Gail Godwin: Short Stories Glossary

Gail Godwin: Short Stories Glossary

Interstices

Hairline fissures, crackers or apertures

insulate

To offer protection against external elements

motes

Tiny specks in one’s vision

muse

the source of aesthetic inspiration

metaphysics

the philosophical study of the nature of reality and being

parallel

a situation in which two or more things are similar or equivalent, but separate entities

confidante

a very close and special person with whom one can share secrets

layover

term for having to spend a short period of time waiting in an airport between connecting flights; used metaphorically to descibe similar waiting periods

indulgences

the official granting of penitance for confessing acts of sin

draught

a prepared drink to facilitate health or sleeping needs

cloistered

the circumstances of being isolated or secluded from others

abhor

to dislike intensely

eloquent

to speak or write with articulate precision and style

vile

wicked or loathsome in nature

simmering

the nature of something slowly heating up toward the boiling point

consecrate

the act of making holy

malady

a persistent but not particularly serious health condition

picturesque

a view of such aesthetic beauty that it almost looks like a photograph

baffled

utterly and completely confused

rueful

looking upon something with a sense of remorse and regret

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