cultural literacy 39 Flashcards
pi x r^2
formula for calculating area of circle
folderol
nonsense
conker
the hollowed-out shell of a horse chestnut used in a children’s game called “conkers” (Britain)
Fenchurch Street
street in the City of London
20 Fenchurch Street
London skyscraper on Fenchurch Street and nicknamed “The Walkie-Talkie” for its appearance
to gull
to deceive, trick, cheat
Lammas
Christian holiday celebrated on August 1 in England and Canada celebrating first fruits of the harvest
Leamington Spa
spa town in Warwickshire
The Jew of Malta
Christopher Marlowe play
radian
standard unit of angular measure equivalent to the angle covered on the circumference of a circle when the length of the radius is made into an arc of that circle
William “Boss” Tweed
Tammany Hall boss in N.Y. in the 1870’s, sent to jail by Samuel Tilden
Samuel Tilden
Democratic candidate for president in 1876
“waving the bloody shirt”
post-Civil War political accusation (bringing up the past for political purposees)
Minnesota North Stars
former Minnesota NHL team that left in 1993 and became the Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
NHL team in Minnesota
dribble glass
prank glass with holes to make the drink spill on the person drinking from it
The Gold Diggers
showgirl-type musical group of the 60s and 70s
balloon juice
“hot air” (metaphorical)
goalie, midfielder, attacking midfielder, defense
4 soccer positions
Jujube
(pron. “joo joob”) a gummy type of candy drop
jujube
a type of tree also called the “Chinese jujube”
Nancy
comic strip by Ernie Bushmiller
Sluggo
Nancy’s friend in the comic strip Nancy
Erbschleicherin
gold digger (Ger.)
der Kittel, -
labcoat (Ger.)
der Uhu, -s
eagle owl
Tails
Linux privacy OS
contumacious
stubbornly rebellious, willfully disobedient
Qubes
Linux OS that works on the basis of self-contained domains
tony
high-toned, stylish
Rosow Report
report written by Nixon’s assistant containing recommendations for using culture to exploit white working class alienation and turn them to the Republican party
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
1946 Dr. Benjamin Spock book
Neil Sheehan
NYT reporter who published the Pentagon Papers
The Coven
1971 by David St. John about a senator (meant to portray Edward Kennedy) and his wife, devil-worshippers who commit murder
E. Howard Hunt (as author)
actual identity of pseudonym David St. John
Attica
site of 1971 prison riot
“shoo-in”
(not “shoe in”) a sure thing
The Front
1976 political movie about Hollywood blacklisting, starring Woody Allen, written by Walter Bernstein
Zamboni (as brand name)
genericized trademark for ice resurfacer
mens rea
mental state or guilty mind, required for conviction of a crime