didion vocab

Question 1

Litotes

Answer 1

A statement that ironically conveys the opposite of what is directly stated; must contain 1) understatement and 2) negation. Often contains extremes (most, best, sharpest, etc.)

“He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

“It’s not exactly a Picasso.” Depends on context- not litotes if meant seriously, but litotes if it means the art isn’t very good

“It’s edible” - NOT litotes because there is no negation -> “It’s not inedible”

Question 2

Litany

Answer 2

A series of petitions in church, or a long and tedious recitation

Question 3

Pejorative

Answer 3

Expressing disapproval or contempt; derogatory or slanderous

Question 4

Perfunctory

Answer 4

To describe a cursory / societally obligatory action that one doesn’t think about or seem particularly excited about

He gave a perfunctory nod and continued walking.

Question 5

Mendacious

Answer 5

Untruthful, dishonest

Question 6

Ad hoc

Answer 6

Latin phrase that means “as needed”

I made the decisions on an ad hoc basis.

Question 7

Ipso facto

Answer 7

“By that very act” or “inevitably, as a result”

By stooping down to the level of those who wronged you, you have, ipso facto, made yourself just as bad at them.

Question 8

Agitprop

Answer 8

Combination of agitation + propaganda; political propaganda (often with communist ideas) conveyed through drama, art, theater, etc.

The agitprop irked me for the blatant political ideology forced onto the audience. The creators clearly had intentions to influence people to vote one way over another.

Question 9

Allusion 1

Answer 9

"’… those Midwestern voices drawn to this lunar country for some unimaginable atavistic rites, rocks of ages cleft for me, I think I would lose my own reason … What does it mean? It means nothing manageable” (109).

Question 10

Allusion 2

Answer 10

“‘I did what I thought was right.’ How many madmen have said it and meant it? … Alfred Rosenberg said it” (109). Rosenberg was a Nazi government official who aided Hitler’s actions during the Holocaust.

Question 11

Allusion 3

Answer 11

“At least some of the time, the world appears to me as a painting by Hieronymus Bosch” (109). Bosch was a fifteenth- and sixteenth-century painter who depicted religious and often disturbing scenes, such as those of demons, hell, and sin.