The same fifteen words as the cards above, written out in full — easy to scan, search or print.

wutheringC1adjective

(of weather) stormy and windy; an old Yorkshire word

The farmhouse is called Wuthering Heights, and wuthering is an old local word meaning stormy and windy.

the moorsB2noun phrase

wide, open, empty hills

Cathy and Heathcliff spend their days roaming the moors, the wide, open, empty hills around the farmhouse.

bleakB2adjective

cold, empty and without much hope

The moors are beautiful, but also bleak: cold, empty and without much hope.

mistB1noun

thin, low cloud that turns everything grey

One moment there is sunshine, the next there is mist rolling over the ground, turning everything grey.

fogA2noun

thick, low cloud; the same idea as mist, but thicker

On a Yorkshire hillside the mist can turn to fog, the same idea but thicker.

a galeB2noun

a very strong wind, fiercer than ordinary wind but not quite a storm

The crisis arrives on a night of terrible weather, and the gale outside mirrors what is happening inside.

degradeC1verb

to lower someone in status or dignity

Cathy tells Nelly it would degrade her to marry Heathcliff now, and he overhears only that sentence.

a storm is brewingB2idiom

trouble is building slowly

Long before that night you can feel that a storm is brewing, the way you sense the air change before rain.

brighten upB1phrasal verb

to become lighter and happier

At the Lintons’ house Cathy’s world seems to brighten up, the way a grey sky clears.

the calm before the stormB2idiom

a peaceful period just before serious trouble

The quiet stretch after Cathy marries Edgar is the calm before the storm.

a face like thunderB2idiom

looking extremely angry

Heathcliff returns wealthy and with a plan, and Elordi plays his entrance with a face like thunder.

steal someone’s thunderC1idiom

to take the attention that should have been theirs

Heathcliff seems determined to steal Edgar’s thunder, and every eye in the room is on him.

under the weatherB1idiom

slightly ill

Cathy’s health gets worse until she is under the weather, though her version is far more serious than a cold.

weather the stormB2idiom

to survive a difficult period without being destroyed by it

Nelly is the one who tries to weather the storm and hold the household together.

come rain or shineB2idiom

no matter what the conditions are

Cathy and Heathcliff’s feeling for each other is there come rain or shine.