Glossary of Terms
alacrity: eagerness, readiness
astir: in movement
calico: flowered cloth
caliper: an instrument for measuring thickness
catacomb: underground tomb
chaff: the waste product from wheat
chummed: made friends with
circumvent: work around
commingling: mixing together
confab: (confabulation) conversation
crestfallen: disappointed, deflated
droll: amusing, provoking dry wit
duffer: incompetent, idiot
ebb: to decrease, diminish
emissary: messenger
ensign: flag or banner
entrails: organs, innards
errant: straying
estuary: a stream in which cold and hot water meet
exult: to celebrate, say with smugness
farcical: ridiculous
fecund: fertile
fisticuffs: using hands to box
fusillade: contemporaneous discharge of firearms
grubbing: obtaining in a sordid fashion
harlequin: a buffoon (stock character in light opera)
hummock: knoll
incontinent: unable to exercise self-control
inexorable: that which cannot be stopped
insoluble: something impossible to dissolve, break down to a smaller size
interloper: intruder
listlessly: without energy
litany: ceremonial or subscribed form of prayer
lugubrious: gloomy, mournful
magpies: loud birds attracted by bright things
meagre: small, lacking (also, meager)
mica: a shiny, black stone
moribund: near death
nautical: having to do with the ocean
ostentation: display of wealth, showing off
pendent: hanging, suspended
peroration: pompous speech
pestiferous: bringing disease
pestilence: an epidemic or widespread evil
prevaricator: liar
recondite: dealing with something profound or delicate
rend: to tear
requisite: necessary
sepulchre: tomb (also, sepulcher)
sheer: (nautical) to swerve, divert a boat from its path
somnambulist: sleepwalker
sordid: dirty, low
stanchion: a supporting pole or post
stand-offish: aloof, unfriendly
superciliousness: disdain, condescension
tenebrous: dark, gloomy
trenchant: piercing, perceptive
uncongenial: unpleasant, unfriendly
unscathed: unharmed
verandah: balcony, usually attached to a house
yarn: tale told by a sailor
yawl: a small boat
ClassicNote on Heart of Darkness
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