ace in the hole something held in reserve that can help in an emergency.
Aesop's Fables a collection of morality tales often read to children.
anatomical resembling the human body.
Angel Dust another name for PCP.
Apoplectic a stroke; a condition of great excitement or anger.
Beach Blanket Bingo refers to a 1965 beach movie of the same name, featuring teen idols Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
beef shingles on toast a dish in which dried beef is cooked in a gravy and then poured over toast.
before you can say Jack Robinson an expression to reflect that an event happened quickly.
Blondie and Dagwood a married couple in a newspaper comic strip.
blue moon the second full moon in a calendar month; "once in a blue moon" indicates a rare occurrence.
Bobbie Brooks a brand of clothing associated with well-to-do young adults.
Border Patrol a U.S. federal agency that works to keep illegal immigrants out of the country.
bringing home the bacon earning a salary.
Burpee's catalogue Burpee is a company that sells plants and seeds to gardeners through a catalogue.
Candy Stripers teenage volunteers in a hospital, noted for the requisite red-and-white striped uniforms that they wear.
cashing in and plowing under committing suicide and being buried.
caste system divisions within a society based on differences in wealth, occupation, or inherited position.
catatonic lacking activity, movement, or expression.
cicadas a type of insect; male cicadas make a loud buzzing sound by rubbing body parts together.
cilantro a leafy herb popular in Mexican and Italian cooking.
coerced forced.
conjecture a conclusion arrived at by guesswork.
conniption a fit of anger.
constitutional a walk taken for health reasons.
crick a creek.
crosspatch grouchy.
croup a type of laryngitis marked by difficulty in breathing and a hoarse cough.
culottes loose-fitting women's shorts cut below the knee, resembling skirts.
cut out of the same mud alike.
cyanide a poisonous compound.
discombobble confuse or upset.
disintegrated broken apart.
Disney meaning Walt Disney (1901?1966), the U.S. pioneer of animated film cartoons. The "hippo ballerinas" to which Kingsolver refers appear in the animated classic film Fantasia (1940).
doohickey something whose name is unknown.
Eleanor refers to Eleanor Roosevelt (1884?1962), activist, humanitarian, and wife of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
flex short for flexible.
flotsam and jetsam a phrase used to describe objects either floating or washed ashore; an image of chaotic mess.
foisting deceitfully forcing someone to accept something.
Freeloader a person who imposes on another's hospitality without sharing in the responsibility or cost.
