Catcher in the Rye Vocabulary Learning Set

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pacifist
I'd only been in about two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth.
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Terms in this set (12)
pacifist
I'd only been in about two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth.
(noun)
suffix- ist= someone who
Word Family: pacify (calm down)
A person who opposes the use of war or violence to settle a dispute is called a pacifist. If you are a pacifist, you talk through your differences with others instead of fighting.
Latin origins of pax, or "peace" and facere, "to make" show it.
If you are a pacifist, you avoid physical confrontations. The beliefs and actions of peacemakers can also be described as pacifist, as in someone whose pacifist beliefs lead him to take part in nonviolent protests against a war.
Image: pacifist I'd only been in about two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth.
chiffonier
"You glanced through it, eh?" he said--very sarcastic. "Your, ah, exam paper is over there on top of my chiffonier. On top of the pile. Bring it here, please."
It was a very dirty trick, but I went over and brought it over to him--I didn't have any alternative or anything.
(noun)
a tall elegant chest of drawers
History of the word: "piece of furniture with drawers for women's needlework or cloth" 1806, from French chiffonnier, a transferred use,
literally "rag gatherer," from chiffon, diminutive of chiffe "rag, piece of cloth, scrap, flimsy stuff"
Image: chiffonier "You glanced through it, eh?" he said--very sarcastic. "Your, ah, exam paper is over there on top of my chiffonier. On top of the pile. Bring it here, please." It was a very dirty trick, but I went over and brought it over to him--I didn't have any alternative or anything.
athiest
In the first place, I'm sort of an atheist. I like Jesus and all, but I don't care too much for most of the
other stuff in the Bible.
(noun)
suffix- ist= someone who
The root -theist means "belief in a god."
The prefixes mono-, poly-, and a-, mean "one," "many," and "no," respectively.
So a monotheist is someone who believes in a single god, a polytheist is someone who believes in many gods, and an atheist is someone who believes there is no god at all.
Image: athiest In the first place, I'm sort of an atheist. I like Jesus and all, but I don't care too much for most of the other stuff in the Bible.
furlough
I was practically a child at the time, but I remember when he used to come home on furlough and all, all he did was lie on his bed, practically.
(noun)
Furlough started as a word for time off from military duty. It spread from there to other types of time off, including an employer furloughing (or laying off) employees.
If you're in the military — a pretty tough job — you're probably looking forward to a furlough. That's a leave of absence or bit of time off, kind of like a break or vacation. T
Image: furlough I was practically a child at the time, but I remember when he used to come home on furlough and all, all he did was lie on his bed, practically.
putrid
The band was putrid. Buddy Singer. Very brassy, but not good brassy--corny brassy.
(adjective)
You know that science experiment that used to be lunch that is now rotting in the back of your fridge? Because it's decomposing and stinks to high heaven, you can call it putrid.
The adjective putrid describes something that is rotting and has a foul odor, but it can also describe anything that is totally objectionable or exceptionally terrible.
Image: putrid The band was putrid. Buddy Singer. Very brassy, but not good brassy--corny brassy.
pedagogical
"Holden. . . One short, faintly stuffy, pedagogical question. Don't you think there's a time and place for everything? Don't you think if someone starts out to tell you about
his father's farm, he should stick to his guns, then get around to telling you about his uncle's brace? Or, if his uncle's brace is such a provocative subject, shouldn't he have selected it in the first place as his subject--not the farm?"
(adjective)
suffix= ical= with the meaning "of or pertaining to" / used to form adjectives from nouns

Anything that relates to teaching is pedagogical. If your teacher has pedagogical dreams all night long, even in sleep, his mind is in the classroom.
Comes from the Greek word paidagōgikos meaning "teacher."
If it's pedagogical, it concerns teaching, from lesson plans to approaches to teaching, even how the classroom looks — in rooms where the teacher's pedagogical philosophy is that students learn better when they work collaboratively, desks may be pushed together so four students can sit in their groups.
Image: pedagogical "Holden. . . One short, faintly stuffy, pedagogical question. Don't you think there's a time and place for everything? Don't you think if someone starts out to tell you about his father's farm, he should stick to his guns, then get around to telling you about his uncle's brace? Or, if his uncle's brace is such a provocative subject, shouldn't he have selected it in the first place as his subject--not the farm?"
burlesque
He brought her to a dance at Princeton once, and they nearly kicked him out for bringing her. She used to be a burlesque stripper or something.
(adjective)

Burlesque comes from burla, Spanish for "joke."

Comedy has always been an essential part of burlesque art, but it's comedy of a particular kind. Burlesque is satirical, and it uses exaggeration that can be extreme, and is often associated with risque or sexual behavior.
incognito
"Well, the thing is, I don't want to stay at any hotels on the East Side where I might run into some acquaintances of mine. I'm traveling incognito," I said. I hate saying
corny things like "traveling incognito." But when I'm with somebody that's corny, I always act corny too.
(adjective)
prefix in= "in" or "not"
When you want to do something and not be recognized, go incognito — hiding your true identity.
It is funny that the words, recognize and incognito, are both related to the Latin verb, cognoscere, "to get to know" because when you do something incognito, you do not want to be recognized.
Image: incognito "Well, the thing is, I don't want to stay at any hotels on the East Side where I might run into some acquaintances of mine. I'm traveling incognito," I said. I hate saying corny things like "traveling incognito." But when I'm with somebody that's corny, I always act corny too.
nonchalant
He got stinking, but I hardly didn't even show it. I just got very cool and nonchalant. I puked before I went to
bed, but I didn't really have to--I forced myself.
(adjective)
prefix=non= not (noninterference, nonpayment)

acting cool, unconcerned or in an indifferent manner, call him nonchalant

like when he saunters by a group of whispering, giggling girls and just nods and says, "Hey."

If you act nonchalant, you are literally acting cool, as nonchalant traces back to non- "not" and Latin calēre "to be warm."
Image: nonchalant He got stinking, but I hardly didn't even show it. I just got very cool and nonchalant. I puked before I went to bed, but I didn't really have to--I forced myself.
precision
The Rockettes were kicking their heads off, the way they do when they're all in line with their arms around each other's waist. The audience applauded like mad, and some guy behind me kept saying to his wife, "You know what that is? That's precision."
(noun)

suffix=ion=denoting action or condition/ always makes the word a noun (decision, creation)

Use the noun precision to describe something that's exact and accurate, such as the work of a carpenter who's made 100 identical pieces of railing for a grand staircase.
Image: precision The Rockettes were kicking their heads off, the way they do when they're all in line with their arms around each other's waist. The audience applauded like mad, and some guy behind me kept saying to his wife, "You know what that is? That's precision."
qualms "Do you have any particular qualms about leaving Pencey?" "Oh, I have a few qualms, all right. Sure. . . but not too many. Not yet, anyway. I guess it hasn't really hit me yet. It takes things a while to hit me. All I'm doing right now is thinking about going home Wednesday. I'm a moron."(noun) A qualm is a feeling of uneasiness, or a sense that something you're doing is wrong, and it sounds almost like how it makes your stomach feel. You have a problem with whatever is happening. Qualm entered English in the 16th century, with meanings like "doubt" and "uneasiness." Usually a qualm comes from doubt about an action and a feeling that you are doing, or are about to do, something wrong. It isn't a bad feeling about another person's behavior but about your own.ostracized When I came around the side of the bed and sat down again, she turned her crazy face the other way. She was ostracizing the hell out of me. Just like the fencing team at Pencey when I left all the goddam foils on the subway.(adjective or verb) If you banish someone or ignore him, you ostracize him. Origin of the word: Ostraka is an ancient Greek word for pottery shard. Thousands of years ago, in the Greek city of Athens, there was a public process where you would write the name of someone you wanted to kick out of town on a broken ceramic fragment. If enough Athenians wrote the same name, that person was sent away for ten years. This process was called an ostracism.

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