Sentence:  There was <WSD>little</WSD> enough time to contemplate them , however ; in an instant the doctor was stalking across the room with an antique ledger in his hands , thoroughly eared and big as a table top . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some