- acquitted - - found not guilty in a court

- agenda - - - plan - -

- Anglo-Saxonized - dominated by "white" thinking - - - -

- assent - - - to show agreement - . -

- austere - - marked by self-denial or self-discipline - - -

- banked fires - - a low-burning fires to be revived by the addition of air or more fuel - - -

- banter - - - teasing comments - -

- bits - - - in American slang 12.5 cents, so 2 bits is a quarter - -

- boisterous - - noisy, rough - - -

- bric-a-brac - - small ornamental objects displayed in a home as curiousities or keepsakes - - -

- camp meetin'(g) - outdoor religious gathering - - - -

- chameleon - - a lizard with the ability to change color - - -

- chronic - - frequently occuring (from chron="time") - - -

- composure - - control of emotions - - -

- concede - - admit - - -

- consensus - - agreement - - -

- consummation - completion of a goal - - - -

- corrugated - - manufactured building or packing materials of metal or cardboard shaped with alternating ridges -

- coy - - - pretended shyness, being cute - -

- daystar - - the morning star (perhaps the planet Venus which often precedes dawn), or the sun itself - - -

- defiantly - - with challenge or resistance - - -

- demur - - - to object, to show dissent - -

- detail - - - a group of soldiers assigned a specific task - -

- dexterity - - skillfulness - - -

- discerning - - perceptive - - -

- disclaimed - - refused to claim - - -

- dispel - - - eliminate - -

- dodo - - - a flightless bird, hunted to extinction in the 17th century - -

- elasticity - - adaptability - - -

- exemplary - - a good example, hence, worth imitating - - -

- exhorted - - strongly urged - - -

- fetal position - - heads, arms and leg drawn together like a fetus - - -

- flayed - - - to strip the skin off an animal - -

- foraging - - searching (usually for food) - - -

- ghastly - - horrible - - -

- gilded - - - gold-plated, covered with a thin layer of gold - -

- gouged - - dug out - - -

- grey area - - uncertainty, a middle ground, neither black or white - - -

- helter-skelter - - random, crazy things, esp. violence - - -

- idle - - - useless - -

- impetuous - - rash, impulsinve, unthinking - - -

- in mock alarm - - pretending to act concerned - - -

- infraction - - an offense - - -

- innuendo - - indirect suggestion - - -

- interminably - - without end - - -

- jacket - - - in this story, a straightjacket, restraint device used for crazy people - -

- jovial - - - jolly, happy - -

- kosher - - - appoved by Jewish religious law, or anything made worthy of approval - -

- lacquered - - varnished, covered with lacquer - - -

- mad - - - insane - The mad frequently do not know how bad they are. -

- materials - - manufactured building or packing materials of metal or cardboard - - -

- mythology - - in this article, an untrue but widespread belief - - -

- obit - - - short for obituary, a short summary of the life of a dead person - -

- omniscient - - all knowing - - -

- oppression - - unjust treatment - - -

- paraphernalia - - article of equipment, esp. that used for a scientific experiment - - -

- penultimate - - next to the last - - -

- perfunctory - - done automatically with little personal interest - - -

- petulantly - - with irritation - - -

- pone - - - oval shaped cornbread - -

- prelate - - - a high-ranking church official - -

- prevail - - - triumph - -

- privy - - - outdoor toilet - -

- profane - - crude, coarse, obscene - - -

- profusely - - in great quantity - - -

- prudent - - wise, reasonable - - -

- psychopath - - a crazy person - - -

- raucous - - wild - - -

- reprimand - - scolding, criticism - - -

- singing - - in this text, ringing out - - -

- skirt dissension - to avoid disagreement - - - -

- spectrum - - range, as in color or in energy - - -

- swathes - - paths - - -

- ubiquitous - - constantly encountered - - -

- unsheathing - - pulling out something (like a knife) from its case - - -

- wheedle - - to influence by flattery or whining - - -

- wrested - - forced away from - - -