Jezebels an allusion to the wicked Phoenician, Baal-worshipping wife of Ahab, Israel's king. At her instigation, state-ordered persecution cost the lives of prophets. Her power to subvert the worship of Israel's god with paganism ended in arrest and execution. Her body was devoured by dogs.
Kali a paradoxical Hindu goddess of creativity and destruction.
Krishna a light-hearted, sensual Hindu god connected with music and dance.
ladies in reduced circumstances a Victorian euphemism for poor women, who frequently had to live in boarding houses when they could find no suitable employment. Many of them ultimately resorted to prostitution, turning their rented chambers into brothels.
Late Victorian an architecture that reflects the staid, family-centered mindset of Queen Victoria's reign, which extended from 1837-1901. A heavy style, the Victorian touch runs to red brick, imposing, fortress-like facades, and an absence of beauty for its own sake.
Les Sylphides a popular ballet adapted in 1909 from music by Chopin and featuring a serene, plotless idyll of graceful, birdlike female beings and a single male dancer.
Libertheos a political force that captured Central America and cut off supplies of oranges to Gilead. The name elides the Latin for free with the Greek for god.
Lichchen German diminutive for darling.
Lilies of the Field a clothing store that takes its name from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:28.
Lily of the Valley In the Song of Solomon 2: 1, the chaste bride refers to herself as "rose of Sharon" and "lily of the valley." This seemingly erotic verse was allowed to remain in the canon works of the Bible after interpreters saw a parallel between Christ, the bridegroom, and his beloved, the Church. In gospel lyrics, the genders are reversed so that Christ becomes the "lily of the valley, the bright and morning star, the fairest of ten thousand."
Loaves and Fishes a food store named for Christ's miracle described in Matthew 14:17 of expanding five loaves and two fish to feed a multitude of hungry people.
