All 4 Uses of
muster
in
Lonesome Dove
- He said it with as much gravity as he could muster, since Xavier appreciated a certain formality.†
Chpt 3-4muster = gather
- He was looking stern, though it was hard for a man so short and fat to really muster much sternness.†
Chpt 28-29 *
- Augustus decided he wouldn't get a better opportunity than that, so he cleared his throat and spoke in the loudest tones he could muster without actually shouting.†
Chpt 56-57
- With such a crowd there watching he couldn't muster a protest, and he drove the little wagon three miles west on the Platte to a place where there were a few small cottonwoods.†
Chpt 87-88
Definitions:
-
(1)
(muster as in: muster strength or the crew) to gatherThe exact meaning of this sense of muster is often subject to its context. For example:
- "mustered her courage/strength/a smile" -- to gather from within
- "muster the soldiers/crew" -- to gather -- typically for inspection
- "muster volunteers/votes" -- to gather enough to do something
-
(2)
(muster as in: didn't pass muster) inspection -- especially of soldiers or a crew
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely, muster can refer to a counting or census. Much more rarely, muster can refer to a call to duty such as compulsory military service or jury duty. In that sense, you may see the expression muster in or muster out. Still more rarely, a muster can refer to a group of peacocks.