By the Waters of Babylon
Dialect Terms
GOD ROADS: Highways
OU-DIS-SUN: Hudson River
PLACE OF THE GODS: New York City
GREAT BURNING: nuclear war
BITTER WATER: Atlantic Ocean
HIGH TOWERS OF THE GODS: skyscrapers
STONES CARVED WITH MAGICAL NUMBERS OR WORDS: remains of statues
or signs
ENCHANTED BOXES: jars of food—canned, boxed, or frozen food
MIGHTY TEMPLE THAT GOES DOWN INTO GREAT CAVES AND TUNNELS:
Grand Central Station, leading to the city subway system
COVERINGS ON THE FLOOR: rugs
WASHING PLACE WITH NOT WATER: sink
A THING THAT SAYS “HOT” BUT IS NOT HOT TO TOUCH: hot-water faucet
COOKING PLACE WITH NO WOOD: stove
“STRONG MAGIC IN THINGS…BUT MAGIC WAS GONE”: electricity, gas,
running water
BRONZE DOOR WITHOUT A HANDLE IN HALLWAY: door of an elevator
CHARIOTS: cars
ASHING: George Washington (name on plaque was destroyed)
UBTREAS: perhaps the word “subtreasury”