| Term |
Part of Speech |
Definition |
| alderman |
noun |
a member of the municipal legislative body in a town or city in many jurisdictions |
| august |
adjective |
magnificent, inspiring awe; stately |
| cabal |
noun |
conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers |
| condolence |
noun |
sympathy with a person who has experienced pain, grief, or misfortune |
| coquettish |
adjective |
flirty |
| cuckold |
noun |
husband of an adulterous wife |
| deputation |
noun |
a person or group appointed to represent another or others; a delegation |
| dialect |
noun |
Dialect usually applies to the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation characteristic of specific geographic localities or social classes. Twain was a master with dialect and used it to enhance his local color fiction. |
| dispensation |
noun |
an exemption or release from an obligation or rule, granted by or as if by an authority |
| encroached |
verb |
to advance beyond proper or former limits: desert encroaching upon grassland. |
| jalousies |
noun |
a blind or shutter having adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light |
| local color |
noun |
a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape. |
| macabre |
adjective |
suggesting the horror of death and decay; gruesome |
| metaphor |
noun |
a comparison of two things that are essentially unlike |
| naturalism |
noun |
a 19th century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was |
| noblesse oblige |
noun |
Benevolent, honorable behavior considered to be the responsibility of persons of high birth or rank |
| obliterated |
verb |
to do away with completely so as to leave no trace |
| pallid |
adjective |
pale |
| personification |
noun |
a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| realism |
noun |
a style of writing, developed in the 19th century, that attempts to depict life accurately without idealizing or romanticizing it |
| regionalism |
noun |
literature that emphasizes a specific geographic area that reproduces the speech, behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that region |
| sibilant |
adjective |
of, characterized by, or producing a hissing sound like that of (s) or (sh): |
| tableau |
noun |
a vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life; a striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people |
| tall-tale |
noun |
an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable |
| temerity |
noun |
courage; gall |
| thwarted |
verb |
to prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of |
| vanquished |
verb |
to defeat or conquer in battle; subjugate; to defeat in a contest, conflict, or competition. |
| virulent |
adjective |
bitterly hostile or antagonistic; hateful |
| yarn-spinner |
noun |
a weaver of tall-tales, a "spinner" of stories |
