cultural literacy 36 Flashcards
ponce
pansy; campily effeminate young man
biddable
docile, obedient
codpiece
(15th and 16th the crotch portion of a man’s tights or breeches; (obsl.) penis
corker
someone or something astonishing or excellent
totty
beautiful women collectively; an individual beautiful woman
“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. ”
Horatio making a pronouncement on Hamlet’s death at the end of Hamlet
Gammer Gurton’s Needle
a bufoonish comedy of the 16th century, authorship uncertain but often attributed to John Still
“getting a first”
achieving a First Class Honours Degree at a British University
First Class Honours Degree
the highest academic distinction you can receive on an undergraduate degree in the UK, typically requiring an average of 70% or higher across your studies; rough equivalent of graduating with honors in the U.S.
IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit company, the division of NY Subway system with numbered lines
Amiri Baraka
a.k.a. Leroi Jones, African-American poet
“They make a desert and call it peace.”
Tacitus on the militarism of empires
hustings
literally the spots from which speeches are made and so, by extension, the political campaign trail
pylon
tall post or tower holding up wires
in sb’s wheelhouse
in line with sb’s interests, sb’s cup of tea
Nakatomi Plaza
the fictional name given to the actual building 2121 Avenue of the Stars
Fox Plaza
former name of 2121 Avenue of the Stars
completionist
a video game player who attempts to do everything that is possible in a game
two administrative divisions in France below the level of entire nation
region, department
arondissement, canton, commune
three ways of dividing a department (in France) in different contexts
arondissement
governmental division of Department (in France)
canton
division of region (in France) for elections)
commune
historical divisions of France that do not cover all the territory
associated commune
in France, an administrative unit that allows for the maintenance of historically independent institutions within a commune
municipal arondissement
subdivision of a commune in big cities
SVR
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service
Cameo
an app that allows you to buy interaction with celebrities
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
actor who played McLovin in Superbad
Dua Lipa
Albanian-British singer
shmoo
mythical creature in Li’l Abner
Sadie Hawkins
character invented by Al Capp (for whom the “Sadie Hawkins” dance is named)
shmoo (economics)
in contrast to a “widget”, a material good that reproduces itself and is captured or bred as an economic activity
shmoo (biology)
hypothetical species whose individuals would be so poorly adapted as to falsify the theory of natural selection
Yeshivish
sociolect of English spoken by Yeshiva students
Pogo
comic strip by Walt Kelly set in Okefenokee Swamp
Bloom County
comic strip by Berkeley Breathed featuring the character Opus
Seymour Hersh
New Yorker investigative journalist who exposed the My Lai massacre and its cover-up
Bill the Cat
frazzled-looking cat in Bloom County
Montagnards
highland-dwelling ethnic group in Vietnam who helped the Americans
Audrey Meadows
actress portraying Alice on the TV show The Honeymooners
shadow banning
banning sb from Internet in such a way that they are unaware of being banned
“not worth the candle”
not worth the effort
to cosset
to pamper, coddle
Escobedo v. Illinois
1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that criminal suspects have a right to counsel during police interrogations
Mallory v. U.S.
1957 Supreme Court decision that forbade lengthy interrogations before arraignment (superseded by broader protections under the Miranda rules)
gut abgehangen
well-established (Ger.)
der Ableger
spinoff (Ger.)
“how the sausage is made”
an unsavory or murky process usually hidden from the public
FSB
Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
MI5
UK domestic intelligence agency (M, i, 5)
