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knaves

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Dishonest or untrustworthy men; rogues. The word is old-fashioned and literary.

Detailed Definition
Kipling uses “knaves” in a traditional, almost proverbial sense for deceitful people. The word gives the line an older, moralizing tone, fitting the poem’s advice about enduring unfair treatment.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,” warns Kipling’s speaker of dishonest manipulators; “The knave of hearts, he stole the tarts,” gives the word its older rogueish sense; “Knaves, thieves, and treachers” gathers villains in a medieval-style catalogue; In a contemporary civic poem, “the knaves count ballots by candlelight” uses the term ironically for corrupt officials
Additional Notes
“knaves” is an old-fashioned term for rogues, and the quoted line uses it in a way many modern readers may not know immediately.; Found in the poem, If- by Rudyard Kipling
Also Known As
scoundrels rogues tricksters
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