word of the day: declension
context:
The mouse scouts are scaling the outer wall of the turret on behalf of the Mouse Prisoners’ Aid Society. Hidden among the ivy scout leader Shaun makes an encounter:
Shaun had never seen a bat before, and the disconcerting physical resemblance to one of his own race, but with wings, so startled him, he almost followed his junior into the moat. — He slipped, he slid; only a particularly thick leaf cluster saved him. — while the scouts behind, alarmed at their leader’s sudden declension, began to run back down the ivy in near panic.
definition (Merriam-Webster): a falling off or away
The synonym given for “falling off” is “deterioration,” which is not really what happens when someone slips while climbing a wall. But Margery Sharp likes to stretch her words.
source:
The Turret
by Margery Sharp
illustrations by Garth Williams
1963. Little, Brown, & Co., Boston
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