Red Cap a brand of beer. Interestingly, "Red Cap" is also a term originally used to describe black railroad porters and attendants, who could be identified by their red caps.
332nd Fighter Group a highly decorated group of black World War II fighter pilots. The 332nd Fighter Group included the legendary 99th Fighter Squadron, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Calling themselves the "Lonely Eagles," the Tuskegee Airmen became known as the "Black Birdmen" by their enemies because of their courageous, daring, and highly successful missions. A total of 450 black pilots fought in the aerial wars over North Africa, Sicily, and Europe during World War II.
sabbatical a leave of absence.
galley a kitchen.
Wild Turkey a brand of straight bourbon.
humidor a container used to store cigars at a constant level of humidity so that the cigars do not dry out.
Rothschild '29 and Beaujolais two expensive wines, symbolic of aristocracy and elitism.
baked Alaska a dessert made of angel food cake, ice cream, and meringue, and often topped with heated brandy, which is set ablaze for a dramatic presentation.
diabetes a common metabolic disease in which the body does not produce a sufficient amount of insulin, which regulates the body's use of carbohydrates and fats. Diabetics suffer from increased sugar in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, and frequent urination.
divinity traditionally, a white, creamy Christmas candy, usually made with nuts.
polio poliomyelitis, an infectious viral disease that affects children and adults. Polio causes inflammation of the spinal cord and brainstem and can lead to paralysis and the deterioration of muscles.
President Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), the thirty-second president of the United States (1933–45), was crippled by polio.
Truman Harry S. Truman (1884–1972), the thirty-third president of the United States (1945–53).
Committee on Civil Rights a committee established on December 5, 1946, by President Truman, that eventually recommended anti-lynching and anti-poll-tax legislation, and the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Commission, an oversight commission charged with eradicating racism and unfair labor practices in the workplace.
four-in-hand a necktie tied in a slipknot with the ends left hanging.
rhododendron a common shrub or small tree found in North America, Europe, and Asia that prefers cool temperatures and acidic soil. They have white, pink, or purple flowers and tough leaves.
dahlias tall, spindly, coarse-blossomed flowers with large, showy heads of white, yellow, red, or purple.
geraniums hearty, heavily scented house or garden plants that have white, pink, or red flowers.
tuberculosis sanatorium Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by tubercle bacteria and characterized by fatigue, weight loss, coughing, and hemorrhaging of the lungs. In 1903, a person with the disease would have been sent to a sanatorium to prevent further infection of the general public; today, methods of early detection have reduced the incidence of the disease.
cod-liver oil oil extracted from the livers of cod, fish of northern Atlantic waters; a source of vitamins A and D.
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.
Corpus Domini Nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam Latin, meaning "The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, who watches over our souls."
communion the part of a Mass in which the Eucharist — the host — is received in remembrance of Christ's death.
ether a colorless, highly flammable liquid that has an aromatic odor and a sweet taste. Ether is used as an anesthetic in medical practice, which helps explain how Dr. Foster could so easily get the substance that ultimately killed him.
Waterford bowl a glass bowl made in Waterford, Ireland, a town known for its craftspeople's intricate glass-carving.
Erie Lackawanna here, a railroad. The U.S.S. Lackawanna was a United States warship stationed in Hawaiian waters during the 1860s, supposedly to guard American interests in Hawaii's sugar plantations. In 1893, American military troops invaded Hawaii and overthrew its government; in 1898, Hawaii was forcibly annexed to the United States. By linking the name of the warship with the name of the fictitious railroad, Morrison links the devastating impact of United States colonialism in Hawaii with British colonialism in Africa. In both instances, white colonialism led to the annihilation of many indigenous people and the destruction of their cultures.
Radiathor an experimental drug used to test the effects of atomic radiation on humans. The term alludes to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
King of the Mountain a children's game in which participants try to topple the person standing on top of a mound, usually made of dirt; also, an allusion the fairy tale "King of the Golden Mountain." Both references are from the realm of fantasy/make-believe and indicate that Milkman is only "playing" at being a man, believing he has usurped his father's leadership role in the family.
knickers loose, baggy pants that are gathered just below the knee, exposing the calves.
Ovaltine the brand name of a powdered nutrient supplement for babies, mixed with milk, for children.
Till The reference is to Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old Chicago black youth who visited relatives in Money, Mississippi, in August 1955. Unused to the South's fierce racism, he allegedly spoke to a white woman. A few days later, he was abducted by several white men, beaten, mutilated, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River.
Scarlett O'Hara the female protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, which was released as an epic film in 1939. Along with Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, which dramatized the American Civil War and Reconstruction, was denounced by blacks for its racist portrayal of blacks as unfit for freedom and was criticized for ending any hopes for getting anti-lynching legislation through the United States Congress.
Tom Sawyer Land Hannibal, Missouri, the fictional setting for Mark Twain's classic novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). The sarcasm is directed toward the ignorance of any black man who thinks that the South is as harmless as the plot elements of Tom Sawyer. In that novel, "danger" is always synonymous with fun-filled adventures for young boys.
Bilbo country Here, Freddie alludes to the South as "Bilbo country." Because "Bilbo" is capitalized, the initial reference is to the infamous, racist two-term governor of Mississippi and its multi-term senator, Theodore G. Bilbo, whose name is synonoymous with prejudice and corruption. Coincidentally, "bilbo," with a lower-case "b," refers to an iron bar to which ankle clamps are attached; it was used to shackle slaves during slavery and to shackle chain gangs during the 1950s.
crackers slang for poor white people, usually uneducated and usually racially prejudiced.
"Remember them soldiers in 1918?" The men in Hospital Tommy's barbershop recall the atrocious behavior toward black soldiers who fought in World War I. After suffering discrimination in the military, they returned to the United States to face extreme hostility for daring to think that their military service had earned them the right to equal treatment in society. The hostilities led to the lynching of hundreds of African Americans, many of them soldiers still dressed in their uniforms, and culminated in the violent "Red Summer" of 1919, during which race riots erupted around the country, especially in such major cities as Detroit and Chicago.
