The Heart of the Matter

The Heart of the Matter Glossary

atabrine

a drug

atrophy

to fall apart slowly, to waste away

banality

the quality of being boring or uninteresting

bromide

a drug that makes a person calm

cicatrice

a wound that has scarred over

corrugated

possessing a wavy surface

flippancy

lacking seriousness about important matters

grandiloquent

extravagant, lofty, bombastic

jocularity

good-humored behavior, joking around

oleograph

a chromolithograph printed on cloth to imitate an oil painting (m-w.com)

ostentatiously

acting in a way to show off or act pretentiously

palaver

a conference, discussion, or conversation

pedantry

the quality of being narrow or stodgily learned

pilfering

stealing small amounts or unimportant things

pilloried

exposed to punishment or ridicule

placatingly

in a manner making someone feel better

somnolent

extremely fatigued

soutane

a cassock a priest wears

vacuous

lacking intelligence, seriousness, or importance

virulent

excessively harsh or strong