Shalimar a word derived from "sheol," Hebrew for pit, cavern, womb, or underworld. In its earliest forms, sheol was the virgin's "enclosed garden of flowers, fruits, fountains and fairy-nymphs," called Shal-Mari ("land of souls") in Tibet and Shalimar in India (Women's Encyclopedia).
Red Cap a brand name of beer.
Cherry smash a brand name of soda pop.
shotgun houses narrow, single-level houses with the rooms arranged in a straight line, one directly behind the other. A bullet fired from the front room would pass through all the other rooms and exit through the back.
corduroy a heavy fabric with vertical ribs.
straights here, long pants without gatherings; the opposite of straights are knickers.
Neanderthals disparaging slang for illiterate, primal-like people.
soughing rustling.
sweet gum tree native to North and Central America, a tree with prickly fruit clusters and used to make furniture.
talcum a soft powder made from talc, a fine-grained mineral.
witch hazel a shrub or small tree found especially in the eastern United States. Sweet uses a liquid solution made from the bark and leaves of witch hazel to soothe Milkman's swollen neck.
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.
