STORIES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.
astarboard: over to the starbard side (right side of a ship when facing front); said of the position of the tiller. [return to text]
auf Wiedersehen: (German) goodbye; until we meet again. [return to text]
bandolier: a broad belt worn over the shoulder by soldiers and having a number of small loops or pockets for holding cartridges. [return to text]
barker: someone who stands in front of a show at a carnival and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers. [return to text]
belaying pin: a large wooden or metal pin that fits into a hole in a rail on a ship or boat, and to which a rope can be fastened. [return to text]
blackbird: to kidnap South Sea Islanders (Australian descendants from the more than eighty islands in the western Pacific) for use or sale as laborers. [return to text]
black ivory: slaves. [return to text]
bone: bone in the teeth; said of a ship speeding along sending up spray or foam under the bow. The phrase comes from the image of a dog, merrily running with a bone in its teeth. [return to text]
boot: saddle boot; a close-fitting covering or case for a gun or other weapon that straps to a saddle. [return to text]
bower of swords: the arch, or simulated shelter, formed by swords held by military personnel for the bride and groom to walk under as they exit the church. [return to text]
cable length: a maritime unit of length measuring 720 feet (220 meters) in the US and 608 feet (185 meters) in England. [return to text]
campaigner: campaign hat; a felt hat with a broad stiff brim and four dents in the crown, formerly worn by personnel in the US Army and Marine Corps. [return to text]
Celebes Sea: a section of the western Pacific Ocean between the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes), Borneo and the southern Philippines. [return to text]
copra: the dried kernel or meat of the coconut from which coconut oil is obtained. [return to text]
davits: any of various cranelike devices, used singly or in pairs, for supporting, raising and lowering boats, anchors and cargo over a hatchway or side of a ship. [return to text]
¿De donde viene el caballo?: (Spanish) Where is the horse from? [return to text]
Derringer: a pocket-sized, short-barreled, large-caliber pistol. Named for the US gunsmith Henry Deringer (1786–1868), who designed it. [return to text]
Enfield rifle: any of several rifles formerly used by British and American troops, especially the .30- or .303-caliber, bolt-action, breech-loading model. [return to text]
fantail: a rounded overhanging part of a ship’s stern (the rear part of the ship). [return to text]
flivver: a small, cheap and usually old car. [return to text]
Flores Sea: a sea situated between the eastern end of the Java Sea and the western end of the Banda Sea in Indonesia. [return to text]
fo’c’s’le: forecastle; the upper deck of a sailing ship, forward of the foremast. [return to text]
German East Africa: former German territory comprising present-day Burundi, Rwanda and mainland Tanzania. [return to text]
gig: a boat reserved for the use of the captain of a ship. [return to text]
give way: begin to row. [return to text]
G-men: government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [return to text]
grease: bribe or protection money; money given for corrupt purposes. [return to text]
grifter: crooked game operator; a person who operates a sideshow at a circus, fair, etc., especially a gambling attraction. [return to text]
guilders: Dutch coins. Guilder means golden in Dutch. The guilder originated as a gold coin (hence the name) but has been a common name for a coin of silver or other metal for some centuries. [return to text]
gunwale: the upper edge of the side of a boat. Originally a gunwale was a platform where guns were mounted, and was designed to accommodate the additional stresses imposed by the artillery being used. [return to text]
hawser: a thick rope or cable for mooring or towing a ship. [return to text]
HE: high explosive. [return to text]
Herr: (German) Mister, used as a title before a surname or profession. [return to text]
Iron Cross of the First Class: a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, first awarded in 1813. The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in battle, as well as for other military contributions in a battlefield environment. The Iron Cross First Class was a pin-on medal with no ribbon and was worn centered on a uniform breast pocket. It was a progressive award, with second class having to be earned before the first class and so on for the various degrees. [return to text]
Kanakas: inhabitants of the South Sea Islands. [return to text]
keel: a lengthwise structure along the base of a ship, and in some vessels extended downwards as a ridge to increase stability. [return to text]
lam: to escape or run away, especially from the law. [return to text]
le Maroc: (French) Morocco. [return to text]
light out: to leave quickly; depart hurriedly. [return to text]
longboat: the longest boat carried by a sailing ship. [return to text]
lookout: a problem or concern. [return to text]
midway: an avenue or area at a carnival where the concessions for exhibitions of curiosities, games of chance, scenes from foreign life, merry-go-rounds, and other rides and amusements are located. [return to text]
monkey fists: ball-like knots used as ornaments or as throwing weights at the ends of lines. [return to text]
Oberleutnant Kommandant: (German) chief lieutenant commandant. [return to text]
pipe-clayed: made clean and smart; pipe clay is a fine white clay used in whitening leather. It was at one time largely used by soldiers for making their gloves, accouterments and clothes look clean and smart. [return to text]
points: a point is 11.25 degrees on a compass, thus two points would be 22.50 degrees. [return to text]
Prussian: a native or inhabitant of Prussia. Prussia, a former northern European nation, based much of its rule on armed might, stressing rigid military discipline and maintaining one of the most strictly drilled armies in the world. [return to text]
Punch: the chief male character of the Punch and Judy puppet show, a famous English comedy dating back to the seventeenth century, by way of France from Italy. It is performed using hand puppets in a tent-style puppet theater with a cloth backdrop and board in front. The puppeteer introduces the puppets from beneath the board so that they are essentially popping up to the stage area of the theater. [return to text]
puttee: a covering for the lower part of the leg from the ankle to the knee, consisting of a long narrow piece of cloth wound tightly and spirally round the leg, and serving both as a support and protection. It was once adopted as part of the uniform of foot and mounted soldiers in several armies. [return to text]
¿Que pasó?: (Spanish) What happened? [return to text]
¿Quién sabe?: (Spanish) Who knows? [return to text]
quirt: a riding whip with a short handle and a braided leather lash. [return to text]
Scheherazade: the female narrator of The Arabian Nights, who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories. [return to text]
schooner: a fast sailing ship with at least two masts and with sails set lengthwise. [return to text]
scupper: an opening in the side of a ship at deck level that allows water to run off. [return to text]
Springfield: any of several types of rifle, named after Springfield, Massachusetts, the site of a federal armory that made the rifles. [return to text]
Sulu Archipelago: island group in the Philippines lying between the Celebes and Sulu Seas. It includes over 900 volcanic islands and coral islets extending almost to Borneo. [return to text]
superstructure: cabins and rooms above the deck of a ship. [return to text]
tatterdemalion: raggedly dressed and unkempt. [return to text]
Tawan: now Tawau; British-controlled town on the coast of Borneo facing the Celebes Sea. In the early nineteenth century, the British and Dutch governments signed a treaty to exchange trading ports that also divided Borneo into British- and Dutch-controlled areas. [return to text]
.38 Colt: a .38-caliber revolver manufactured by the Colt Firearms Company, founded in 1847 by Samuel Colt (1814–1862) who revolutionized the firearms industry with the invention of the revolver. [return to text]
top kick: a first sergeant, the senior enlisted grade authorized in a company. [return to text]
two bits: a quarter; during the colonial days, people used coins from all over the world. When the US adopted an official currency, the Spanish milled (machine-struck) dollar was chosen and it later became the model for American silver dollars. Milled dollars were easily cut apart into equal “bits” of eight pieces. Two bits would equal a quarter of a dollar. [return to text]
USMC: United States Marine Corps. [return to text]
Very pistol: a special pistol that shoots Very lights, a variety of colored signal flares. [return to text]
worse for wear: in poor condition; shabby. [return to text]
yanqui: (Spanish) Yankee; term used to refer to Americans in general. [return to text]