Tag Archives: vocabulary

Entering the Drawing Room – Colloquial Terms for Earnest

teaThe London Society (note the capital “S”) of Oscar Wilde’s time obeyed strict rules of propriety, especially in the upper classes Wilde is targeting poking fun at in The Importance of Being Earnest. The following terms are provided to help you navigate the British drawing room culture more smoothly.

NOTE: There may be some confusion regarding the difference in Gwendolyn’s and Lady Bracknell’s names. British peers like Gwendolyn’s father would have both a family name and a title. In this case, the family name is Fairfax. Wilde does not use his first name, as that would be wildly improper, so we’ll just invent one for him: George. Therefore, Gwendolyn’s father would be Mr. George Fairfax, Lord Bracknell. He is married to Augusta Moncrieff Fairfax, Lady Bracknell. Lord and Lady Bracknell would be referred to by their titles in society and by their names only by family. Gwendolyn, as the eldest daughter, would be Miss Fairfax, since she does not hold the title. Jack and Algy are gentlemen without titles, so they are Mr. Worthing and Mr. Moncrieff.

ACT I

morning-room – informal sitting room for daytime use

salver – serving tray. Personal cards, tea items, mail, etc. were usually offered on a salver to the gentleman or lady of the house by a servant

Scotland Yard – headquarters of the London metropolitan police

sent down – asked to escort a lady to the dining room

crumpet – a small, unsweetened cake cooked on a griddle and usually served toasted

Grosvenor Square – residential area for the well-to-do

Liberal Unionist – member of England’s Liberal Party opposed to home rule for Ireland

Tories – members of England’s Conservative Party

purple of commerce – wealthy businessmen who were given titles in the late Victorian period

cloak-room – room where luggage can be checked

the Empire – popular theater and amusement hall

smoking jacket – a man’s lounging jacket, usually of velvet or silk, for wear at home

ACT II

Mudie – a lending library in London

Evensong – evening worship service

buttonhole – flower worn in a lapel buttonhole (no gentleman would go without one)

portmanteau – leather suitcase

dog-cart – open, horse-drawn carriage, originally with a special seat for a hunting dog

lorgnette – handheld eyeglasses attached to a handle

ACT III

terminus – British term for a station located at the end of a transportation line

Court Guides – books containing the names and addresses of people in high society

Funds – government bonds of Great Britain

Oxonian – student at or graduate of Oxford, a prestigious English university

Anabaptist – religious group founded in the sixteenth century in Switzerland who believed in adult, rather than infant, baptism

perambulator – baby carriage

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Brave New World Vocabulary Quiz

bnwYour vocabulary quiz on words selected from Brave New World will be given next Thursday, April 23. The following word groups will be tested:

STABILITY
decorum
unorthodox
heretical

DESTRUCTION
truculently
annihilating
fulminate
deprecating
vindictively

CARE
largesse
ruminating
atonement
magnanimous
sedulously
solicitously

SNEAKY
furtive
surreptitious

GROWTH
burgeon
prodigious

CHOOSE 2 WORDS OF YOUR OWN from the remainder of the list to study. These may not be words I have already assigned! You should study a total of 20 words for the quiz.

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Macbeth Vocabulary

macbethPlease study the following words for your vocabulary test, which will be given on Wednesday, March 18.

WEALTH/MONEY
bounteous
largesse
recompense

POSITIVE TRAITS
dauntless
jovial
judicious
perseverence
valiant

WRONGDOING
appall
chastise
pernicious
scruples

ANGER
abhor
rancor

HONOR
bestow
homage
laudable
predominance

Choose two additional words from the remainder of the list to study.

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Lord of the Flies Vocabulary

Please study the following words for your vocabulary test, which will be given on Thursday, October 16.

RESPECT
decorum
reverence
sanctity

DISRESPECT
contemptuously
curtly
derision
specious

MOVEMENT
loitered
sauntered

AGGRESSION
belligerence
enmity
malevolently
rebuke
truculent

SOUND
clamor
lamentation
mimicry
strident

Choose two additional words from the remainder of the list to study.

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Johnson’s Updated Dictionary 2014

johnsonAfter our study of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary, we decided to apply our knowledge of satire and create some definitions of our own. Here are some especially good examples of modern additions to the Dictionary:

booty -the largest inanimate object that has the power to control a man’s mind.

cheerleading– throwing people and ourselves in the air, but still not considered a sport.

credit card – a magical plastic card that makes teenagers feel all-powerful and omniscient, all while secretly depriving said teens of money not yet attained.

Florida – a state enslaved by and dependent on a mouse and oranges.

gangster – a teenage male who still lives with his mother.

hair – something to be removed unless it’s on a head or part of an eyebrow.

headphones -the amazing wire that brings music to your ears but breaks at the drop of a dime.

hello – to approach a female with sexual intentions.

Instagram – the place where everyone who owns a camera is either a model or a photographer.

marriage – a reason to have a party a few years (or weeks) before you break up. Ex: Kim Kardashian.

moded – things are not going your way; to get burned.

Oscar – an award given to great actors, but not Leonardo DiCaprio.

rabbit – an animal so adorable it makes even the strongest, manliest men to act like squealing little girls.

spray tan – a spray that tricks girls into thinking they look tan but actually turns them into Oompa Loompas.

swag-males using the power of style and fashion in order to impress females.

textbook – a heavy and expensive object you receive on the first day of class and open only twice throughout the year: midterm and final exam.

unbeweaveable – describes a girl’s crazy hairstyle involving fake hair and wild colors.

vegan – a person who protests the murder of animals but eats their only food supply.

women – can’t live with ’em, can’t eat without ’em.

YOLO – excuse used to do something incredibly stupid.

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Othello Vocabulary

othelloPlease study the following words for your vocabulary test, which will be given on Wednesday, February 26.

HATRED/ANGER
abhor
odious
provocation

REPUTATION
eminent
infamous
restitution
taint

RUDE
barbarous
insolent
peevish
vexation

MANNERS
civility
discreet
tranquil

THOUGHT/BELIEF
beguile
credulous
ruminate
veritable

Choose two additional words from the remainder of the list to study.

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Lord of the Flies Vocabulary

Please study the following words for your vocabulary test, which will be given on Thursday, October 17.

RESPECT
decorum
reverence
sanctity

DISRESPECT
contemptuously
curtly
derision
specious

MOVEMENT
loitered
sauntered

AGGRESSION
belligerence
enmity
malevolently
rebuke
truculent

SOUND
clamor
lamentation
mimicry
strident

Choose two additional words from the remainder of the list to study.

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Oedipus Rex Vocabulary

oedipus[1]Please study the following words for your vocabulary test, which will be given on   Monday, September 23.

CHARACTERISTICS
adamant
brash
tremulous

THOUGHT
sapient
purblind
enjoin
didactic

CORRUPTION
perdition
calumny
malevolence
insensate

JUDGMENT
compunction
scruple
suborn
impiety
pariah

MERCY
clemency
succor

Choose two additional words from the remainder of the list to study. You will be asked to apply the words using examples, i.e. WORD: tiger DIRECTION: place where you would find one of these ANSWER: Asia, The Jungle Book, Frosted Flakes box, etc.

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Wuthering Heights Vocabulary Quiz

moorYour vocabulary quiz on words selected from Wuthering Heights will be given next Wednesday, April 10. The following word groups will be tested:

VOICE
taciturn
laconic
vociferated

VILLAINS
antipathy
odious

HEROES
amiable
stalwart
sagacity
scintillating
vivacity
adroitly

RUDE
impudence
hector

DULL
moroseness
saturnine
quiescence

IRRITATING
peevish
intractable

CHOOSE 2 WORDS OF YOUR OWN from the remainder of the list to study. These may not be words I have already assigned! You should study a total of 20 words for the quiz.

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Johnson’s Updated Dictionary

johnsonAfter our study of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary, we decided to apply our knowledge of satire and create some definitions of our own. Here are some especially good examples of modern additions to the Dictionary:

alligator – an aggressive mascot that protects Florida from Seminoles.

Apple – company that brainwashes people to buy anything they sell; a fruit.

boyfriend/girlfriend – intimate partner for arguing and special moments.

cell phone – something everyone under the age of 50 can’t be without; brain tumor; a device that enslaves humans to a small screen.

college – main cause of gaining 15 lbs.

dance – event students use to do inappropriate things in front of administrators.

eyebrows – hair above your eyes so your face doesn’t look weird.

Facebook – website used to get to know someone without ever talking to them; acceptable stalking.

female – sex that produces ova or bears young, makes all smart decisions, should be president, wears the pants, and according to Beyonce, “runs the world.”

Hollister – the cave where kids work for pennies.

Instagram – social media website where everyone is a photographer; device used by females to get the attention of males.

male – sex that produces sperm.

money – something the government takes away from you.

senioritis – the lack of caring about how scientific this definition should be.

soccer (football) – a sport the whole world except the U.S. plays.

sour gummies – God’s gift to the world.

teacher – a human who ruins children’s hopes and dreams.

television – a brain microwave; the device which major corporations use to brainwash the populace.

trench coat – attire that should be illegal in all states except Rhode Island; used by pocketwatch vendors and your mom’s felon uncle.

UF – college where people who think they are smart and good sports go to get beaten by FSU; acronym for the University of Florida.

word – this.

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