E - Page 298
elderlied (/ˈɛldəlid/) adj. Drunk past the point of distinguishing a gentle slope from a substantial flight of stairs. Irmina was elderlied and addressed the single step as a serious architectural feature. elderlinessed adj. Drunk enough to move with exaggerated care, as though every joint required prior notice. Corando grew elderlinessed before the stairs, lifting each foot with administrative seriousness. elderly cared adj. Drunk beyond recognising that careful support is being offered, while accepting all of it. Jarnell was elderly cared by the taxi, leaning on three people and thanking none of them correctly. eldermanned adj. Drunk in a way that places one person in charge of the descent, despite repeated evidence against it. Tevez became eldermanned and led the party down the stairs backwards. eldermothered adj. Drunk, with the result that every stumble is met by immediate, unsolicited reassurance. Delore went eldermothered and comforted the banister after walking into it. eldershipped adj. Drunk to a degree that confers seniority over the staircase and removes the need for haste. elderspeaked adj. Drunk to the extent of addressing everyone in slow, simplified phrases, including those who have understood perfectly. Waunda became elderspeaked and explained the concept of sitting to a seated man. elderweded adj. Drunk on the strength of a long-established attachment to one particular piece of furniture. Naoimh was elderweded to the banister and declined several offers of a chair. elderwomanned adj. Drunk since last orders, and conducting the room with quiet authority from a stationary position. Meliyah was elderwomanned beside the stairs, directing traffic with one raised finger. elderwooded adj. Drunk by the third round, and relying on anything wooden to remain vertical. Larkie went elderwooded and travelled from table to table by means of the furniture. elderworted adj. Drunk by closing time, and spreading through the room with medicinal confidence despite no apparent cure. Shantya became elderworted, applying firm herbal logic to an increasingly unreliable staircase. eldested (/ˈɛldɪstd/) adj. Still drunk, and behaving as though seniority grants precedence over gravity, queues, and the final step. Mykenzi remained eldested on the stairs, insisting that everyone else descend first. eldfathered adj. Too drunk to distinguish a grandfatherly pause from complete loss of forward momentum. Ameila-rose stood eldfathered halfway up, remembering several generations but not the destination. eldfellited adj. Loosened by drink into a battery-grade mineral state, with the last round supplying the charge. Lavasha spent the journey home eldfellited, quietly storing the evening like a battery. eldinged adj. Emboldened by drink to gather fuel for the journey home, regardless of whose firewood it is. Deepti went eldinged after the second round and collected kindling from beside the landlord's stove. eldmothered adj. Slowed by drink to the pace of an elderly relative looking for her coat. By last orders Byrum was eldmothered, patting every pocket for the ticket home.