Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
Soledad
a small town on the Salinas River
awready
already
Salinas River
this flows through Southern California, one of the
richest agricultural regions in the United States
gotta
got to
jus'
just
Gabilan Mountains
a small range of mountains overlooking Soledad
spen'
spend
'coons
racoons. A small, grey, furry animal, carnivorous
and related to the bear family
'em
them
Murray and Ready's
one of the projects in President Roosevelt's 'New
Deal' was the setting-up of agencies, such as
Murray and Ready's, which could direct
agricultural and other workers to areas where
there was employment
split-wedge
deer tracks are roughly triangular in shape, with a
split up what would be the base of the triangle
jungle-up
American slang, meaning to make camp or spend
the night somewhere
stilted heron
the heron is a large wading bird often found near
shallow water or streams. Its long legs can make it
appear as if it is walking on stilts, and it can appear
very cumbersome when it launches itself into flight
work cards
Their new employer would require to see evidence
that George and Lennie were the people he was
expecting from Murray and Ready's before he took
them on; work cards provided this evidence
pendula
rarely used plural of pendulum, meaning a heavy
weight on the end of a long piece of material that
causes it to swing backwards and forwards
musta
must have
outa
out of
gonna
going to
on'y
only
tha's
that's
pet it
stroke it, caress it
kinds
kind of
Weed
an inland town in California, on the border with
Oregon
oughta
ought to
that's swell
that's good, that's right
of rode clear
have ridden clear
fear ya
for fear that you
Jes' a little stretch
just a short distance
run us outa Weed
chased us out of Weed, drove us away
ya
you
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
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you on my tail
you following me around, dependent on me
I go nuts
I go mad
to-morra
tomorrow
burlap ticking
coarse cloth, probably
bedding on the bunk
thrashin' machines
machines which separate out the grain in a corn
crop
vials
glass jars or bottles
bucking grain bags
lifting and carrying heavy bags of grain,
roaches
cockroaches
bustin' a gut
working very hard
pants rabbits
lice, fleas
gi'me
give me
swamper
a cleaner; the word implies a menial or degrading
job
you ain't puttin' nothing over = you're not hiding anything from me, you are
not deceiving me
grey-backs
lice
sock you
hit you
bugs
lice
terrier
a small hunting dog
quit
left, dismissed himself
blubberin'
crying, in tears
ta
to
ever'
every
set
sat
bindle
a bundle of clothes and cooking utensils, made
portable by wrapping blankets round the outside
gimme my time
give me the money due to me for the hours I have
worked
bucks
American dollars
tick
mattress cover
cat-house
brothel
bindle
bundle of blankets
pool
a game similar to billiards, and played on the same
table, where balls have to be potted in a set order
burned
angry
stable buck
the negro ('buck') who looks after the stables
shoot pool
play pool
brang
brought
hot water
trouble
little skinner
the driver of a small mule team
canvas,
covering
the
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
3/
took after the nigger
took a dislike to the negro, and fought him
handy
a good fighter
poop
energy
the ring
the boxing ring
stetson
a large type of hat
take after
argue with
a bum steer
false or misleading information
scraps
fights
short two buckers
short of two loaders
punk
American slang for a worthless person
rassel grain-bags
load bags of grain
licks
beats, wins
put up
lift unaided
game
courageous, brave
what you sellin'?
what's your interest in this?
oughtta
ought to
buck
load
gang up on
join up together so as to outnumber and fight
someone
cesspool
a pit for solid sewage waste
slough
flapper
mouth
literally, to cast off or shed, but in this context
implying doing something unpleasant
nosey
over-interested in the affairs of other people
canned
sacked, dismissed
ast
ask
vaseline
set
sit
petroleum jelly, used as an ointment. The
implication is sexual: Curley is keeping his hand
soft for caressing his wife
awright
all right
Purty?
Pretty?
old man
slang for father
she got the eye
she is a flirt, she encourages men
s'pose
suppose
pants is full of ants
he is restless, ill-at-ease
jerkline skinner
the jerkline is a single rein that runs to the lead
animal in a team of mules or horses. A 'jerkline
skinner' is a driver who can control the team by
use of this one rein
what the hell's he got on his shoulder? = a reference to the phrase 'having a
chip on your shoulder', meaning to be full of
resentment and insecurity
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
4/
tart
a loose, flirtatious woman, a woman of low morals
two bits
a quarter, or twenty-five cents in American money
solitaire
a card game for one person, akin to the game of
patience
in the poke
saved up
pan gold
to wash through sand and soil in order to find gold
set-up
good environment
a pocket
a rich vein of gold
feelin' you out
testing you
the wheeler's butt
the flank of the lead animal, the rear quarter
sock
hit, punch
bright
intelligent, clever
tangles
picks a fight
slang
gave birth to
to plug himself up for a fighter = to get a good name for himself as a fighter,
to earn a reputation
in heat
ready for mating
trace
harness
horse-shoe game
let 'im have it
hit him very hard
a game where horseshoes are thrown at an upright
post set in the ground, with the object of encircling
it
mules
slippers without heels
would of
would have
bridled
reacted, showed she was aware of what was
happening
if it don't take no figuring = if it doesn't require any thought
she's sure hidin' it
an ironical remark. The girl is certainly not hiding
her good looks
string along
keep company together
cuckoo
a 'crazy' person, an idiot
the kind of girl who would get a man sent to
prison; someone who can only bring harm to a
man
fifty and found
fifty dollars a week, plus board and lodging
outa
out of
take the rap
take the blame
Auburn
a Californian town north-east of Sacramento
eatin' raw eggs
George thinks Curley may be having to take rather
extravagant measures to keep up his virility, in
order to satisfy his wife
couda
could have
people
family
jail-bait
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
5/
fence picket
a fence post
euchre
scairt
scared
without turning his hand = without doing any work
rabbits
either rushes in, or talks volubly; both meanings
are possible
roll up a stake
save up some money
looloo
scrammed
ran, fled
presumably derived from the name Lulu, and
meaning worth looking at, a loose woman
'um
him
yellajackets
wasps (insects which sting!)
jes'
just
all set on the trigger
poised to get somebody into trouble
slug
drink
idears
ideas
gut ache
stomach ache
two and a half
two and a half dollars
knowed
knew
shot
drink of whisky
pitch shoes
throw horseshoes
flop
sexual intercourse with one of the girls
Airedale
a rough-coated terrier, not normally associated
with shepherding
joint
place, establishment
kewpie doll lamp
pulp magazine
a 'trash' magazine printed on cheap, coarse, 'pulp'
a lamp with a doll of a young child or an infant as
its base
paper.
phonograph
gramophone
whing-ding
colloquial expression, signifying approval
clean
free from syphilis or venereal disease
dime
ten cents, the price of the magazine
getting burned
getting infected with venereal disease
books
he means magazines
bow-legged
a reference to people who have been infected with
venereal disease
Luger
a famous German make of pistol; it is this pistol
that George will steal in order to shoot Lennie
three bucks a crack
three dollars a time for sexual intercourse
tomorra
tomorrow
card game for two or four people
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
goo-goos
there are three possible meanings for this phrase. It
could mean 'do-gooders' or reformers, cheap
whores, or negroes
spoilin'
ready for, wanting a fight
Golden Gloves
an amateur boxing tournament, begun in 1928; the
winner was awarded a gold medal
set him back
6/
squack
no meaning as such; the sound of the word empha
sises the immediacy and certainty of the decision
ast
asked
yella as a frog belly
a coward
welter
welterweight, a weight in boxing
cost him
leggo
let go
hoosegow
prison, jail
candy-wagon
a trap or buggy; carriage used for transporting
people, and not for farm-work
San Quentin
one of the most notorious of American prisons,
situated in California
lit intil
attacked
alfalfa
lucerne, a crop grown for feeding cattle
hame
part of the collar of a horse or mule, through which
the reins pass
smoke-house
a room or building that could be filled with dense
smoke for the purpose of curing fish or meat
California civil code for 1905 = an out-dated book of laws
kin's
kinds of
dirty books
obscene, pornographic books
Jap cook
a Japanese cook; quite common at the time on
ranches, as they were relatively cheap labour, but
obviously not appreciated!
set
sit
crazy as a wedge
crazy, mad
does … litter
the female rabbits (does) would breed rapidly
nail-keg
a small barrel for holding nails and screws
flat bust
bankrupt, penniless
I ain't a southern negro
kick off
die
Southern
negroes
were
historically
and
traditionally more enslaved and subservient than
those in the north of the United States
on the county
on charity relief payments
blabbin'
telling other people
little chicken stuff
odd jobs, trivial tasks
screwy
mad, incomprehensible
swing her
persuade her, or get the job done
took a powder
went away
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
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booby hatch
lunatic asylum
doped out
worked out, thought out
rummy
a card game
fin's
finds
nuts
mad, insane
tenement
tournament
measure by
judge by
mutt
a mongrel
wun't
wouldn't
fulla
full of
do'
don't
movies
moving pictures, the cinema
blackjack
a card game
Hollywood
the centre of the American motion picture industry
ast
ask
previews
screenings of films before they are generally
available to the public
alla
all of the
a natural
actress, or star
two-by-four
small
made a ringer
threw the horseshoe on to the peg
baloney
rubbish
sof'
soft
bindle bums
travelling tramps
wisht
wish
pitchers
pictures, movies
muss it up
mess it up, make it untidy
som'pin
something
oughten'
ought not to
bindle stiffs
idiots, worthless people
usta
used to
dum-dum
idiot, half-wit
would of went
could have gone
floosy idears
wrong ideas. A floosy is a girl of loose morals
hern
heron
two shots of corn
two drinks of whisky
bull's-eye glasses
spectacles with almost white glass and a darker
centre
go along an' roll your hoop = go away and play childish games
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men : Vocabulary and Notes
gingham
dyed cotton or linen, with a simple check pattern
stew
the b'Jesus outa George make life difficult for George
jack you outa the sewer keep you out of trouble
fambly
family
snapped off the safety
released the safety-catch, so the gun was ready to
fire
eatin'
worrying
8/