Packard the name brand of a family-oriented automobile produced by Packard Motor, Inc., which was founded in 1900 and merged with Studebaker Corporation in 1954. In Chapter 1, Macon Dead drives a green Dodge sedan on Sunday afternoon outings.
the Blood Bank The name of Southside's notorious neighborhood alludes to Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950), a world-renowned surgeon, scientist, and educator. The pioneer of blood plasma preservation, Dr. Drew established the first successful blood plasma bank. In 1950, while on his way to a medical convention at Tuskegee Institute, Dr. Drew was fatally injured in an automobile accident. Denied treatment at a nearby white hospital because of his black skin color, he was refused the blood transfusions that might have saved his life. Here, the term for the neighborhood is used ironically, for this part of town is notorious for crime and murder — bloodletting, the opposite of blood banking.
fermenting rotting.
poot slang for "lousy" or "inferior." Pilate says that Macon could not cook worth "poot" — he was a lousy cook.
hickories hickory trees, grown in the eastern United States for timber and nut production.
brambles a prickly shrub or bush, including blackberry and raspberry plants.
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.
crock an earthenware container.
war bond promissory notes issued by a government to finance a war. When the bond reaches maturity, the person who purchased the bond receives the amount of money originally paid for the bond plus interest.
Mayflower Restaurant and Sears By juxtaposing the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to North America in 1620 with the name of a modern department store, Morrison alludes to the progress of white Americans in the United States. She also emphasizes that for black Americans, not much has changed, as they are still denied full participation in American society.
Four Roses a brand of blended bourbon not widely sold today.
cracklin browned, crisp rinds of roast pork, especially popular in the South.
maws stewed pig stomachs, usually served with greens or beans.
Freedmen's Bureau officially, the United States War Department's Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Established in 1865 to aid thousands of people (black and white) left displaced and homeless after the American Civil War, the bureau was discontinued in 1872 by congressional inaction.
