Term
|
Definition
a fatal epidemic or disease, especially the bubonic plague
“ In speaking of the Black Death of the fourteenth century and similar periods of pestilence across the centuries, McNeil remarks on ‘the disruptive effect’ of an epidemic, which, he says, is ‘likely to be greater than . . . mere loss of life’”(141). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
in a way that is like a business, done to make money; cutthroat
“ ‘Think of it in ‘entrepreneurial’ terms,’ she says.”(142). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
bizarre; a mix of fact and fantasy; freakish; phantasmagorical
“Walking through the corridors of Rosie’s Place was a surreal experience”(144). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
dominance, authority, control, command, power, rule, influence, leadership
“Her words suggest the possibility that, at some future time, a state or federal government under control of a tough-minded politician of the kind now in ascendance in the U.S. Congress and in some of the state capitals may decide that it is logical to extend this strategy to women who have not committed crimes but who are simply seen as unfit parents because their addictions or lifestyles pose a danger to their unborn babies” (147). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
cautiously, carefully, delicately
“Even the word ‘segregation’ is not often used in local press discussions of the city’s schools and neighborhoods – or, if used at all, is handled gingerly”(147). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
found a way to get around a problem; overcome, typically in a clever and secretive way
“References to ‘ghettos’ or to ‘ghetto neighborhoods’ are generally circumvented, too”(147). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
having to do with language and logical structure of words
“Semantic somersaults are often undertaken to avoid the use of clear words on a matter in which clarity is badly needed”(147). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
thoroughly defeated or destroyed
“ ‘A dream is vanquished by the choices ordinary people make about real things in their own lives’”(149). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
using vigorous and enthusiastic campaigning to bring about social and political change
“Others have retired into a severe conservatism, masked frequently by overstated references to youthful episodes of activism, which are sometimes used like amulets to ward off any possibilities of self-reproach”(149). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
bitter, scathing, sarcastic; able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action
“ ‘I was on the bridge at Selma’ is a statement heard quite often from late-middle-aged conservatives today in New York City, a claim that, whether it is true or not, stirs caustic comments from some of the black adults I know”(149). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
can't be changed, reversed, or healed
“There is a natural fear of the irrevocable in almost all of us; and, if we know some of the children in these neighborhoods and also know that they have lived in lead-infested buildings, in an atmosphere where poisons of many different kinds, both physical and
spiritual, are in the air, we do our best to shut these dark matters from our minds”(156). |
|
|
