The Big Oyster 3

Question 1

zinc

Answer 1

the chemical element of atomic number 30, a silvery-white metal that is a constituent of brass and is used for coating (galvanizing) iron and steel to protect against corrosion.

“in modern times it has been found that oysters are rich in zinc, one of the building blocks of testosterone.” (160)

MD - zINC - INCreases the chances that iron and steel will last

Question 2

Venus

Answer 2

A goddess, worshiped as the goddess of love in classical Rome though apparently a spirit of kitchen gardens in earlier times. Greek equivalent Aphrodite.

“…with a voluptuous picture of a naked Venus-perhaps the more seductive from being exquisitely painted.” (160)

MD - It is believed Venus was named for the most beautiful of the ancient gods because it shone the brightest of the five planets known to ancient astronomers. It is believed

Question 3

inlet

Answer 3

n. a small arm of the sea, a lake, or a river.

“Chincoteague is an island village on an Atlantic inlet just south of the Maryland state line.”

MD - Long Island Sound is an inlet, a sound is a large ocean or sea inlet.

Question 4

mace

Answer 4

n. the reddish fleshy outer covering of the nutmeg, dried as a spice.

MD - Mase sported a Christmas sweater and requested nutmeg sprinkled on his ramos gin fiz.

Question 5

burly

Answer 5

adj. large and strong; heavily built.

“on the lower deck, seated in a row on three-legged stools, sat shuckers, usually tough, burly men.”

MD - burly men ride harley’s

Question 6

barge

Answer 6

n. a flat-bottomed boat for carrying freight, typically on canals and rivers, either under its own power or towed by another

“By the midcentury, oyster dealers were having barges built, sometimes called arks or scos. The first had small decks, only twelve feet by thirty feet.” (173)

• MD

Question 7

Liverpool

Answer 7

a city and seaport in northwestern England, on the eastern side of the mouth of the Mersey River

“In 1850, the S.S. Atlatnic of the New York & Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company broke the record of its competitor, Cunard’s Royal Steam Packet Company, by crossing from Liverpool to New York in ten days sixteen hours.” (208)

MD - ‘Liuerpul’, possibly meaning a pool or creek with muddy water, though other origins of the name have been suggested.

Question 8

robber baron

Answer 8

n. a wealthy person who tries to get land, businesses, or more money in a way that is dishonest or wrong

“The late nineteenth century was sometimes called the Gilded Age, the age of robber barons who ruthlessly amassed fortunes building banks, railroads, steel and other industry without fari practice regulations, a unionized labor force or a fair share of the tax burden.” (233)

MD - a baron who practically robs

Question 9

sinew

Answer 9

noun
a piece of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone; a tendon or ligament.

“The great middle class, which constitutes the bone and sinew of the social structure, have been squeezed out, as it were, by the continualy increasing pressure of the burden of the cost of living in the city.” (233)

MD - Native Americans used sinews to fasten points on arrows. Sinews were an effective material because they were tough and would also shrink when dried.

Question 10

epoch

Answer 10

noun
a period of time in history or a person’s life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics: the Victorian epoch.

“Julian Street, a popular journalist of the epoch, wrote an article for Everybody’s Magazine title “Lobster Palace Society” in which he compared the people of standing and the people without it.”

MD - Wade Killefer’s reckless epoch started in high school and lasted till he married Barbara.

Question 11

elephantine

Answer 11

adjective
of, resembling, or characteristic of an elephant or elephants, esp. in being large, clumsy, or awkward:

MD -

Question 12

bushel

Answer 12

a measure of capacity equal to 64 US pints (equivalent to 35.2 liters), used for dry goods.

MD - a bushel is 128 cups!!! bushes are dry

Question 13

pint

Answer 13

a unit of liquid or dry capacity equal to one half of a quart.
• Brit. informal a pint of beer.

MD. a pint = 2 cups

Question 14

quart

Answer 14

noun
1 a unit of liquid capacity equal to a quarter of a gallon or two pints, equivalent in the US to approximately 0.94 liter and in Britain to approximately 1.13 liters.

MD - quarter of a gallon

Question 15

gallon

Answer 15

noun
1 a unit of volume for liquid measure equal to four quarts, in particular

MD - 4 quarts, 8 pints, 16 cups