1.
stave
: a stanza of a poem or song; here a section of Dickens’ “carol”
2.
‘Change : the Exchange, the place where merchants, brokers, and bankers conduct their business
3.
executor, administrator, assign, residuary legatee : legal terms used in a will.
Marley had left everything he owned to Scrooge, who handled all the business arrangements after Marley’s death.
4.
“came down” : slang for “made a gift or donation”
5.
comforter : a long scarf
6.
tacitly : without speaking
7.
beguiled : spent or whiled away
8.
lowering : dark and threatening
9.
fancy : imagination
10.
lumber room : storeroom
11.
hob : a small shelf at the back or side of a fireplace, used to keep a kettle or a saucepan warm
12.
cravat : a necktie, or a scarf resembling a necktie
13.
bowels : the intestines, which used to be regarded as the source of pity and mercy.
When people said Marley had no bowels, they meant that he was cruel.
14.
ages…developed
: In other words, heavenly spirits must work for countless years before the goodness that is possible in the world can come into being.
15.
of my procuring : that I got for you
16.
dull : gloomy
17.
organ of benevolence : the part of the head where the forehead meets the crown
18.
porter : dark brown beer
19.
forfeits : a game in which the players must forfeit, or give up, something if they lose
20.
negus : punch
21.
boiled : boiled beef
22.
“Sir Roger de Coverley” : a square-dance tune
23.
dowerless : without a dowry, the money and property that a woman formerly brought to her husband at marriage
24.
petrifaction : something petrified, or turning to stone. The hearth, or fireplace, is cold and hard because it has never known a generous fire.
25.
brawn : boar meat
26.
twelfth-cakes : fruitcakes made for Epiphany, or Twelfth Day, a holiday that occurs on January 6, twelve days after Christmas

27.
More…hundred
: Since this story was written in 1843, the Ghost of Christmas
Present would have more than eighteen hundred brothers.
28.
“bob” : slang for shilling, or shillings, a former British coin worth one twentieth of a pound
29.
twice-turned : remade twice so that worn parts would not show
30.
the baker’s : In the days when people of small means had fireplaces but no ovens, they would rent space in the local baker’s oven to roast poultry or large pieces of meat
31.
declension : sinking or falling off
32.
rampant : rearing up like a horse; here, high-spirited
33.
rallied Bob on his credulity : teased Bob for being so easily fooled by their joke
34.
ubiquitous : being everywhere at the same time
35.
ate : an alternate form of eaten, used in Great Britain
36.
livid : pale
37.
cloth : The pudding was wrapped in cloth and then boiled
38.
quartern : one fourth of a pint
39.
bedight : decorated
40.
Baleful : wretched
41.
tucker : a covering for the neck and shoulders, something like a large collar
42.
glee; catch : songs for three or more voices, unaccompanied by instruments
43.
feint : pretense
44.
precepts : rules of living
45.
offal : the waste parts of an animal that has been butchered for meat
46.
charwoman : a woman employed to clean a house or an office
47.
propitiation : ability to keep the peace
48.
“And he…them”
: a quotation from Mark 9:36
49.
Laocoon : a character in a Greek myth who was strangled by sea serpents
50.
transports : feelings of great joy
51.
poulterer’s
: shop where poultry is sold
52.
Walk-er!
: a slang word used to express disbelief, equivalent to “You’re kidding!”
53.
half a crown : a coin equal to one eighth of a pound
54.
blithe : cheerful
55.
farthing : a former British coin worth one quarter of a penny
56.
munificence : great generosity. Scrooge prevents the gentleman from finishing the word.
57.
unanimity : agreement
58.
strait waistcoat : a straitjacket
59.
bishop : a hot drink made of spiced port wine
60.
total-abstinence principle
: the giving up of “spirits” completely, usually alcoholic spirits, but here ghostly spirits