Danger in the Dark Glossary

Stories from the Golden Age reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.

alabaster: an almost transparent white stone, often used for making decorative objects.

banca: a boat used in the Philippines, made from a single log and furnished with an outrigger.

bime-by: by and by; eventually.

bows: the exterior of the forward end of a vessel.

bridge lamp: a traditional floor lamp having a classic design with a pleated shade that diffuses the light.

buck up: gain courage.

Chamorro: a people inhabiting the Mariana Islands; also the language of these people.

copra: the dried kernel or meat of the coconut from which coconut oil is obtained.

counsel, kept his own: kept his own thoughts and intentions secret.

culverts: tunnels that carry a stream or open drain under a road.

dementia praecox: schizophrenia.

Department of Commerce: the department of the US federal government that promotes and administers domestic and foreign commerce.

djellaba: a loose-hooded cloak of a kind traditionally worn by Arabs.

droll: amusing in a strange or quaint way.

dugout: a boat made by hollowing out a log.

gugus: natives of the Philippines.

hafa: (Chamorro) hello.

hearkened: listened attentively; heeded.

howitzers: cannons that have comparatively short barrels, used especially for firing shells at a high angle of elevation for a short range, as for reaching a target behind cover or in a trench.

Joblike: of or like Job, the central figure in a parable (story designed to teach a religious principle or moral lesson) from the Bible. Job is a man who is blameless and honorable. He feared God and turned away from evil. Despite losing his possessions, sons and health, he does not lose his faith in God.

Kaisan Isle: one of the Mariana Islands, approximately 1,500 miles (2,414 km) southeast of the Philippines.

lettered streets: streets that are oriented east to west and use a single letter of the alphabet; for example, “A Street.”

longboat: a large boat that may be launched from a sailing ship.

long house: a type of long, narrow, single-roomed building that served as a communal dwelling.

lugger: a small boat used for fishing or sailing and having two or three masts, each with a four-sided sail.

Luzon: the chief island of the Philippines.

magnesium flare: a flare made of a light, silver-white, metallic element that burns with a dazzling white light.

magneto: a small electric generator containing a permanent magnet and used to provide high-voltage current.

mestiza: a woman of mixed native and foreign ancestry.

muezzin: a man who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret (a slender tower with a balcony) of a mosque.

parabola: a type of curve made by an object that is thrown up in the air and falls to the ground in a different place.

pitch: a line of talk designed to persuade.

plucking up: summoning up one’s courage or rousing one’s spirits.

potion: a drink.

protocol: the code of international courtesy governing the conduct of those in the diplomatic service or otherwise engaged in international relations. Within the State Department, the Office of the Chief of Protocol is responsible for advising the president, vice president and secretary of state on matters of national and international diplomatic protocol.

prow: the fore part of a ship or boat, sometimes used to refer to the ship itself.

put in: to enter a port or harbor, especially for shelter, repairs or provisions.

Red Plague: smallpox.

Robber Islands: a former name for the Mariana Islands, a group of islands east of the Philippines. They were so named by the Spanish explorer who discovered the islands, when the natives robbed his ships.

sandbox: a primitive sort of spittoon, consisting of a wooden box filled with sand.

sarong: garment consisting of a long piece of cloth worn wrapped around the body and tucked under the armpits.

scarf: a long, narrow covering for a table, bureau top, etc.

spraddled: spread apart.

straw: something with too little substance to provide support in a crisis.

Tiger Rag: a lively tune that gained national popularity after being recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917. Hundreds of recordings of the tune appeared following this and through the 1920s. With the coming of sound film, it often appeared on soundtracks of both live action movies and animated cartoons when something very energetic was wanted.

topee: a lightweight hat worn in tropical countries for protection from the sun.

trade winds: any of the nearly constant easterly winds that dominate most of the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, blowing mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.

tramp: a freight vessel that does not run regularly between fixed ports, but takes a cargo wherever shippers desire.

truck with, had no: had no dealings or associations with.

varmint: an objectionable or undesirable animal, usually predatory, as a coyote or bobcat.

what for: a punishment or scolding.

witch doctor: a person who is believed to heal through magical powers.

White Nile: the part of the Nile that flows northeast to Sudan and is approximately five hundred miles long.

Yank: Yankee; term used to refer to Americans in general.