All 7 Uses of
reproach
in
All the King's Men
- It would be a reproach, an affront, a cause for laughter and a thing for tears.†
Chpt 2
- He appeared at the bathroom door, braced against the door-jamb, staring at me with a face of sad reproach bedewed with the glitter of cold sweat.
Chpt 2 *reproach = criticism
- Then, when the truth was not to be discovered, or discovered could not be understood by me, I could not bear to live with the cold-eyed reproach of the facts.†
Chpt 4
- Was it because the man who held her was much younger than she and his embrace gave her the reproach of youth and seven years?†
Chpt 4
- Or perhaps he laid aside the journal of Cass Mastern not because he could not understand, but because he was afraid to understand for what might be understood there was a reproach to him.†
Chpt 4
- …and the books and papers piled on chairs and the old coffee cup with dried dregs inside which the colored girl had forgotten to pick up, and where the friend of my youth received me as though he were not a Success and I were not a Failure (both spelled with capital letters), laid his hand on my shoulder, pronounced my name, looked at me from the ice-water-blue, abstract eyes which were a reproach to all uncertain, twisted, and clouded things and were as unwavering as conscience.†
Chpt 6
- With his right arm still extended Adam reeled back a step, swung his reproachful and haggard gaze upon me and fixed it, even as a second burst of firing came, and he spun to the floor.†
Chpt 9
Definition:
-
(reproach) a criticism; or to express criticism or disappointment -- especially where a relationship makes the disapproval result in disappointment or shameeditor's notes: The expression "beyond reproach" is often used to indicate that one must not only be careful to do everything right, but must be careful not to do anything that might make people suspect they did something wrong. For example, politicians often need to behave in a manner that is beyond reproach.
"Beyond reproach" can also suggest that something is perfect. More rarely, it can also be used to suggest that someone is too powerful or too well-connected to criticize.