Babbitt Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

"hinc illae lachrimae"

"hence these tears" (Latin).

Bevo

A beer with a low concentration of alcohol made in St. Louis.

Booster

A member of a club that supports civic activity.

Bryn Mawr

A women's college in Pennsylvania.

Bully

A period term meaning "excellent."

Camisole

An undershirt.

Celluloid

A substance like plastic.

Cicero

A Roman politician famous for oration.

Comus

A play by John Milton.

Corking

A period term meaning "excellent."

Cretonne

A cotton fabric used for drapes and upholstery.

Eamon de Valera

President of an Irish revolutionary party called Sinn Fein.

En brosse

Hair that is en brosse is cut short or cropped.

Flapper

A young woman in the 1930s who defied social and moral conventions (most noticeably in hair and clothing style).

Flivver

A nickname for Model T Fords.

Hum

A demeaning term for Germans used during World War I.

I.W.W.

The Industrial Workers of the World, a revolutionary labor union.

Legion or Honor

A French honorary order.

Making love

Flirting or sweet-talking.

Petting and Cuddling

Sexually embracing, fondling, or kissing.

Phi Beta Kappa

The oldest and most elite academic honor organization.

Primitivism

A simplified style of painting employed by European post-impressionists.

Pullman

A sleeping car invented in the late nineteenth century by George M. Pullman.

Putting on the dog

To get dressed up.

Reader

A reading and grammar textbook.

Rotogravure

High-definition engraving found in newspapers.

Silver pencil

A mechanical pencil.

Singhalese

Refers to Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka.

Skirt

A demeaning term for a female.

Sleeping-porch

Many homes had porches for sleeping before the invention of air conditioning.

Sportier

Refers to sporting houses (brothels).

Tin-horn

A person who boasts about having more money, influence, or power than he actually has.

Ukulele

A small Hawaiian musical instrument.

V.C. (Victoria Cross)

A british military decoration.

Vers libre

Free verse

Wireless

A radio.

Wooden money

Generally worthless wooden coins or tokens issued by the Confederacy during the Civil War to replace metal currency.

Zenith

The highest point. (The city of Zenith carries this connotation.)