Lord of the Flies Glossary

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