To Kill a Mockingbird Voc. Chs. 1-12
Quiz: Friday, 11-7
1. Assuage: (v) to lessen the intensity of; to ease; to relieve
Kyra’s fear of the dark was assuaged by a night light in her room.
When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.
When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he
was seldom self-conscious about his injury.
2. Dictum: (n) a formal decision, opinion, or judgment made by an expert or authority
His parents’ dictum on the value of hard work had been instilled in Lee for years.
Mindful of John Wesley’s strictures on the use of many words in buying and selling,
Simon made a pile practicing medicine, but in this pursuit he was unhappy lest he be
tempted into doing what he knew was not for the glory of God, as the putting on of gold
and costly apparel. So Simon, having forgotten his teacher’s dictum on the possession of
human chattels, bought three slaves and with their aid established a homestead on the
banks of the Alabama River some forty miles above Saint Stephens.
3. Taciturn: (adj.) disinclined to talk; silent
Cole’s taciturn uncle rarely spoke about his wartime experiences or anything else for
that matter.
Their sister Alexandra was the Finch who remained at the Landing: she married a
taciturn man who spent most of his time lying in a hammock by the river wondering if
his trot-lines were full.
4. Beadle: (n) A low-ranking city official with minor duties
The town beadle made her rounds downtown checking to make sure storefronts were
locked.
One night, in an excessive spurt of high spirits, the boys (the Radley brothers and the
Cunninghams from Old Sarum) backed around the square in a borrowed flivver (an old
slang term for a piece of junk car), resisted arrest by Maycomb’s ancient beadle, Mr.
Conner, and locked him in the courthouse outhouse.
5. Illicit: (adj.) illicitly (adv.) without permission; unlawfully or illegally
Fully aware of the “No U-Turn” sign, Claire illicitly made a U-turn hoping she would not
be seen.
“Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now.”
I mumbled that I was sorry and retired meditating upon my crime. I never deliberately
learned to read, but somehow I had been wallowing illicitly in the daily papers.
6. Persevere: (v) to persist in spite of difficulty
 Despite a sprained ankle, Cheyenne chose to persevere to get to the finish line.
(Notice that the verb is actually a verbal here, an infinitive phrase to be exact. It
functions as a noun serving as the direct object of the verb chose.)
 I looked up to see Miss Caroline standing in the middle of the room, sheer horror
flooding her face. Apparently she had revived enough to persevere in her
profession. (Notice that the verb is actually a verbal here, an infinitive phrase to
be exact. It functions as an adverb describing the adverb enough by telling the
extent of/how much “enough.”)
 We will persevere in the fight against the Nazis. (Here is an example of the verb
actually being used as a verb.)
7. Contentious: (adj.) argumentative; belligerent (con against; bel war)
Some reality TV shows intentionally create situations where contestants become
contentious.
“But what about their parents?” asked Miss Caroline, in genuine concern. “Ain’t got no
mother,” was the answer, “and their paw’s right contentious.” Burris Ewell was
flattered by the recital.
8. Diminutive: (adj.) small in stature or size, usu. referring to a person (di means two, here
as in to be cut in two, like diminish: to grow smaller)
The diminutive David defeated the giant Goliath.
He was among the most diminutive of men, but when Burris Ewell turned toward him,
Little Chuck’s right hand went to his pocket (to reach for his pocket knife). “Watch your
step, Burris,” he said. “I’d soon’s kill you as look at you. Now go home.” (Little Chuck
Little is the one being described as diminutive.)
9. Scuppernongs: (n) a variety of yellowish-green grapes usually found in the Southern US
Chilled scuppernongs on a hot afternoon are really delicious.
Plucking an occasional camellia, getting a squirt of hot milk from Miss Maudie Atkinson’s
cow on a summer day, helping ourselves to someone’s scuppernongs was part of our
ethical culture, but money was different. (This line refers to the two Indian-head
pennies shined and left in the knothole of the tree in the Radley’s front yard.)
10.Benevolence: (n) kindness (bene means good)
Donating blood is an act of benevolence.
She called us by all our names, and when she grinned she revealed two minute
gold prongs clipped to her eyeteeth. When I admired them and hoped I would have
some eventually, she said, “Look here.” With a click of her tongue she thrust out her
bridgework, a gesture of cordiality that cemented our friendship. [Note that cordiality
and benevolence are synonyms.]
Miss Maudie’s benevolence extended to Jem and Dill, whenever they paused in
their pursuits: we reaped the benefits of a talent Miss Maudie had hitherto kept hidden
from us. She made the best cakes in the neighborhood. When she was admitted into our
confidence, every time she baked she made a big cake and three little ones, and she
would call across the street: “Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Charles Baker Harris, come here!”
(Though it may seem gross to us, Miss Maudie’s willingness to act in an unladylike and
unadultlike manner made Scout trust and like her. According to this excerpt, Scout
interprets Miss Maudie’s “thrust[ing] out her bridgework (partial dentures)” as an act of
benevolence. What other act of benevolence does Miss Maudie perform in this excerpt?)
11.Placidly: (adv.) calmly, tranquilly
After rehearsing several times, Simon gave his speech very placidly in front of the class.
Jem said placidly, “We are going to give a note to Boo Radley.”
“Just how?” I was trying to fight down the automatic terror rising in me.
12.Inconspicuous: (adj.) not noticeable; not easily seen
Good detectives learn to be inconspicuous when gathering information.He did not do
the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or
fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the living room and read. With these attributes,
however, he would not remain as inconspicuous as we wished him to: that year, the
school buzzed with talk about him defending Tom Robinson, none of which was
complimentary.
13.Philippic: (n) a verbal denunciation with harsh, insulting language
Etymology:
1590s, "bitter invective discourse," from Middle French philippique, from Latin
(orationes) Philippicæ, translation of Greek Philippikoi (logoi), the speeches made in
Athens by Demosthenes in 351-341 B.C.E. urging Greeks to unite and fight the rising
power of Philip II of Macedon. The Latin phrase was used of the speeches made by Cicero
against Marc Antony in 44 and 43 BC
“Yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising?
I’ll tell you!” She put her hand to her mouth. When she drew it away, it trailed a long
silver thread of saliva. “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”
Jem was scarlet. I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a
philippic on our family’s moral degeneration, the major premise of which was that half
the Finches were in the asylum anyway, but if our mother were living we would not
have come to such a state.
14.Umbrage: (n) to feel offended; to take offense at something (usu. used with the verb “to
take”)
After hearing the birthday boy say, “Oh, I already have one of these” when his gift was
opened, the guest took umbrage and decided to leave.
Jem was scarlet. I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a
philippic on our family’s moral degeneration, the major premise of which was that half
the Finches were in the asylum anyway, but if our mother were living we would not
have come to such a state. I wasn’t sure what Jem resented most, but I took umbrage at
Mrs. Dubose’s assessment of the family’s mental hygiene. (resented is a synonym of
umbrage)
15.Reconnaissance: (adj.): A preliminary survey or mission to gain information
Agent 007James Bond was sent on a reconnaissance mission to determine whether the
North Koreans were planning a takeover of Thailand.
When Jem returned, he found me still in Atticus’s lap, “Well, son?” said Atticus.
He set me on my feet, and I made a secret reconnaissance of Jem. He seemed to be all
in one piece, but he had a queer look on his face. Perhaps she had given him a dose of
calomel (a solution of mercury!! that was used as a purgative—something to make one
vomit)
“I cleaned it [the shredded camilias] up for her and said I was sorry, but I ain’t,
and that I’d work on ‘em
ever Saturday and try to make ’em grow back out.”
[Scout was concerned that Mrs. Dubose would shoot Jem, but Atticus seemed less
concerned, so she secretly looked Jem over for injuries when he returned.]
16.Undulate: (v) to form or move in waves; to fluctuate in a fluid, waving fashion
The flock of geese began to undulate through the sky due to the southerly winds.
Something had happened to her. Mrs. Dubose lay on her back, with the quilts up to her
chin. Only her head and shoulders were visible. Her head moved slowly from side to
side. From time to time she would open her mouth wide, and I could see her tongue
undulate faintly. Cords of saliva would collect on her lips; she would draw them in, then
open her mouth again. Her mouth seemed to have a private existence of its own. It
worked separate and apart from the rest of her, out and in, like a clam hole at low tide.
Occasionally it would say, “Pt,” like some viscous substance coming to a boil.
[Mrs. Dubose is experiencing DT’s, delirium tremens from denying herself morphine.]
17.Cantankerous: (adj.) ill-natured; quarrelsome (synonym of contentious)
Really tired children tend to have a reputation for being somewhat cantankerous.
(regarding Mrs. Dubose)
“Did she die free?” asked Jem.
“As the mountain air,” said Atticus. “She was conscious to the last, almost. Conscious,”
he smiled, “and cantankerous. She still disapproved heartily of my doings, and said I’d
probably spend the rest of my life bailing you out of jail.
18.Propensities: (n) natural inclinations, tendencies; one’s usual wont (remember Mrs.
Grant’s wont to leave soda’s half full?)
Teenage boys have such a well-known propensity to drive recklessly that their insurance
rates are higher than teenage girl’s rates.
Mrs. Dubose would hound Jem for a while on her favorite subjects, her camellias and
our father’s nigger-loving propensities (tendency to be kind to African-Americans);
19.Rotogravure: (n) an engraved image created by a printing process that uses an inked
engraved metal cylinder to print an image onto paper packaging or newsprint. A picture
made using this process, as in a newsprint image or a picture from a magazine.
Delia looked closely at the rotogravure of the burning of Atlanta in her textbook.
Behind the rough oak pulpit a faded pink silk banner proclaimed God Is Love, the
church’s
only decoration except a rotogravure print of Hunt’s The Light of the World. [That this
was the church’s only decoration, and that it was only a rotogravure print (a cheap
replication) shows how poor the church was.]
20.Changeling: (n) a child secretly exchanged for another at birth, usu. unbeknownst to the
mother (without the mother’s knowledge)
In the movie The Changeling, a mother feels her own child has been replaced with
another that is not her own.
Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but never into
the world of Jem and me. I so often wondered how she could be Atticus’s and Uncle
Jack’s sister that I revived half-remembered tales of changelings and mandrake roots
that Jem had spun long ago. [mandrake roots sometimes contain bifurcations causing
them to resemble human figures.]