Chapter 2 - this sentence spans pages 24 - 25
stark, legions
"These stark and ugly facts have been confirmed by legions of alcoholics throughout history."
1
Big Book - Bill's Story - spans pages 24 - 25
In the sentence the word stark functions as an adjective. Legions functions as a noun. 2
The word stark used as an adjective means complete or extreme. Synonyms for stark in this usage are absolute, complete, or utter."
The word legion was from the Roman army, it referred to a unit comprised of 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers. The phrase "legions of alcoholics" indicates a large, indefinite number.
Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. 3
Chapter 2 - page 25
"solution"
"THERE IS A SOLUTION."
1
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 25
In the sentence the word solution functions as a noun.2
The word solution means the answer to the problem.
Definition from Webster's 1930 edition. 3
leveling, pride, confession, shortcomings, process, consummation
"Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which
the process requires for its successful consummation."
1
Big Book - There Is A Solution - page 25
In this sentence the words leveling, pride, confession, shortcomings, process, and consummation all function as nouns. 2
Leveling of our pride paints a word picture of a carpenter leveling a piece of wood. Woodworkers call a board proud if it sticks up higher than the boards next to it. Using a level, the craftsman trims the proud board to match the height of its neighbors, making the surface smooth and flat.
The confession of shortcomings refers to the honest, vulnerable admission of personal defects, wrongful actions, or character flaws.
A process is a series of actions. In this context consummation is the completion or finishing of those actions.
middle-of-the-road
"If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution." 1Big Book - There Is A Solution - page 25
In this sentence the phrase "middle-of-the-road" functions as a compound adjective (or Adjectival Phrase). 2
The phrase middle-of-the-road refers to something that is not extreme, an action or view that sits half-way between two extremes. It is commonly applied to politics, describing a person who is neither liberal nor conservative. In this sentence Bill is saying the action required has to be extreme the option of using a middle-or-the road solution is not available.4
To understand the use of the phrase in this instance, one should read it in the context of the entire paragraph. "If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort."1Big Book - There Is A Solution - spans pages 25 - 26
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Footnotes for page 25
1Quotes from the Big Book on listed on this page are from the public domain version, in the United States, of the 2nd edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Accessible at 12step.org
2Sentence diagramming, to determine the word usage within the sentence, was performed by CoreNLP at corenlp.run.
3Definitions used are from the Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language 1930 Edition. Access to this dictionary online is at Hathitrust.org