Literature
Cliff has answered many Literature questions from other students who need a little help on their homework and tests. Browse this list of questions to find out if Cliff already has an answer for you. If not, return to the Ask Cliff page to ask your Literature question, keeping in mind, of course, that Cliff won't do your homework for you.
| 1. |
In House of Mirth, what are oubliettes? |
| 2. |
In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, what are thimble-riggers? |
| 3. |
In Wuthering Heights, what's a thible? |
| 4. |
Which Hemingway story references the "running of the bulls" in Spain? |
| 5. |
What's a clink? My dad mentioned that his granddad was there for a long time during World War I. |
| 6. |
If somebody is "toady," does it mean they're ugly? |
| 7. |
Who said "all's fair in love and war" and where? |
| 8. |
Why is there so much talk about baseball, especially Joe DiMaggio, in The Old Man and the Sea? |
| 9. |
In the movie Failure to Launch, there's a line that goes, "Well, she certainly is yar," in reference to a yacht. What's yar? |
| 10. |
What does mangle mean in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities? |
| 11. |
I got detention because a teacher said I was being contumacious. What's that? |
| 12. |
What are encomiums? |
| 13. |
What are billets in The Three Musketeers? |
| 14. |
What is doublethink? |
| 15. |
What are orts? That's a weird word that reminds me of orcs from The Lord of the Rings. |
| 16. |
How is John the Savage's name ironic in Brave New World? |
| 17. |
What's quinsy? |
| 18. |
What is a doppelgänger? |
| 19. |
What is New Historicism? |
| 20. |
I found the word unwonted in a book I'm reading. Is that a typo, you think? |
| 21. |
In Heart of Darkness, what does cipher mean? |
| 22. |
What's a colonnade? My girlfriend is freaking me out with stories of her dream wedding where she walks down a colonnade. I know this is the least of my problems, but I'm curious. |
| 23. |
My grandma says she knows how I feel when I knit my brows. Is she crazy? |
| 24. |
I know bier has something to do with dead people, but what is it exactly? |
| 25. |
My brainy brother owns a Harley and says his girlfriend is the pillion. Is he insulting her or just showing off? |
