Glossary of Terms
"bomb happy": crazy
"do us": "kill us"
"give him a fourpenny one": "hit him in the jaw"
"mucking about": "wasting time"
"one for his nob": "a blow to his head"
"round the bend": crazy
"sod you": "screw you"
"taken short": ill with diarrhea
accent: intonation of speech reflecting one's regional or class background; here, Piggy's lower-class pronunciations and slang
acrid: sharp or bitter
altos: those in a choir who sing in the mid-to-high vocal range between soprano and tenor
antiphonal: sung in alternation
barmy: crazy
batty: crazy or odd
bloody: cursed
bollucks: a term of disgust and scorn
bowstave: slightly curved arc
brine: salty water
Coral Island: an 1857 adventure novel by R.M. Ballantyne about a group of boys stranded on a desert island after a shipwreck
cordon: a line or circle of ships or soldiers that guards a certain area
coverts: shelters
cracked: crazy
crackers: crazy; insane
creepers: vines
cutter: a boat carried on larger ships to transport passengers or supplies to shore
dazzle paint: camouflage
derision: contempt or ridicule
diddle: juggle or rattle
diffident: timid or shy
dun: a dull brownish-gray color
embroil: to involve in trouble or conflict
epaulette: a shoulder ornament on military uniforms
essay: to try or attempt
funk: state of panic or fear
gesticulate: to use gestures
Gib., Addis: Gibraltar and Addis Ababa, refueling stations the plane stopped at before crashing
gibber: unintelligible speech
glamor: illusion; spell
ha'porth: contraction of "half-penny's worth," meaning very little
head boy: the honorary title given to a boy who maintains the best personal conduct at his school
Home Counties: the counties around London, England
impervious: not affected by something
inimical: hostile
jolly: very
lamp standard: lamppost
lavatory: toilet
matins: a morning church service with singing
mold: loose, soft soil
myopia: nearsightedness
nuts: expression of contempt; roughly equivalent to "damn"
pax: peace
phosphorescence: a continuing luminescence without heat
pills: testicles
pinch: steal
pinnacles: pointed objects or peaks
plinth: a border of brick or stone running along the base of a wall
polyp: a type of tentacled, tubelike sea creature such as an anemone
precentor: director of a choir
prefect: in English schools, an older student with disciplinary authority over the other students
propitiate: appease
queer: odd or unusual
rating: a man enlisted in the Navy
rebuke: scold or reprimand
Reds: communists
rugger: rugby
scar: plane wreckage left behind after a crash
scurfy: a skin condition that produces a dry, scaly rash
smashing: great
stern sheets: a space at the front (stern) of an open boat
Swallows and Amazons: an adventure novel (1930) by Arthur Ransome about a group of children on vacation, the first in his popular series of adventure books
talisman: an object believed to have magical or protective properties
toilet: the process of grooming oneself
torrid: oppressively hot
Treasure Island: an 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson about a boy's search for buried gold and his encounter with pirates
Trebles: the members of a choir who sing in the highest vocal range
truculent: unapologetically cruel or savage
ululate: howl or wail
wacco: crazy
waxy: enraged
white drill: a coarse kind of cloth (linen or cotton) typically used for uniforms
windy: pompous or boastful
wizard: excellent
ClassicNote on Lord of the Flies
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