"21"
A popular restaurant in midtown Manhattan.
"4711"
A unisex cologne first introduced in the 18th century.
"bully for him"
Mid-century slang used when someone has said something undeserving of attention or admiration.
"Cartier-formal"
Pierre Cartier was a jeweler whose name was synonymous with wealth and elegance for most of the 20th century. "Cartier-formal" thus suggests an exaggerated, "Cartier-like" formality.
"hop-head"
drug addict
"planning a powder"
planning on disappearing
"preem"
premiere
"razz"
abbreviation of "razzamatazz", meaning a showman's routine
"smoke the pipe"
"make peace"
"the absolute finito"
"the absolute end"; ultimate or ideal
"Waltzing Matilda"
An Australian song written in 1895 by poet Banjo Paterson.
anarchist
One who believes in the absolute abolishment of all forms of government. In the early decades of the 20th century, foreign anarchists were often accused of plotting terrorist activity against the United States.
Andes
An extensive mountain range in South America
angst
A profound feeling of anxiety and apprehension
argyles
Knit socks containing a pattern of diamond shapes in various colors.
baritoning
singing in a low key
Bergdorf
a luxury department store in Midtown Manhattan
Berlitz
Berlitz Language School, a popular institution for adults who wish to learn foreign languages, with hundreds of franchises worldwide.
Blackhand
Mafia
Blue Mountains
The Blue Ridge mountains, comprising part of the famous Appalachian mountain range that stretches across the Eastern U.S. from the Carolinas to New York State.
bobcat
A large wild cat related to the American housecat
bon voyage
French phrase meaning "good journey".
bouche fermez
French phrase for "close your mouth".
Braille
A linguistic system named after its inventor, Louis Braille in 1829, which provided an encoded tactile version of written language, thus enabling the blind to read and write.
brazen
bold
brownstone
A type of building characterized by the reddish-brown facing on the exterior. A common type of residence in New York that has come to be closely associated with the city.
bull-dykes
lesbians; "masculine" lesbians
buoyancy
lightness
Calamity Jane
19th century American frontierswoman renowned for her military skills and expertise on horseback.
calico
A bright, coarsely printed cloth
capitulation
The act of surrendering
carouse
To drink liquor in excess
caroused
roamed
censoriously
critically
citronella
An essential oil often used to treat sunburn
Cole Porter
An American composer who was very popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
coloratura
A soprano specializing in ornate vocal music.
complacently
In a self-satisfied manner.
consumptive
sick with consumption, a form of tuberculosis
conventional
Conforming to standard; not unusual or extreme.
coony
derogatory slur for African-American
crise
French word for "crisis"
David O. Selznick
A Hollywood producer, famous for his blockbuster Gone with the Wind.
degenerate
depraved or corrupt
dovetailed
Fit skillfully together.
Dry Tortugas
A small group of islands located at the end of the Florida Keys.
dykes
lesbians
esoteric
obscure
et pourquois pas
French phrase meaning "and why not?"
exhibitionist
A person who achieves sexual gratification by engaging in sexual behavior in public. More figuratively, an exhibitionist is someone who enjoys publicizing the details of his or her private life.
Fado
A type of Portuguese folk music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics about the lives of seafarers and the poor.
Father Divine
An African-American spiritual leader who founded the International Peace Mission movement. Father Divine was the subject of public scandal when he declared he was God.
fedora
A soft, felt hat with a lengthwise crease down the center of the crown. While popular with many men in the early decades of the 20th century, the fedora was most often associated with mafia gangsters and private detectives.
Fifth Avenue
A major thoroughfare in the center of the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City. A common symbol for American capitalist wealth.
finger-talk
Sign language
Garbo
Greta Garbo, a Swedish actress who became one of Hollywood's most popular and highly-paid stars in the first half of the 20th century.
Gilbert and Sullivan
W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, a team who wrote and produced several highly popular operettas or "comic operas" in Victorian England.
gladiola
A type of flower.
governess
nanny
hausfrau
German word for "housewife".
head-shrinker
psychiatrist
heir
The inheritor of an estate of a deceased person. Holly calls her unborn child "the heir" since he will inherit Jose's sizable estate.
Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway, one of the 20th century's most celebrated American authors.
hideola
ugly
hither and yonning
here and there
honorarium
payment
hope chest
A chest in which young women store clothing and household goods in anticipation of marriage. Once a common tradition in Europe and North America, hope chests have fallen out of fashion.
implausible
Unbelievable; difficult to believe or imagine.
impressionistic
subjective; without concrete detail
inclement
severe or cruel
Indian summer
A period of warm, summer-like weather in the autumn season.
inertia
lack of motion; boredom
invalid
sickly
iota
A very small amount.
joss sticks
Incense sticks often used in Chinese religious ceremonies.
Kurt Weill
A German composer of musical theatre and concert works who was very popular with U.S. audiences from the 1920s to the 1950s.
la merde
French word for "shit".
la negre
French slang meaning "African" or "black"
lacquer
nail polish
lark
A carefree or spirited adventure.
Lexington Avenue
The site of Joe Bell's bar, presumably near 70th street in New York City.
liason
go-between or messenger
Linguaphone
A company that produced popular records teaching Americans to speak foreign languages.
liniment
medicinal ointment
Luise Rainer
A European-Jewish actress who escaped to the U.S. during the holocaust.
Mainbocher
An expensive clothing line from the early 1900s which introduced the strapless evening gown.
manhattans
cocktail drinks named after the New York borough, consisting of vermouth, whiskey and an optional dash of bitters.
Margaret Sullavan
An American Broadway and film actress who was popular in the 1930s.
Maria Ouspenskaya
A popular Russian actress who achieved fame in Hollywood toward the end of her career.
Maude
A slang term meaning "homosexual" or "male prostitute".
Melba toast
A type of thin, dry cracker that is often served with cottage cheese.
Metropolitan Museum
One of the world's largest and most important art museums, located in Manhattan, New York.
Mille tendresse
French endearment meaning "a thousand tendernesses".
minarets
tall, slender towers attached to a mosque, often containing balconies for prayer
misconstrued
Misinterpreted.
Modern Library
A division of Randolph House Publishers, founded in 1917. It's slogan was "The Modern Library of the World's Best Books."
mosque
temple for Muslim relgious services
Nancy's Landing
A fictional town created by Capote, perhaps as an allusion to a gay resort or pick-up spot ("nancy" being a slang term for a submissive homosexual).
Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru, an important leader of the Indian Independence Movement and the Indian National Congress. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India after the country's independence from Britain in 1947.
Nero
The fifth and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Rome. Nero was notorious for his decadent lifestyle and dissolute, untrustworthy nature.
nigger-lip
Phrase meaning "to slobber"; plays on the derogatory attitude toward African-Americans in mid-century America
Oklahoma
A western musical by Rodgers & Hammerstein.
One Touch of Venus
A popular musical written by Kurt Weill which ran on Broadway between 1943 and 1945.
oompahpah
A rhythmic bass accompaniment to brass band music.
Ossining
A town in New York that contains Sing Sing prison
Our Gal Sunday
A radio soap opera that aired on CBS from 1937 to 1939.
outre
French word for unconventional or bizarre.
Parke-Bernet
The United States' largest fine-arts auction house. Parke-Bernet was purchased by Sotheby's in 1964.
phonograph
antiquated term for record player
Picayunes
A brand of cigarettes produced in New Orleans until the 1960s. The Spanish word translates to "something of little value; a trifle."
pig-English
An abbreviation of "pidgin-English". Pidgin is a hybridization of two languages that occurs when both languages share close geographic proximity.
pincer
A maneuver in which a target is attacked from two or more sides simultaneously.
pious
religious
Plaintive
Expressive of suffering or woe.
PM
The popular acronym for Picture Magazine, a left-wing daily newspaper in New York City that ran from 1940 to 1948, when it was replaced by the New York Star.
poignant
deeply affecting one's feelings or emotions
Pomeranian
A breed of "toy" dog with a soft, dense coat and an excitable personality.
powder-room
restroom
pressure cooker
a pot that uses steam under high pressure to cook food quickly
purl
a kind of stitch used in knitting
Purple Heart
A U.S. military decoration awarded to those who have been wounded or killed while serving in or with the U.S. military after April 5, 1917.
regimentation
to populate with military troops
rhapsodic
emotional and extravagant.
Rockefeller Plaza
A central New York location owned by the wealthy Rockfeller family, in which an enormous Christmas tree is erected and decorated each year for the enjoyment of the city.
Santa Anita
A racetrack in Arcadia, California
Saroyan
William Saroyan, an Armenian-American writer of plays and short stories that documented his life in an impoverished Armenian family.
schluffen
German word for "sleep".
Seconals
A barbituate drug used to treat epilepsy and insomnia. Because of its sedative properties, it was popular as a method of suicide.
shingle
lawyer
shyster
A lawyer or politician who is professionally unscrupulous.
Simenon
Georges Simenon, a Belgian author famous for his prolific output of naturalistic, psychologically objective novels.
Sing Sing
A maximum-security prison in Ossing, New York.
slap dash
In a reckless and haphazard manner.
Spanish Harlem
A neighbourhood in northeastern Manhattan that has been populated by Hispanic-Americans for most of the 20th century.
squall
A brief and sudden windstorm, often accompanied by rain or snow.
St. Christopher
The patron saint of protection against lightning and pestilence. St Christopher is also considered the protector of archers, automobile drivers, and bachelors.
sun helmets
Light-weight hats, worn often in tropical countries as protection from the sun.
tangible
solid, earthy or bodily
tapioca
a type of grain often used in desserts
TB
Abbreviation for tuberculosis, a highly infectious lung disease whose severity is variable. A major cause of illness and death before the 1940s.
teletype
An electro-mechanical typewriter used to transmit messages across two locations via an electrial channel. Also known as a TTY, a teletypwriter, and a teleprinter.
tenement
an apartment building, often low-rent
terrapin
A reptile turtle native to the U.S. that can live both in the water and on land.
The Story of Dr. Wassell
A 1944 film about WWII starring Gary Cooper and Cecil B. DeMille.
Tiffany's
A jewelry company named after its founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany. Popular since its opening in 1837, Tiffany's is widely considered the finest jewelry store in the world and has locations in most major cities.
tonnage
weight in tonnes
totter
To wobble or rock unsteadily.
tres fou
French phrase for "completely insane".
tumbler
A glass cup typically used for serving alcohol.
Tums
A popular antacid tablet.
two bits
Mid-century slang for "one quarter".
Unity Mitford
An English supporter of fascism and Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party during the 1930s. She attempted suicide when Britain declared war against Germany in 1939, and died shortly later of complications.
vestibule
A passageway or room located between the outer door and the interior of a building.
voluptuous
full
W. Somerset Maugham
A British playwright, novelist, and short story writer. The highest paid writer of the 1930s.
Waring mixer
A mixing machine made by Waring, the leading manufacturer of small appliances for home and industry in the U.S.
Weimaraner dogs
A silver-grey sporting dog originally developed for hunting.
Wendell Willkie
A Republican candidate who ran against Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940 U.S. presidential election.
William Randolph Hearst
American newspaper magnate who is credited with inventing "yellow journalism" in the late 19th century and was a leader of the democratic wing of the Democratic party from 1896 to 1935.
Winchell
Walter Winchell, radio personality and the first gossip columnist. The narrator here is referring to Winchell's popular column, which he wrote for the New York Daily Mirror for over 30 years.
Woolworth's
A chain of five-and-ten-cent discount stores popular across the U.S. in the 20th century.
Wuthering Heights
A novel published in 1847 by Emily Bronte, widely considered one of the greatest masterpieces of literature. It was adapted for the screen in 1939 by director William Wyler.
Yiddish
A Germanic language spoken mostly by European Jews.
Yorkville
A neighbourhood in Upper East Side New York. During the 1930s it was the site of violent street battles between Nazi sympathizers and anti-Nazi demonstrators.
