Glossary

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.

avarice: extreme greed for wealth or material gain. [return to text]

batteries: groups of large-caliber weapons used for combined action. [return to text]

beaters: people who drive animals out from cover. [return to text]

beck: a gesture of the hand, head, etc., meant to summon. [return to text]

bos’n: bosun; a petty officer on a merchant ship who supervises the work of other crew. [return to text]

brutes: animals other than human beings. [return to text]

city room: the room in which local news is handled for a newspaper, a radio station or for another journalistic agency. [return to text]

CPO: Chief Petty Officer. [return to text]

crackbrain: a foolish, senseless or insane person. [return to text]

dissolution of Gaul: “Pop chose to attempt the dissolution of Gaul in the manufactures of Kentucky” is a play on words, meaning that he tried to drown his bitter feelings in whiskey. The two words are Gaul and gall. Gaul was a territory in western Europe, which was dissolved (brought to an end) militarily by Julius Caesar in the first century BC and eventually became a Roman province. Gall is something bitter or distasteful; bitter feeling. The “manufactures of Kentucky” refers to whiskey produced in Kentucky. [return to text]

dodger: a screen to provide protection on a ship. [return to text]

dry washes: dry stream beds, as at the bottom of a canyon. [return to text]

flagon: a container for beverages, with a handle, narrow neck, spout and sometimes a lid. [return to text]

gangway: a narrow, movable platform or ramp forming a bridge by which to board or leave a ship. [return to text]

G-men: government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [return to text]

haft: the handle of a knife, ax or spear. [return to text]

hard by: in close proximity to; near. [return to text]

hither and thither: in many directions in a disorderly way. [return to text]

juju: something thought to possess magical powers. [return to text]

manufactures of Kentucky: whiskey made in Kentucky. [return to text]

O: used in solemn or poetic language to add earnestness to an appeal. [return to text]

obit-ed: a coined word meaning to write an obituary (a notice of a person’s death, often with a short biography, in a newspaper). [return to text]

obtained: existed. [return to text]

pannikin: a small metal drinking cup. [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]

shoal: to become shallow. [return to text]

slaver: a slave ship; a ship for transporting slaves from their native homes to places of bondage. [return to text]

slug: a bullet. [return to text]

spraddled: spread apart. [return to text]

squelched: made a sucking sound (while walking on soft wet ground). [return to text]

struck no colors: never surrendered. A variation of the phrase “striking the colors,” which is the universally recognized sign of surrender for ships at battle; the flag is hauled down as a token of submission. [return to text]

terrier who had no eyes for the size of her rats: terrier is a group of dogs initially bred for hunting and killing vermin, such as rats and small game, both above and under the ground. While usually small, these dogs are known for being brave and tough with a lively, energetic personality. They will tenaciously go after their prey, undeterred by its size, even digging into the ground if needed to reach it. Used figuratively. [return to text]

thou: archaic form of you. [return to text]

tramp: a freight vessel that does not run regularly between fixed ports, but takes a cargo wherever shippers desire. [return to text]

vassals: servants or slaves. [return to text]

Venusian: relating to the planet Venus. [return to text]