anteroom
an outer room that leads to another room and that is often used as a waiting room
boko-maru
a Bokononist ritual in which individuals press the soles of their feet together to "mingle their awarenesses"; Bokononists believe that it is impossible to be sole to sole with an individual without loving that person
Bokononism
religion created by Bokonon, outlined in the Books of Bokonon, and practiced in the Republic of San Lorenzo
Bokononist
follower of the religion of Bokononism
Borasisi
the sun
busy, busy, busy
Bokononist phrase uttered in response to how unpredictable and complicated life is
calypso
a Bokononist poem
cosmogony
a theory or myth concerning the coming into existence, creation or origination of the universe
duffle
the destiny of thousands of people when placed in the hands of a stuppa
duprass
a karass made up of only two people
Dynamic Tension
Bokononist theory that good societies could be built only by pitting good against evil and keeping the tension between the two high at all times
Fata Morgana
a mirage named after Morgan le Fay, a fairy who lived at the bottom of a lake
foma
harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls
funeral pyre
a combustible heap for burning a dead body as a funeral rite
granfalloon
a proud and meaningless association of human beings; a false karass or a team that is meaningless in terms of the ways God gets things done (e.g., the Communist party, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the General Electric Company)
hook
the primary method of punishment in San Lorenzo; criminals were hung from the hook after being impaled through the stomach
Hoosier
a person from Indiana
ice-nine
Felix Hoenikker's creation, it can turn any liquid into a solid through a unique process of crystallization
kan-kan
the instrument that brings individuals into their karass
karass
team of individuals who do God's will without ever discovering what they are doing; every person belongs to one
McCarthyism
a period of intense suspicion by the American government of American Communists and Communist sympathizers in the early 1950s
nihilism
philosophy of nothingness; nothing is or could be important
oubliette
a dungeon
pissant
a person who is disagreeable simply for the sake of disagreeing; a person who thinks he knows everything and tries to make others feel stupid
pool-pah
"shit storm"; the wrath of God
Pabu
the moon
reticule
a woman's bag
saroon
to submit to the demands of one's vin-dit
schnauzer
breed of dog
sin-wat
a man who wants all of somebody's love
sinookas
components of an individual's life that can become entangled with those of other members of his karass
stuppa
a fogbound child
vin-dit
a sudden, very personal shove in the direction of Bokononism
wampeter
an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve; at any time, each karass has two wampeters, one that is becoming more important and one that is becoming less important; the wampeter of Jonah's karass is ice-nine
wrang-wrang
a person who steers people away from a line of thinking by reducing that line, with the example of the wrang-wrang's own life, to an absurdity
zah-mah-ki-bo
fate; inevitable destiny
