1. plutonomy — study of the creation and distribution of wealth, political economy; society in which wealth and consumption is controlled by very few members
But in the world within the strange grasp of the modern dark plutonomy, Micawber’s dictum that happiness results when expenditures are less than income seems no longer to apply.
2. slype — [architecture] covered passageway, esp. from chapter house to a cathedral’s transept
Cold drops of water interrupted Brother Marian’s meditations as he walked beneath a hole in the roof of the slype leading from the cloister to the cemetery.
3. slipe — to peel, to strip away an outer covering
These early wagon trails were marked by having notches sliped into the trees on either side, the origin of such routes as Three Notch Road.
4. asafetida — stinky gum used in cooking, derived from plant of the same name
Though asafetida smells so like sulphur that it is called the ‘devil’s dung’, when used in cooking the odor is smoothly reminiscent of onions.
5. devocate — to call down
The sorcerer thinks he can devocate the angels or even the highest power in heaven, but it is rather the very soul of the would-be wizard which is brought down into the power of the foul spirits of hell itself.
6. belvedere — [architecture] raised turret, or open-side gallery for viewing the surrounding vista, either atop a house or standing alone on a prominence
But the captain was unapproachable in the tall belvedere perched aft, both ladders guarded by sailors who politely, but firmly, told us both that these realms were off-limits to mere passengers.
7. nautch — sensuous dance of South Asia; professional dancing-girl who performs such dance
Seduced by the curves and convulsions of the nautch, Perry forgot all about his promise to the distant Beatrice.
8. missal — book detailing service of mass for a year; prayer-book
Tucked within the pages of her childhood missal was a notice of funeral services for the young father Lucien, the only evidence remaining of her elder brother.
9. anaphora — [rhetoric] repetition of initial word or phrase in successive clauses; [grammar] substitution of earlier word in sentence with a different word
The powerful anaphora in Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech where he hammers home that “Now is the time…” four times in quick succession is all the more poignant when we reflect on the fact that that ‘now’ was almost sixty years ago.
10. henotheism — worship of single god without disbelief in other deities
At this late time and after all the elisions and accretions of prejudiced history it is impossible to judge whether the original religion of ancient Peru was a typical henotheism centered around sun worship or whether, as Christoval de Molina asserts, it was a monotheistic belief which saw all other ‘powers’ as merely creations of the one Creator.
Bonus Vocabulary
(British military idiom)
stellenbosch — to be set aside, to be shifted sideways (from Boer War, when poor officers were sent to the Western Cape town of the same name to look after horses, without losing rank)
“Well, that’s it,” the chief inspector told me, as he packed his pipe full of the awful rag he preferred, “I’ve been stellenbosched. I suppose arresting Lord Harry was the final straw.”