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Full Glossary
liberty-pole a tall flagstaff planted in the ground.
melodeum melodeon; a small keyboard organ.
mesmerism hypnotism.
Methusalem Methuselah, one of the biblical patriarchs who was said to live 969 years.
mud-cat a catfish.
Muddy the Mississippi River.
muggins a fool.
mulatter mulatto, a person who has one black parent and one white parent.
mullen stalks stalks of the mullein, a tall plant of the figwort family, with spikes of yellow, lavender, or white flowers.
mushmelon a cantaloupe or other moderate sized melon.
the nation slang for "damnation."
Navarre historical region and former kingdom in northeast Spain and southwest France.
Nebokoodneezer Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia who conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and deported many Jews into Babylonia (586 bc).
niggers niggar, originally a dialectal variant of Negro, the term is a derogatory and vulgar racial slur directed primarily toward African Americans.
nip and tuck so close that the outcome is uncertain.
obsequies funeral rites or ceremonies.
palavering talking or idly chattering.
peart pert, lively, chipper, or smart.
Pilgrim's Progress a religious allegory by John Bunyan (1678).
plug er dog-leg a plug of cheap chewing tobacco.
polly-voo franzy parlez-vous Francais, "Do you speak French?"
pow-wow to confer, to have an intense discussion; originally from a North American Indian word.
predestination the theological doctrine that God foreordained everything that would happen.
puncheon floor floor made of a heavy, broad piece of roughly dressed timber with one side hewed flat.
pungle to pay.
put in her shovel offered an opinion.
the quality word used by the South to describe aristocracy,
reticule a small handbag or sewing bag, orginally made of needlework and usually having a drawstring.
sand in my craw courage.
sap-head a fool.
scutcheon escutcheon a shield or shield-shaped surface on which a coat of arms is displayed.
seneskal seneschal, a steward or major-domo in the household of a medieval noble.
shekel a half-ounce gold or silver coin of the ancient Hebrews.
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) Scottish poet and novelist, author of Ivanhoe.
skiff a flat-bottomed boat propelled by oars.
slick up to polish.
slough a place, as a hollow, full of soft, deep mud; a swamp, bog, or marsh, especially one that is part of an inlet or backwater.
smokehouse a building, especially an outbuilding on a farm, where meats, fish, etc. are smoked in order to cure and flavor them.
smouch steal.
sold scammed, to be made a fool
soul-butter flattery.
Spanish Moss a plant often found growing in long, graceful strands from the branches of trees in the south eastern U.S.
stabbord starboard, the right side of a ship or boat or boat as one faces forward.
sugar-hogshead a large barrel used to store sugar.
sumter mule sumpter mule, a packhorse, mule, or other animal used for carrying baggage.
taller tallow, the nearly colorless solid fat extracted from the natural fat of cattle or sheep, used in making candles and soaps.
tar and feather to cover a person with tar and feathers as in punishment by mob action.
the texas a structure on the hurricane deck of a steamboat, containing the officers' quarters, etc. and having the pilothouse on top or in front.
tick a cloth case covering that is filled with cotton, feathers, or hair to form a mattress or pillow.
tow a rope made from strands of broken or coarse flax or hemp.
tow-head sandbar with thick reeds.
tract a propagandizing pamphlet, especially one on a religious or political subject.
trot line a strong fishing line suspended ove the water, with short, baited lines hung at intervals.
two bits 25 cents.
yaller-boys gold coins.