ADAM SMITH
One of Thomas Gradgrind's younger sons, named after the British economist whose doctrine of laissez-faire Dickens felt resulted in many of the abuses of the Industrial Revolution.
ALDERNY
A breed of dairy cattle.
BEADLE
In the Anglican church, a parish official who keeps order during the services, waits on the clergyman, etc.
BLUEBEARD
A fictional character known for having several wives, all of whom he murdered.
BRUTUS
A Roman politician; one of the men who assassinated Julius Caesar.
CARTER
A country bumpkin; Tom Gradgrind's disguise when he attempts to flee the country.
CENTAUR
A mythical beast with the head, trunk, and arms of a man and the body and legs of a horse.
CHANDLER
Someone who sells trinkets door-to-door; also, one who makes candles.
COCKER, EDWIN
Famous British mathematician whose accuracy was so respected that the phrase "according to Cocker" came to mean "according to fact."
DOCTORS COMMONS
The law courts that specialized in divorce cases in nineteenth- century England.
EQUESTRIAN
Pertaining to horses or horsemanship.
FAIRY PALACES
Dickens's ironic name for the Coketown factories, given because they resemble glittering palaces when seen from a speeding train.
GAMING
Gambling.
GORGON
A hideous woman. In Greek mythology, a Gorgon was a woman with serpents growing from her head.
GRACES
Three goddesses associated with the enjoyment of life.
"HANDS"
Collective name for Coketown factory employees.
HEY-GO-MAD
Very excited.
HORSE-RIDING
A traveling circus specializing in horse acts.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
The lower house of British Parliament, whose representatives are elected.
HOUSE OF LORDS
The upper, nonelective House of Parliament.
LIGHT PORTER
Messenger; Bitzer's job at Bounderby's bank.
LORD CHESTERFIELD
Philip Dormer Stanhope, the fourth earl of Chesterfield (1694- 1773); famous for his letters to his son, which are full of advice about education, breeding, and morals.
LORD HARRY
The devil.
MALTHUS
British mathematician whose theories on population Dickens found objectionable and dangerous; also, the name given to one of Gradgrind's younger sons.
MERRYLEGS
Mr. Jupe's dog, seen as a symbol of eternal loyalty.
MISANTHROPE
A person who hates mankind.
MORGIANA
Ali Baba's servant in the Arabian Nights tales; her techniques are compared to those of M'Choakumchild.
MORRIS
To run away.
OGRE
A monster in fairy tales and fables, usually represented as a hideous giant.
OLD HELL SHAFT
The name of the abandoned mine shaft into which Stephen Blackpool falls.
PARLIAMENTARY
A train that provided the cheapest way of travel; the means Mrs. Pegler uses to get from her home to Coketown.
PEGASUS
A mythical flying horse.
PHYSIC
A medicine that purges; a laxative.
PLAY OLD GOOSEBERRY
To play havoc; said of Mrs. Blackpool.
PORTICO
A structure consisting of a roof supported by columns, usually attached to a building as a porch.
POSTILION
A person who rides the horse on the left of the leading pair when four or more horses are used to draw a carriage.
PROFESSOR OWEN
Sir Richard Owen, a well-known expert on comparative anatomy.
PUBLIC HOUSE
A tavern with rooms for renting.
PUGILIST
A person who fights with his fists, usually professionally.
ROBINSON CRUSOE
Hero of Daniel Defoe's famous novel, written in 1719; tells of a shipwrecked man who creates his own civilization on a deserted island.
SENT TO COVENTRY
Shunned, rejected; said of Stephen Blackpool when he refuses to join the union.
SLOUGH OF DESPOND
An allegorical state of deep despair, from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (1678).
SPARTAN
Of or pertaining to the people of Sparta, a city of ancient Greece; Spartans were known for their discipline and bravery in the face of danger.
STONE LODGE
The Gradgrind family home.
STROLLER
An itinerant performer.
SWEETBREADS
The pancreas of a calf or lamb, considered a delicacy to eat.
TOWER OF BABEL
A tower erected in the ancient city of Babel whose purpose was to reach God; the result was a confusion of languages.
VENUS
Roman goddess of love and beauty.
VIANDS
An article of food, usually one considered a delicacy.
VICTUALS
Food supplies; provisions.
WHELP
The offspring of an animal; Dickens's term for Tom Gradgrind, Jr.
WINDLASS
A device used for hoisting; usually having a horizontal dram on which a rope attached to the load is wound.
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