A Christmas Memoryby Truman Capote

Vocabulary

Inaugurate

Inaugurate• to make a formal

beginning of; initiate; commence; begin

Inaugurate

Muse

Muse• to think or meditate in

silence, as on some subject.

Muse

Paraphernalia

Paraphernalia•equipment, apparatus, or

furnishing used in or necessary for a particular activity:

Paraphernalia

Ermine

Ermine• the lustrous, white, winter

fur of the ermine, often having fur from the animal's black tail tip inserted at intervals for contrast.

Ermine

Carnage

Carnage• the slaughter of a great

number of people, as in battle; butchery; massacre.

Carnage

festooned

festooned• a fabric suspended,

draped, and bound at intervals to form graceful loops or scalloped folds.

festooned

burnish

burnish• to polish (a surface) by

friction.

burnish

conspiracy

conspiracy• a combination of persons for a secret,

unlawful, or evil purpose: He joined the conspiracy to overthrow the government. • Law . an agreement by two or more

persons to commit a crime, fraud, or other wrongful act. • any concurrence in action; combination

in bringing about a given result.

conspiracy

noncommittal

noncommittal•not committing oneself, or

not involving committal, to a particular view, course, or the like

noncommittal

distemper

distemper• a deranged condition of

mind or body; a disorder or disease:

distemper

sacrilegious

sacrilegious•Violating something

sacred (not necessarily religious)

sacrilegious

It is sacrilegious to talk to a pitcher during a no hitter.

prosaic

prosaic• commonplace or dull;

matter-of-fact or unimaginative:

prosaic

rollick

rollick• to move or act in a

carefree, frolicsome manner; behave in a free, hearty, or jovial way.

rollick

potent

potent•powerful; mighty:

potent

cavort

cavort• to prance or caper about. • to behave in a high-

spirited, festive manner; make merry.

cavort

skinflint

skinflint

•Miser•Mean person

skinflint

decease

decease• the act of dying; departure

from life; death.

decease

reveille

reveille• a signal, as of a drum or

bugle, sounded early in the morning to awaken military personnel and to alert them for assembly. • a signal to arise.

reveille

rime

rime• an opaque coating of tiny,

white, granular ice particles, caused by the rapid freezing of super cooled water droplets on impact with an object

rime