 | Term | Definition |
| |
commence |
to have or make a beginning |
| |
victuals |
food usable by people; supplies of food |
| |
trance |
stupor, daze; a sleeplike state; a state of profound abstraction or absorbation |
| |
Providence |
divine guidance or care |
| |
whale |
lash, thrash; to strike or hit vigorously; to defeat soundly |
| |
genies |
a spirit that gives servance |
| |
temperance |
moderation in action, thought, or feelings, or passions and alcohol |
| |
nabob |
a person of great wealth or prominence |
| |
delirium tremens |
a violent delirium with tremors induced by alcoholic liquors |
| |
quicksilver |
mercury |
| |
abolitionist |
one that wishes to abolish slavery |
| |
speculate |
to meditate or ponder a subject; to assume a risk; to take to be true; to be curious |
| |
thrash |
to beat soundly as if with a whip; to go over again and again |
| |
reticule |
a transparent material used for measuring or aiming; a woman's drawstring bag |
| |
contrived |
devise or plan; to bring about by stratagem or with ifficulty |
| |
derrick |
a hoisting apparatus employing a tackle rigged at the end of a beam; a frameword or tower for supporting tackle |
| |
skiff |
a flat-bottomed rowboat |
| |
rapscallions |
a mean, unprincipled, or dishonest person; rascal |
| |
gaudy |
ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented; marked by extravagance |
| |
infernal |
of or relating to a nether world of the dead |
| |
outlandish |
strikingly out of the ordinary; exceeding proper or reasonable limits or standards |
| |
pensive |
musingly or dreamily thoughtful; suggestive of sad thoughtfulness |
| |
obituaries |
a notice of a person's death usually with a short biographical account |
| |
aristocracy |
government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class |
| |
mesmerism |
hypnotic appeal |
| |
phrenology |
the study of the of the conformation of the skull to find mental health |
| |
cipher |
zero; a message in code |
| |
dissipating |
to break up and drive off; to spend wastefully |
| |
histrionic |
deliberately affected; relating to actors |
| |
muse |
to become absorbed in thought |
| |
benefactor |
one that makes a gift or bequest |
| |
pious |
showing reverence for deity and devotion to divine worship |
| |
scoundrel |
a disreputable person; rascal |
| |
impostor |
one that assumes false identity for the purpose of deception |
| |
melodeum |
a small keyboard organ |
| |
shoal |
to become shallow; a sandbank or sandbar |
| |
ingenious |
showing or calling for intelligence; marked by aptitude at discovering or originality |
| |
disposition |
to put into place; prevailing tendency, mood, or inclination |
| |
shirk |
to go stealthily; to evade the performance of an obligation |
| |
bogus |
counterfeit; sham |
| |
impudent |
lacking modesty; marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard |
| |
cavorting |
to leap or dance lively; to engage in extravagant behavior |
| |
brash |
brittle; heedless of the consequences |
| |
remiss |
showing neglect or inattention |
| |
insurrection |
an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government |
| |
addled |
to become rotten or confused |
| |
singular |
relating to a separate person or thing; distinguished by superiority; being out of the ordinary |
