more than a league or two, before the return of light, when they might easily be overtaken in order to prevent any wandering savage from using them, by swimming off and getting possession, a possible but scarcely a probable event, all the paddles were retained.†
Chpt 6
- The point being nearly diagonally opposite to the Indian encampment, he hoped the last, though the former was not only possible, but probable; for the savages were prompt in adopting all the expedients of their particular modes of warfare, and quite likely had many scouts searching the shores for craft to carry them off to the castle.†
Chpt 7expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- He was yet unpracticed in the ruthless expedients of savage warfare, of which he knew nothing except by tradition and theory, and it struck him as unfair advantage to assail an unarmed foe.†
Chpt 7
- The savage started at this ready and decided expedient, and his companion saw that he cast a hurried and fierce glance at his own canoe, or that which contained the paddles.†
Chpt 7expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- Accustomed to fire with the deer on the bound, and often when the precise position of the animal's body had in a manner to be guessed at, he used the same expedients here.†
Chpt 7expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- The celebrated American axe, a tool that is quite unrivalled in its way, was then not very extensively known, and the savages were far from expert in the use of its hatchet-like substitute; still, they had sufficient practice in crossing streams by this mode to render it certain they would construct a raft, should they deem it expedient to expose themselves to the risks of an assault.†
Chpt 8expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- Although Judith was less sanguine on this head, she too betrayed the hope that propositions for a ransom would come, when the Indians discovered that the castle set their expedients and artifices at defiance.†
Chpt 8expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- Knowing the punctuality of an Indian, Deerslayer had made his calculations closely, and had given himself a little more time than was necessary to reach the place of rendezvous, with a view to delay or to press his arrival, as might prove most expedient.†
Chpt 8expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- Prompt of resolution and firm of purpose, her suggestions and expedients partook of her spirit and sagacity, both of which were of a character to find favor with men of the frontier.†
Chpt 9expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- This last expedient, however, was not taken in time, for the momentum of so heavy a craft, and the impulsion of the air, soon set her by, bringing Hetty directly to windward, though still visible, as the change in the positions of the two boats now placed her in that species of milky way which has been mentioned.†
Chpt 9expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- She was perfectly aware of the importance of keeping the canoes from falling into the hands of the Iroquois, and long familiarity with the lake had suggested one of the simplest expedients, by which this great object could be rendered compatible with her own purpose.†
Chpt 10expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- She remained, therefore, watching with intense anxiety the result of her expedient, intending to call the attention of the others to the canoe with her voice, should they appear to pass without observing it.†
Chpt 10expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- A better expedient could not have been adopted, to secure the silence and discretion of Hetty, than that which was now presented to her mind.†
Chpt 10 *
- To have fled in a direct line for the Canadas would have exposed them to the dangers of a direct pursuit, and the chiefs had determined to adopt the expedient of penetrating deeper into a region that had now become dangerous, in the hope of being able to retire in the rear of their pursuers, instead of having them on their trail.†
Chpt 11
- The encampment being temporary, it offered to the eye no more than the rude protection of a bivouac, relieved in some slight degree by the ingenious expedients which suggested themselves to the readiness of those who passed their lives amid similar scenes.†
Chpt 11expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- One unpracticed in the expedients and opinions of savage life would not have suspected the readiness of invention, the wariness of action, the high resolution, the noble impulses, the deep self-devotion, and the feminine disregard of self when the affections were concerned, that lay concealed beneath the demure looks, the mild eyes, and the sunny smiles of this young Indian beauty.†
Chpt 11
- But reflection satisfied them that, in the end, this expedient would fail.†
Chpt 14expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- When you bring us our fri'nds, two more shall be added to it, and," hesitating a moment in distrust of the expediency of so great a concession; then, deciding in its favor—"and, if we see them afore the sun sets, we may find a fourth to make up an even number."†
Chpt 14
- This desperate expedient, however, was no longer necessary, and after repeating the terms of agreement, and professing to understand them, the two Indians finally took their departure, moving slowly towards the shore.†
Chpt 14
- Here he assembled the whole party, and communicated as much of his intentions as he deemed expedient.†
Chpt 15
- All these things Deerslayer pointed out to Judith, instructing her as to the course she was to follow in the event of an alarm; for it was thought to the last degree inexpedient to arouse the sleepers, unless it might be in the greatest emergency.†
Chpt 16inexpedient = not practicalstandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in inexpedient means not and reverses the meaning of expedient. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
- Any ingenious expedient of this nature quite likely exceeded her powers; still her step was habitually light, and scarcely audible.†
Chpt 18expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- Hurry was an expert swimmer, and tethered as he was he resorted to the very expedient that philosophy and reflection would have suggested.†
Chpt 20
- She did not dare to land; if such an expedient were to be resorted to at all, she could only venture on it in the last extremity.†
Chpt 20
- As soon as the Delaware perceived that the girls avoided him, unable to manage his unwieldy craft, and knowing that flight from a bark canoe, in the event of pursuit, would be a useless expedient if attempted, he had lowered his sail, in the hope it might induce the sisters to change their plan and to seek refuge in the scow.†
Chpt 20
- Judith had inclined towards the eastern shore at the commencement of the chase, with a vague determination of landing and flying to the woods as a last resort, but as she approached the land, the certainty that scouts must be watching her movements made her reluctance to adopt such an expedient unconquerable.†
Chpt 20
- Here the Indians resorted to an expedient that enabled them to give one of their party time to breathe, by shifting their paddles from hand to hand, and this too without sensibly relaxing their efforts.†
Chpt 20
- Judith occasionally looked behind her, and she saw this expedient practised.†
Chpt 20
- Notwithstanding his skill as a swimmer, and the readiness with which he had adopted the only expedient that could possibly save him, the helplessness of being in the water, bound hand and foot, had produced some such effect on him, as the near approach of punishment is known to produce on most criminals, leaving a vivid impression of the horrors of death upon his mind, and this too in connection with a picture of bodily helplessness; the daring of this man being far more the offspring of vast physical powers, than of the energy of the will, or even of natural spirit.†
Chpt 21
- By adopting this expedient, one to which all who are eager to arrive at results without encumbering themselves with details are so apt to resort, Judith made a rapid progress in these melancholy revelations of her mother's failing and punishment.†
Chpt 24
- One was a senior, well known for eloquence in debate, wisdom in council, and prudence in measures; while his great competitor, if not his rival, was a brave distinguished in war, notorious for ferocity, and remarkable, in the way of intellect, for nothing but the cunning and expedients of the war path.†
Chpt 27expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- As he walked about the point, he even examined the spot to ascertain if it offered no place of concealment, but its openness, its size, and the hundred watchful glances that were turned towards him, even while those who made them affected not to see him, prevented any such expedient from succeeding.†
Chpt 27expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- No sooner was this expedient adopted, than the young man ascertained how desperate had been his own efforts, by the violence of the pulsations in his frame.†
Chpt 27
- Deerslayer now felt the urgent necessity of resorting to some expedient to get farther from his foes, and if possible to apprise his friends of his situation.†
Chpt 27
- This was nervous work, but it was the wisest of all the expedients that offered, and the young man was encouraged to persevere in it by the circumstance that he felt his face fanned by the air, a proof that there was a little more wind.†
Chpt 27expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- He, again, thought of this last expedient, but the certainty that the canoe would be sent in chase, and the desperate nature of the chances of success deterred him from the undertaking.†
Chpt 28expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- This expedient was adopted, not from any apprehensions that he would escape, or from any necessity that was yet apparent of his being unable to endure the torture with his limbs free, but from an ingenious design of making him feel his helplessness, and of gradually sapping his resolution by undermining it, as it might be, little by little.†
Chpt 28
- Twas one of the common expedients of the savages, on such occasions, to put the nerves of their victims to the severest proofs.†
Chpt 29expedients = actions that are speedy, practical, or convenient
- This happy expedient of taking refuge from the ferocity of his foes, in their passions, was denied Deerslayer however, by his peculiar notions of the duty of a white man, and he had stoutly made up his mind to endure everything, in preference to disgracing his colour.†
Chpt 29expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
- Nor did he even adopt the natural and usual expedient of shutting his eyes, the firmest and oldest warrior of the red-men never having more disdainfully denied himself this advantage under similar circumstances.†
Chpt 29
- It is often the case when we are thwarted in a cherished scheme, that any expedient, however unlikely to succeed, is gladly resorted to in preference to a total abandonment of the project.†
Chpt 29
- To attempt to impose a daughter of the Muskrat on the savages as a princess, or a great lady, she knew would be idle, and she saw her bold and ingenious expedient for liberating the captive fail, through one of the simplest and most natural causes that could be imagined.†
Chpt 30
Definitions:
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(1)
(expedient) convenient and practical, but sometimes not the best or most moral choice
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much more rarely, expedient can also imply that an action was taken for reasons of self-interest rather than for moral reasons.
In the sense of speedy, the word is less commonly used today than in the past; though it may still be used as in "an expedient end" or "an expedient amount of time," or "We are depending upon your expediency."