Key Vocabulary Flashcards
What does the term ‘fin-de-siècle’ refer to?
Characteristic of the end of a century, especially the 19th
Define ‘façade’.
A deceptive outward appearance; a false display
What is a ‘flâneur’?
A man who saunters around observing society
What is a ‘penny dreadful’?
A cheap, sensational comic or storybook
Popular in Victorian England
What does ‘primitive’ mean
Relating to the early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something
Define ‘protégé’.
A person who is guided by someone more influential
The relationship often implies mentorship.
What is ‘repression’?
The act or thought of suppressing a thought or idea
What does ‘sawbones’ refer to?
A physician, especially a surgeon
A colloquial term
Define ‘transcendental’.
Refers to things that lie in the spiritual, non-physical world, beyond practical experience
What is a ‘troglodyte’?
A pre-historic cave dweller; a cave man
Who is considered a ‘Victorian’?
A person who lived during the reign of Queen Victoria
Define ‘apocryphal’
of doubtful authenticity - false, untrue.
Define ‘atavist’
an organism which has the characteristics of something more primitive
Define ‘balderdash’
nonsense, rubbish, claptrap, bull
Define ‘blasphemy’
the act of speaking against God
Define ‘bravos’
people hired to commit crimes
Define ‘cronies’
familiar friends or close acquaintances
Define ‘Darwinism’
the theory of evolution of natural species - Darwin
Define ‘decedance’
moral or cultural decline
Define ‘dichotomy’
a difference between two contrasting ideas or things
Define ‘duality’
the quality or condition of being two-fold
Define ‘ethical’
displaying the principles of right & wrong; honest
