pantomime / panto
style of British theatre production involving music, jokes, and slapstick comedy, usually staged around Christmas
insomnia
habitual inability to sleep
calypso
variety of Trinidadian/West Indian music that uses syncopated African rhythm and improvised lyrics, typically to laud the tropical island lifestyle
Robinson Crusoe
eponymous protagonist of Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel about a white Englishman shipwrecked on an island
man Friday
from "my man Friday," a term for a male helper, based on Friday, a Carib character from Robinson Crusoe who goes from being a cannibal to Crusoe’s servant
malign
speak in an unfavorable way about someone; defame.
cajolery
using flattery and other subtle emotional manipulation to get one’s way
calypsonian
entertainer who sings calypsos
castaway
someone who, after being shipwrecked, becomes stranded somewhere isolated
Trinidad and Tobago
Caribbean country offer the coast of Venezuela comprising the islands of Trinidad and Tobago
acculturation
the processes of a member of one culture assuming the attributes or social patterns of a different culture
factotum
someone employed to do various kinds of work
gazebo
roofed structure with open edges that offers a view of an area
subservience
a state in which a person or culture is conditioned to unquestioningly obey the orders of another
West Indies
chain of islands located between the Caribbean and the Atlantic, mistakenly assumed by Columbus to be the coast of India
Third World country
outdated term for a developing country
Creole
Caribbean person of mixed Black and European descent; language formed through the contact of two languages
parasol
light umbrella used to protect the holder from sun
guest house
small hotel offering rooms to paying guests
molting
shedding old feathers, skin, or hair in advance of new growth
