To Kill a Mockingbird Vocabulary, Allusions, and Idioms

Chapter 1
Vocabulary

Ambled: to walk at a slow, leisurely pace.

Dictum: in this case, a formal statement of principle
Domiciled: A domicile is a house or a place where a person lives.
Eaves: the lower edges of a roof which usually project beyond the side of a
Human chattels: slaves impotent (adj.): powerless.
Impotent: not potent; lacking power or ability.
Impudent: To be impudent is to be shamelessly bold, as if you don't care what
anyone thinks about you.
Piety: devotion to religious duties and practices
Predilection: a predilection is a preference, or a preferred way of doing something.
Ramrod: rigid, severe, straight
Vapid: means boring or uninteresting
Strictures: conditions or rules
Taciturn: almost always silent.
Unsullied: something that is unsullied has been basically untouched or unused.

Allusions
Andrew Jackson: 7th President of the United States (1829-1837).
Battle of Hastings: a decisive battle in the Norman Conquests of England in 1066.
Disturbance between the North and the South: The Civil War (1861-1865).
Dracula: the 1931 film version of the famous vampire story.
Flivver: another name for a Model-T Ford.
John Wesley: 1702-1791. Founder of the Methodist Church.
Merlin: King Arthur's adviser, prophet and magician.
Nothing to fear but fear itself: an allusion to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first
Inaugural Address.
Stumphole whiskey: illegally made and sold whiskey that would be hidden in the
holes of tree stumps.

Chapter 2
Vocabulary

Covey: a group
Cunning: In this case, cunning means attractive or cute -- almost too cute
Entailment: a legal situation regarding the use of inherited property.
Scrip stamps: paper money of small denominations (less than $1.00) issued for
temporary emergency use.
Seceded: To secede is to break away.
Smilax: a bright green twinning vine, often used for holiday decorations
Vexations: To vex is to annoy, so a vexation is something that causes annoyance or
problems.

Allusions
Bullfinch: an allusion to Bulfinch's Mythology, a famous collection of Greek myths.
Dewey Decimal System: a system for organizing books in libraries.

Diaries of Lorenzo Dow: Lorenzo Dow (1777 - 1834) was a Methodist preacher who
traveled throughout the country, including the state of Alabama.
The crash: the Stock Market Crash of 1929 which led to the Great Depression.
Union suit: a one-piece garment of underwear with a buttoned flap in the back.

Chapter 3
Vocabulary
Contentious: always ready to argue or fight
Disapprobation: disapproval
Discernible: understandable
Dispensation: a release from an obligation or promise.
Flinty: Flint is a very hard rock. Something that is flinty is extremely hard and firm
Fractious: mean or cross
Irked: to be irked is to be annoyed.

Chapter 4
Vocabulary
Scuppernongs: a sweet table grape, grown chiefly in the Southern United States.

Allusions
Indian-heads: before the Lincoln penny, there were Indian-head pennies.
One Man's Family: a radio serial (like a soap opera) which began in 1932 and proved
to be enormously popular for almost 30 years.

Chapter 5
Vocabulary
Asinine: stupid; silly
Inquisitive: questioning; prying
Quibbling: a type of arguing where you avoid the main point by bringing up petty
details

Allusions
Old Testament pestilence: Pestilence refers to a condition or disease that causes
massive damage or death. One example of pestilence in the Old Testament of the
Bible is a plague of locusts, such as the one described in Exodus 10.
Second Battle of the Marne: a battle in World War I.

Idioms
Acid tongue in hear head: Acid is very bitter in taste. Someone with an acid tongue
is someone who tends to speak bitterly or sharply.
Get someone's goat: to get someone's goat is to make a person disgusted or angry.

Chapter 6
Vocabulary
Ensuing: Something that ensues is something that comes immediately after
something else.
Prowess: superior ability or skill
Ramshackle: loose or rickety; about to fall apart

Chapter 7
Vocabulary
Cleaved: stuck
Whittles: To whittle is to use a knife to cut away thin shavings of wood. Sometimes,
a whittler may actually end up carving a recognizable object.

Allusions
Egyptians walked that way: Jem's assumptions as to how Egyptians would have
walked is probably based on pictures of Egyptian art.

Idioms
Walked on eggs: to walk on eggs is to walk very carefully.

Chapter 8
Vocabulary
Cordial: warm and friendly
Quelled: To quell is to overwhelm something until it is powerless
Unfathomable: Something that is unfathomable is something that cannot be
understood.

Allusions

Appomattox: a former village in central Virginia. On April 9, 1865, Confederate

General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the
Appomattox Court House, ending the Civil War.
Bellingraths: Miss Maudie is referring to Walter and Bessie Bellingrath who, in 1932,
opened their large, beautiful gardens to the public. The Bellingrath Gardens are
located in Mobile, Alabama.
Lane cake: a rich white cake.
Rosetta Stone: Discovered in Egypt in 1799, the Rosetta Stone is a large block of
basalt inscribed with a report of a decree passed in 196 BC. Written in three
languages, the stone gave historians many clues as to the meaning of Egyptian
Hieroglyphs.

Chapter 9
Vocabulary
analogous (adj.): similar; comparable
deportment (n.): behavior
indicative (adj.): Something that is indicative of something shows or displays
something
inordinately (adv.): Inordinate means too great or too many.
invective (n.): Invectives are abusive terms, curses, insults, and/or cuss words
obstreperous (adj.): noisy and unruly
provocation (n.): To provoke is to excite some sort of feeling; often anger or irritation
tarried (vb.): delayed; waited
trousseau (n.): all the new clothes a bride brings to her marriage

Allusions
General Hood: Lieutenant-General John B. Hood, a Confederate officer.
Let the cup pass from you: on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed to the
Lord: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but your be
done [Luke 22:42]." By asking the Lord to "take this cup from me" he was praying
that he might avoid his hate (in Greek, one of the figurative meanings for "cup" is
"fate"). Uncle Jack's comment to Atticus calls upon this reference because he

understands that his brother was not looking forward to his fate: having to defend
Tom Robinson.
Lord Melbourne: (1779 - 1848). Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister, Melbourne also
had the reputation for being something of a ladies' man.
Missouri Everest: the highest known mountain in the world, (29,028 feet), Everest is
part of the Himalayas, on the border of Nepal and Tibet.
Ol' Blue Light: a reference to Stonewall Jackson.
Stonewall Jackson: a Confederate lieutenant-general.

Idioms

as sure as eggs: something that is as sure as eggs is a sure thing; it's bound to
happen; just as chickens are sure to lay eggs.
bowed to the inevitable: an event or occurrence that is inevitable is one that cannot
be stopped from occurring. To bow to the inevitable is to realize this fact and resist
fighting it. Atticus realizes that, sooner or later, Scout and Jem would be given guns
and taught how to shoot, so he doesn't try to fight it.
drew a bead on him: to draw a bead on someone is to aim at or focus on that
person.
on tenterhooks: to be on tenterhooks is to be filled with suspense or anxiety.
set my teeth permanently on edge: to annoy someone or make them feel nervous
the way in which Aunt Alexandra tends to annoy Scout.

Chapter 10
Vocabulary
Alist (adj.): tilted to one side
Gingerly (adv.): carefully; cautiously
Inconspicuous (adj.) To be conspicuous is to attract attention. To be inconspicuous is
to do the opposite; to not attract attention. Scout wishes that Atticus would be more
inconspicuous; that is, he would attract less attention to himself.
Mausoleum (n.): Literally, a mausoleum is a large, imposing tomb (a tomb is a place
where dead bodies -- those that aren't buried -- are housed). However, Miss Maudie
uses the term in its humorous form. She refers to her old house as a mausoleum
because, to her, it was too large and too somber.
Rudiments (n.): principles; elements; subjects to be learned

Idioms
Break camp: pack up; move on. In Scout's case, Atticus is telling her to put
her gun away and quit her game.
Tooth and nail: to fight someone tooth and nail is to fight that person as
fiercely as possible (literally with teeth and fingernails if necessary).

Tribal curse: a family curse or, more aptly, an affliction shared by members of
a family. Apparently, many members of the Finch family have had problems
with their left eyes.

Chapter 11
Vocabulary
Apoplectic (adj.): Apoplexy is a condition of sudden paralysis; a stroke. To be
apoplectic, in this case, is to behave as if on the verge of having a stroke.
Interdict (n.): prohibition; restraint
Philippic (n.): a bitter verbal attack
Propensities (n.): inclinations or tendencies
Reconnaissance (n.): examination
Rectitude (n.): uprightness of character
Umbrage (n.): offense
Undulate (vb.): to move in waves or in a wavy manner
Allusions
Confederate Army: the Southern army in the Civil War.
CSA: Confederate States of America - the southern side of the Civil War.
Dixie Howell: Millard "Dixie" Howell was a popular University of Alabama football
player during the 1930's.
Ivanhoe: a novel written in 1819 by Sir Walter Scott set in the Middle Ages during
the time of the Crusades.
Idioms
Sir Walter Scott: author of Ivanhoe.
'Drunthers: a contraction of the phrase "I'd rather." Your 'druthers is your choice or
preference; it's what you'd rather do or have.
Show fuse: a person with a slow fuse is someone who is not easily upset or angered.
Stood as much gruff: gruff is foolish. Jem has had enough of the all the foolish rude
talk about Atticus.
When the chips are down: at the most important time. [In gambling games, a
person puts chips or money down in front of him to show that he is willing to risk an
amount in a bet.]

Chapter 12
Vocabulary
Austere (adj.): stern and severe
Contentious (adj.) always ready to argue
Denunciation (n.): To denounce is to strongly disapprove of or condemn something.
The denunciation of sin in the reverend's sermon indicates his strong disapproval of
sin.
Frivolous (adj.): silly; not serious
Garish (adj.) showy, very bright or gaudy

Allusions

Blackstone's Commentaries: one of the most important books ever written

on British law.
Bootleggers: people who make and/or sell illegal liquor.
Bread lines: during the Great Depression, thousands of people relied on
charitable organizations for meals and would line up for simple meals often
of bread and soup.
Brown's Mule: a brand of chewing tobacco.
Castile: a type of soap, originally made in Spain.
Garden of Gethsemane: the place where Jesus went to pray on the night
before his crucifixion.
Hoyt's Cologne: a strong, lasting cologne, originally made in Germany and
popular during the first part of the 20th century.
Hunt's The Light of the World: a well-known painting of Jesus Christ.
Octagon soap: a very harsh, strong soap.
Shadrach: one of the three men whom King Nebuchadnezzar threw into a
blazing furnace, as told in Daniel 3 of the Bible. Because of their faith in God,
all three men escaped unharmed.
Sit-down strikes: during the Great Depression, sit-down strikes became a real
force in labor relations in the United States. Unlike "regular" strikes, workers
in a sit-down strike would literally "sit down on the job;" that is, they would
refuse to leave the building until their demands were met. One of the most
famous sit-down strikes of this era was the Flint sit-down strike at the
General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan.

Chapter 13

Vocabulary
Curtness (n.): To be curt is to be brief and short to the point of being rude.
Devoid (adj.): completely without
Flighty (adj.): foolish; irresponsible
Obliquely (adv.): indirectly
Sluggish (adj.): lacking energy; lazy
Allusions
Lydia E. Pinkham: a maker and manufacturer of patent medicines in the late 1800's
and early 1900's. Most of Pinkham's medical concoctions were aimed at women,
and the majority of them contained liberal amounts of alcohol.
Reconstruction: the period of time, roughly between 1867 - 1877, when the
Southern states were reorganized and re-established after the Civil War.
Idioms
Traveled in state: to travel in state is to do so in the position of a person of great
wealth and rank.

Chapter 14
Vocabulary
Infallible (adj.): never wrong
Manacles (n.): handcuffs

Chapter 15
Vocabulary
Begrudge (vb.): To begrudge someone something is to feel resentment or
disapproval about the fact that they have something. Atticus says that he doesn't
think anyone in the town would resent the fact that he has a client.
Ecclesiastical (adj.): church-like
Impassive (adj.): showing no emotion
Stifle (vb.): hold back; suppress
Uncouth (adj.): crude, unmannerly
Allusions
Jitney Jungle: a supermarket chain. Supermarkets were still relatively new to
America in the 1930's. Most shoppers did business at smaller grocery stores.
Snipe hunt: a practical joke. The "victim" is taken on a hunt deep into a forest at
night and told to look for and capture "snipes," small, flightless birds that, in
actuality, don't exist. While the hunter searches, the rest of the party leaves.
Idioms
He had seen the light: in this case, this means to have become religious.

Chapter 16

Vocabulary
Akimbo (adj.): hands on hips and elbows bent outward.
Dispel (vb.): drive away
Elucidate (vb.): explain
Fey (adj.): strange; eccentric
Profane (adj.): not connected with religion or religious matters
Sundry (adj.): various
Allusions
Braxton Bragg: The commander of the Western Confederate Army during the Civil
War, Bragg led a less-than-distinguished career in the military, and his army unit
was eventually defeat
Straight Prohibition ticket: Prohibition was a period in US history (1920 - 1933) when
the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was against the
law. By voting the straight Prohibition ticket, Mr. Jones always votes for those
political candidates who support Prohibition and were likely members of the
Prohibition Party.
William Jennings Bryan: (1860 - 1925) Bryan was a lawyer, a politician (he ran for
the Presidency three times), and a famous orator. His speeches were major events,
especially in the South and along the Bible belt, and would draw huge crowds.
Idioms
Blind spots: a prejudice or area of ignorance that someone has but is unaware of.
Mr. Cunningham's blind spot is his prejudice against Tom Robinson.

Chapter 17
Vocabulary
Acrimonious (adj.): sarcastic; bitter; nasty
Dogged (adj.): stubborn determination
Genially (adv.): in a friendly manner
Gullet (n.): throat; neck
Heaved (vb.): lifted

Import (n.): importance

Quelling (vb.): quieting; calming
Skewed (adj.): turned
Sullen (adj.): in this case, gloomy and threatening
warranted (vb.): gave a reason for; indicated the need for
Allusions
Icebox: Before refrigerators, people used iceboxes, large wood cabinets kept cold on
the inside by blocks of ice that would be delivered to the home.
Shotgun hall: a hallway that leads directly from the front door to the back door.
Idioms
Counting his chickens: Scout is referring to the first half of the proverb: "Don't count
your chickens before they're hatched," which means "don't be too sure that
something is going to happen before it does." Although Jem seems to be certain
that Atticus has won his case, Scout thinks he is counting his chickens, that is, he is
too sure of something that may not happen.
Guests of the county: on public assistance or welfare.

Chapter 18

Vocabulary
Chiffarobe (n.): a large cabinet with drawers and a place for hanging clothes. See a
picture of a Chiffarobe.
Constructionalist (n.): a person who interprets aspects of the law in a specified way
Grudging (adj.): hostile
Lavations (n.): washings
Neutrality (n.): the condition of being neutral; not taking part in either side of a
controversy
Riled (adj.): angry
Allusions
Mr. Jingle: a character in Charles Dickenss novel The Pickwick Papers, Mr. Jingle
usually expresses himself in sentence fragments.
Idioms
Took advantage of me: in this instance, the phrase means to have sexual
intercourse with.

Chapter 19

Vocabulary
Expunge (vb.): remove completely grimly (adv.): sternly; without humor
Subtlety (n.): delicacy
Volition (n.): will. Scout is saying that someone like Tom would never go into
somebody's yard on his own or unless he had been invited to do so, and would
never do so of his own will or volition.
Idioms
Looked daggers: a dagger is a type of knife. To look daggers at someone is to look
sharply at that person.

Chapter 20
Vocabulary
aridity (n.): dryness
caliber (n.): quality
corroborative evidence (adj. + n.): To corroborate is to strengthen and support.
Corroborative evidence, in a trial, is evidence that makes a case stronger. Atticus is
telling the jury that there is no evidence to strengthen the case against Tom.
iota (n.): a very small amount
Minute (adj.): exact; precise (pronounced: my - NEWT)
Perpetrated (vb.): committed
Temerity (n.): foolish or rash boldness
unmitigated (adj.): out-and-out absolute
Allusions
All men are created equal: a phrase from The Declaration of Independence.
Einstein: Albert Einstein (1979 - 1955), German-born physicist.
Rockefeller: John D. Rockefeller (1839 - 1937), one of the richest men in America at
the time.

Thomas Jefferson: 3rd President of the United States (1801 - 1809) and the author
of The Declaration of Independence.

Chapter 21
Vocabulary
acquit (vb.): clear of a charge; find not guilty
charged the jury (vb. + n.): When Judge Taylor charges the jury, he gives them
instructions in law before they go off to deliberate or decide the case
exhilarated (adj.): cheerful, merry
indignant (adj.): angry

Chapter 22
Vocabulary
fatalistic (adj.): To be fatalistic about something is to accept the event as though it
were inevitable; that is, that nothing could be done to change or alter it.
heathen (adj.): unenlightened; without religion or morals
ruefully (adv.): regretfully
Idioms
give the lie: to give the lie to something is to prove that thing to be false or untrue.
Scout is saying that the way in which Miss Stephanie and Miss Rachel are acting
proves that Dill's statements about them are not untrue.
runner: chicken leg

Chapter 23

Vocabulary
commutes (vb.): changes; makes less severe
dry (adj.): clever but subtle
infantile (adj.): childish
statute (n.): law
vehement (adj.): full of emotion and strong feeling
wary (adj.): cautious
wryly (adv.): humorously; slightly sarcastic
runner: chicken leg

Chapter 24
Vocabulary
bellows (n.): a machine that allows air to be pumped through a system; in this case,
an organ
bovine (adj.): cow-like
charlotte (n.): a desert made with fruit in a mold that is lined with pieces of bread or
cake.
devout (adj.): devoted to religion
impertinence (n.): disrespect
squalid (adj.): miserable; wretched
sulky (adj.): moody
yaws (n.): an infectious contagious tropical disease
Allusions
Mrs. Roosevelt: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), wife of President Franklin
D. Roosevelt.
tryin' to sit with 'em: in 1939, Eleanor Roosevelt attended a meeting for the
Southern Conference for Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama where she defied
state authorities by sitting in the center aisle, between whites and blacks, after
police told her she was violating segregation laws by sitting with black people.
Idioms
Blue in the face: angry and upset; excited and emotional
Fighting the good fight: in the case of the ladies of the missionary circle, the good
fight would be their work to aid missionaries around the world in their cause of
converting people to Christianity

Wool: Mrs. Merriweather is referring to their maid's head or, more specifically, her
hair. "It's never entered that wool of hers," is Mrs. Merriweather's way of saying, "It's
never entered that head of hers."

Chapter 25

Vocabulary
Veneer (n.): attractive outer surface
Allusions
English Channel: the English Channel is the waterway that separates Great Britain
from France. It is also the avenue by which much trade is carried on between Great
Britain and the European continent. According to Scout, Miss Stephanie is the
avenue of gossip for much of Maycomb.

Chapter 26

Vocabulary
spurious (adj.): Something that is spurious outwardly resembles something but does
not have the genuine qualities of that thing. Miss Gates thinks that The Grit Paper is
spurious because, although it resembles a newspaper, to her mind, it is far inferior
to a publication like The Mobile Register or other newspapers.
Allusions
Adolf Hitler has been after all the Jews: a reference to the Nazi anti-Jewish policy.
Elmer Davis: a journalist and CBS radio commentator who went on to head the
Office of War Information.
holy-roller: a member of a small religious sect that expresses devotion by shouting
and moving around during worship services.
Uncle Natchell Story: Uncle Natchell (along with his sidekick, Sonny Boy) was the
cartoon mascot for a fertilizer product called Natural Chilean Nitrate of Soda. Many
of the advertisements for this product were in comic strip or story form. Little Chuck
Little has mistaken one of these advertising "stories" for an actual current event.

Chapter 27
Vocabulary
florid (adj.): very flowery in style; elegant
eccentricities (n.): odd behavior
Allusions
Bob Taylor: Robert Love Taylor, late 19th Century orator and politician.
Ad Astra Per Aspera: Latin for "to the stars through difficulties".
Cotton Tom Heflin: J. Thomas "Cotton Tom" Heflin was an orator and Republican
politician. Heflin was Secretary of State in Alabama at the beginning of the century
and served in the U.S. Congress (1905-1920) and the Senate (1921-1931). Heflin's
political support was drawn chiefly from rural voters and members of the Ku Klux
Klan.

dog Victrolas: a reference to the advertising symbol of RCA/Victor; a dog, known as

"Nipper," looking into the horn of a gramophone or Victrola.
Ladies' Law: From the Criminal Code of Alabama, Vol. III, 1907: "Any person who
enters into, or goes sufficiently near to the dwelling house of another, and, in the
presence or hearing of the family of the occupant thereof, or any member of his
family, or any person who, in the presence or hearing of any girl or woman, uses
abusive, insulting or obscene language must, on conviction, be fined not more than
two hundred dollars, and may also be imprisoned in the country jail, or sentenced to
hard labor for the country for not more than six months."
National Recovery Act: better known as the National Recovery Administration or the
NRA. The NRA was a series of programs set up to help the nation, especially the
nation's business, recover from the effects of the Great Depression. If was ruled
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935.
nine old men: the members of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court declared
the NRA unconstitutional in 1935.
NRA - WE DO OUR PART: the motto of the National Recovery Administration (NRA)
Syrians: people from Syria, a country at the northwest part of the Mediterranean
region, south of Turkey.
WPA: During the Great Depression, when millions of Americans were out of work,
the government instituted the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and employed
over eight million people

Chapter 28
Vocabulary
divinity (n.): a white fudge made from whipped egg whites, sugar, and nuts.
gait (n.): pace, walk hock (n.): the joint bending backward in the hind leg of an
animal like a pig. Scout is dressed as a ham, and a ham is the upper part of a hog's
hind leg, Scout's hock would be the part of her costume that resembles the joint of
a pig's leg.
irascible (adj.): angry pinioned (adj.): confined; held down
pinioned (adj.): confined; held down rout (vb.): defeat
staccato (adj.): distinct; sharp and crisp
Allusions

three-corner hats, confederate caps, Spanish-American War hats, and World

War helmets: all references to the headgear of various soldiers from different
wars.

Chapter 30

Vocabulary
blandly (adv.): smoothly; without excitement connived (vb.): secretly cooperated or
agreed to wisteria (n.): twinning woody vines with large clusters of flowers.

Idioms
into the limelight: in theater, the limelight is an intense light thrown on stage in
order to highlight an actor, etc. To be in the limelight is to be put in prominent
position before the public.

Chapter 31

Vocabulary
railing (adj.): painful