The Golden Ass

The Golden Ass Glossary

parsimony

stinginess

demurred

politely and delicately refuse to respond to a person's question or comment

foppish

acting in a silly, artificial way

maws

mouths

progenitor

creator

rigamarole

a long and drawn-out process

flagon

a container for a liquid, as to drink

fetials

priests in ancient Rome

risible

able to be mocked

portents

omens or signs that something bad may happen

expiating

acting to atone for something bad

impious

behaving in an immoral or irreligious fashion

odium

hatred, contempt, detestation

mollify

to calm or placate someone

paroxysms

spasms

utricide

stabbing -- not of a person, but rather of a skin vessel or sac

alacrity

cheerful promptness or eagerness

precipitous

steep

munificence

generosity

foists

to force something unwanted on someone