4-H
A youth development program administered through the United States Department of Agriculture. Although it was originally geared toward instructing American youth in agricultural skills and technology, its mission also includes teaching leadership and general life skills, particularly to children in rural areas.
aft
The back of a boat (the stern)
agoraphobia
Fear of public and/or unfamiliar places. Individuals who suffer from agoraphobia are often afraid to leave the vicinity of their home.
cavalcade
A procession of cars or sometimes, riders on horseback
contrition
Repentance; the act of asking for forgiveness
emporium
A retail store, often carrying many different forms of merchandise; a place of trade
fleece
To defraud; or deprive of money through trickery
Foxtrot
A ballroom dance that became popular in the early part of the twentieth century; it was originally accompanied by ragtime music, which gradually became replaced by swing.
gemütlich
From German: greeably pleasant
Heathcliff
A character from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights; the name connotes an archetypal romantic hero
hoofer
A professional dancer
ineffable
Inexpressible, impossible to capture in words
Lilliputian
Very small (a reference to the undersized residents of Lilliput in Gulliver’s Travels)
mélange
From French: a medley or mixture of incongruous elements
mica
A mineral known for its distinct shine, which is often used for decorative purposes
Old Grad
A former prison inmate; an ex-convict
pedophiliac
A person who takes a sexual interest in children.
pragmatic
Oriented towards practical matters, as opposed to intellectual or artistic ones.
precipitate
To hasten the arrival of, or bring about
rankle
To cause irritation or resentment; to fester
slug
A fake coin
touristic
Pertaining to tourism
Vaudeville
A genre of theatrical entertainment, popular in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consisting of a number of separate, unrelated acts.
venire
An entire panel from which a jury is drawn.
virile
Masculine; pertaining to manhood
voir dire
A preliminary examination to determine the competency of a witness or juror
