galley a kitchen.
galoshes rubber overshoes used to protect footwear during inclement weather.
geraniums hearty, heavily scented house or garden plants that have white, pink, or red flowers.
ginger a plant native to tropical Asia and Indonesia whose tuberous roots are used in cooking; ginger has a pungent, spicy taste.
gnome a mythological dwarflike creature who lives underground.
the gold Longines obviously, an heirloom from Milkman's father. Longines were very expensive, very elegant watches, dating back to the nineteenth century.
greenbacks slang for paper money.
grits ground dried-and-hulled corn kernels that are boiled and eaten.
grosgrain ribbon a ribbon made from grosgrain, a coarse-textured silk or rayon fabric.
gross equaling 144 items.
gumbo a soup made with okra and commonly eaten in the South. The word "gumbo" was originally introduced by slaves forcibly captured in Africa and brought to the United States.
haint ghost, from the vernacular spelling of haunt.
hickey here, a bump on the head.
hickories hickory trees, grown in the eastern United States for timber and nut production.
hip-roofed barn a barn whose roof and sides slope out outward.
hoot owl According to West African legend, the owl is the king of witches. If an owl's hooting disturbs the tranquility of a campsite, it is considered a warning that one of the inhabitants is destined to die.
Hoover Herbert Hoover (1874–1964), the thirty-first president of the United States (1929-33). The people from whom Mr. Smith collects insurance money jokingly wonder if Hoover knows of Mr. Smith's regularity in collecting their money; Hoover failed to correct the financial crash of 1929, which began the Great Depression.
host a consecrated wafer that is consumed by Christians, predominantly of the Catholic faith, during Communion in remembrance of Christ's death. The wafer symbolizes the body of Christ.
humidor a container used to store cigars at a constant level of humidity so that the cigars do not dry out.
India rubber erasers erasers made from India rubber, cultivated from the rubber plant, an evergreen fig plant native to India and Malaysia.
infanticide infant-killing; a person who kills an infant.
iodine here, a reference to iodic acid, a disinfectant powder used to clean surfaces.
iridescent brilliantly glowing.
