Glossary of Terms
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
Puba: 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
ClassicNote on Cat's Cradle
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