He was big-headed, gangling and with overlarge features, a leathery skin. His hair was dark and straggling. The eyelids drooped. They gave to his face that look of haughty superciliousness that was like a brand mark of the I-A.
“Gangling”, “leathery”, “straggling”, and “drooped”… I never stood a chance at guessing superciliousness! Lots of textured things can be haughty!
For words I’ve never read the dictionary definition of, but have a sense of what they mean, I usually form a visual image that conveys the meaning to me when I read the word.
Supercilious has always been the image of a sneering Draco Malfoy type running his hands through slicked-back hair. 'Cause cilia are like hair, and in his vanity this Malfoy archetype must have some super cilia.
