English
Vocabulary Study
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Note: The words in each section are listed in alphabetical order. The words, definitions, and
quotations are presented in the order in which they appear in the Holt Paperbacks edition, New
York: 2008.
List 1
autonomous
desolation
mélange
mephitic
neophyte
penury
putative
servile
solipsism
sumptuous
1. sumptuous (suhmp-choo-uhs) adj. luxuriously fine or large; lavish; splendid
derivatives: sumptuously, sumptuousness
“The idea that led to this book arose in comparatively sumptuous circumstances” (1).
2. neophyte (nee-uh-fahyt) n. a beginner or novice
derivatives: neophytic
“I meant someone much younger than myself, some hungry neophyte journalist with
time on her hands” (1-2).
3. autonomous (aw-ton-uh-muhs) adj. self-governing, independent, not subject to control
from outside
derivatives: autonomously
“[I]t was close enough, in any case, to make me treasure the gloriously autonomous, if
not always well-paid, writing life” (2).
4. penury (pen-yuh-ree) n. extreme poverty; destitution
derivatives: penurious, penuriously
“Ideally, at least if I were seeking to replicate the experience of a woman entering the
workforce from welfare, I would have had a couple of children in tow, but mine are
grown and no one was willing to lend me theirs for a monthlong vacation in penury” (7).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
5. solipsism (sol-ip-siz-uhm) n. extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one’s
feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption; narcissism
derivatives: solipsismal, solipsist, solipsistic
“It strikes me, in my middle-class solipsism, that there is gross improvidence in some of
these arrangements” (26).
6. mélange (mey-lahnj) n. a mixture or medley
derivatives: mélanges
“Almost everyone smokes as if their pulmonary well-being depended on it—the
multinational mélange of cooks; the dishwashers, who are all Czechs here; the servers,
who are American natives—creating an atmosphere in which oxygen is only an
occasional pollutant” (30).
7. desolation (des-uh-ley-shuhn) n. devastation; ruin; dreariness; barrenness
derivatives: none
“But desolation rules night and day, except for a thin stream of pedestrians heading for
their jobs at the Sheraton or the 7-Eleven” (39-40).
8. servile (sur-vil, -vahyl) adj. slavishly submissive or obsequious; fawning
derivatives: servilely, servility
“On the contrary, something new—something loathsome and servile—had infected me,
along with the kitchen odors that I could still sniff on my bra when I finally undressed at
night” (41).
9. mephitic (muh-fit-ik) adj. noxious; pestilential; poisonous; offensive smelling
derivatives: mephitically
“At eight, Ellen and I grab a snack together standing at the mephitic end of the kitchen
counter, but I can only manage two or three mozzarella sticks, and lunch had been a mere
handful of McNuggets” (46).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. putative (pyoo-tuh-tiv) adj. commonly regarded as such; reputed; supposed
derivatives: putatively
“Another putative plus: he keeps down the number of children in the place, and the ones
that he gets don’t make any trouble, you can take his word for that” (56).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 2
austere
callow
craven
glossolalia
opine
postprandial
presumptive
sentient
soteriological
subordination
1. opine (oh-pahyn) v. to hold or express an opinion
derivatives: opines, opined, opining
“Among the propositions I am asked to opine about are, ‘Some people work better when
they’re a little bit high,’ . . . and, bafflingly, ‘Marijuana is the same as a drink’” (58-59).
2. subordination (suh-bawr-dn-ey-shuhn) n. the act of placing in a lower rank or position,
or of making dependent, secondary, or subservient, or the condition of being so
derivatives: subordinacy, suborned
“What these tests tell employers about potential employees is hard to imagine, since the
‘right’ answers should be obvious to anyone who has ever encountered the principle of
hierarchy and subordination” (59).
3. postprandial (pohst-pran-dee-uhl) adj. after a meal, especially after dinner
derivatives: postprandially
“I’ve been washing dishes since I was six years old, when my mother assigned me that
task so she could enjoy her postprandial cigarette in a timely fashion” (63).
4. craven (krey-vuhn) adj. cowardly; pusillanimous
derivatives: also a noun, cravenly, cravenness
“[A]nd partly, I admit, because of a craven desire to recruit Pete as an ally, on whatever
terms should present themselves” (64).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
5. presumptive (pri-zuhmp-tiv) adj. regarded as such by assuming something is true;
based on inference
derivatives: presumptively, presumptiveness
“And this touches me, somehow, even more than the presumptive lie about his assets”
(65).
6. sentient (sen-shuhnt) adj. having the power of perception by the sense; conscious
derivatives: sentiently, sentience
“Surprisingly, a number of the more sentient residents seem to recognize me at the lunch
service” (65-66).
7. glossolalia (glos-uh-ley-lee-uh, glaw-suh) n. incomprehensible speech in an imaginary or
otherwise unknown language, sometimes occurring in a trance state, an episode of
religious ecstasy, or schizophrenia
derivatives: glossolalist
“There are a few genuine adepts present who throw themselves rapturously into the
music, eyes shut, arms upraised, waiting, no doubt, for the onset of glossolalia” (67).
8. soteriological (soh-teer-ee-uh-law-jih-kuhl) adj. having to do with the theological
doctrine of salvation as effected by Jesus specifically or salvation generally
derivatives: soteriology, soteriologic
“In which case, it can’t possibly matter whether demented diabetics eat cupcakes or not,
because from a purely soteriological standpoint, they’re already dead” (68).
9. callow (kal-oh) adj. immature or inexperienced
derivatives: callowness
“Prophetically enough, I caught a rerun of that very show on PBS over the weekend and
was struck by how terribly correct the servants looked in their black-and-white uniforms
and how much wiser they were than their callow, egotistical masters” (70-71).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. austere (aw-steer) adj. without excess, luxury, or ease; simple; limited; severe
derivatives: austerity, austerely, austereness
“I like Dusting best, for its undeniable logic and a certain kind of austere beauty” (73).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 3
comportment
emissaries
encomiums
fecklessness
histrionic
insurrection
malcontents
penitent
petulant
prurient
1. petulant (pech-uh-luhnt) adj. moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation,
especially over some trifling annoyance
derivatives: petulantly, petulance
“What about my petulant and much-pampered lower back?” (74).
2. comportment (kuhm-pawrt-muhnt, -pohrt-) n. personal bearing or conduct; demeanor;
behavior
derivatives: none
“In the prison movies that provide me with a mental guide to comportment, the new guy
doesn’t go around shaking hands and asking, ‘Hi there, what are you in for?’” (78).
3. prurient (proor-ee-uhnt) adj. having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or
lustful thoughts, desires, etc.
derivatives: prurience, pruriency, pruriently
“I had thought in my middle-class innocence that knee pads were one of Monica
Lewinsky’s prurient fantasies, but no, they actually exist, and they’re usually a standard
part of our equipment” (84).
4. penitent (pen-i-tuhnt) n. a person who is feeling or expressing sorrow for sin or
wrongdoing and disposed to atonement and amendment, who is repentant or contrite
derivatives: penitents
“So here I am on my knees, working my way around the room like some fanatical
penitent crawling through the stations of the cross” (84).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
5. insurrection (in-suh-rek-shuhn) n. an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or
resistance against civil authority or an established government
derivatives: insurrections, insurrectional, insurrectionally, insurrectionism, insurrectionist
“I have gotten through a week at The Maids without mishap, injury, or insurrection”
(85).
6. emissaries (em-uh-ser-eez) n. a representative sent on a mission or errand
derivatives: emissary
“The musicians wink and smile at each other as they play, and I see then that they are the
secret emissaries of a worldwide lower-class conspiracy to snatch the joy out of
degradation and filth” (86).
7. fecklessness (fek-lis-nis) n. ineffective; incompetent; futile; having no sense of
responsibility, indifferent, or lazy
derivatives: feckless, fecklessly
“This is not, for us, an occasion for joy like a snow day for the grade-school crowd,
because Ted blames us for his customers’ fecklessness” (86).
8. histrionic (his-tree-on-ik) adj. deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly
dramatic, in behavior or speech
derivatives: histrionically
“Not that I, even in my more histrionic moments, imagine that I am a member of the
oppressed working class” (90).
9. encomiums (en-koh-mee-uhmz) n. a formal expression of high praise
derivatives: encomium
“I encounter a shelf full of arrogant and, under the circumstances, personally insulting
neoconservative encomiums to the status quo and consider using germ warfare against
the owners” (109).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. malcontents (mal-kuhn-tent) n. a person who is chronically discontented or dissatisfied
derivatives: malcontentedly, malcontentedness
“See, he’s got some great gals, like Holly and Liza, but there’s a certain number of
malcontents and he just wishes they’d stop their complaining” (115).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 4
aphasic
baleful
contrition
covert
denunciations
evince
officious
pariah
prevarications
unctuous
1. pariah (puh-rahy-uh) n. an outcast or any person that is generally despised or avoided
derivatives: pariahdom, pariahism
“Or maybe it’s low-wage work in general that has the effect of making you feel like a
pariah” (117).
2. evince (ih-vins) v. to show clearly; make evident or manifest; prove or demonstrate
derivatives: evinces, evincing, evinced, evincible
“Equally draining is the effort to look both perky and compliant at the same time, for half
an hour or more at a stretch, because while you need to evince ‘initiative,’ you don’t want
to come across as someone who might initiate something like a union organizing drive”
(127).
3. contrition (kuhn-trish-uhn) n. sincere penitence or remorse
derivatives: contrite
“In a spirit of contrition for multiple sins, I decide to devote the weekend to detox”
(128).
4. baleful (beyl-fuhl) adj. full of menacing or malign influences; pernicious
derivatives: balefully, balefulness
“But on Tuesday, when the post-Memorial Day week begins, my life seems real enough
again in a gray and baleful way” (134).
5. denunciation (dih-nuhn-see-ey-shuhn, -shee-) n. an act or instance of public censure,
condemnation, or accusation
derivatives: denunciations, denounce
“With each fresh denunciation of Cory, the studio audience applauds more excitedly”
(134).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
6. officious (uh-fish-uhs) adj. objectionably aggressive in offering one’s unrequested and
unwanted services, help, or advice; meddlesome
derivatives: officiously, officiousness
“Finally, after forty minutes, I am called out of the waiting room by an officious woman
in blue scrubs” (135).
7. prevarication (pri-var-i-key-shuhn) n. the act of lying or a lie itself
derivatives: prevaricate, prevaricator
“The ad is for ‘customer service’ work, a type of job I tend to avoid because it normally
involves a resume, which in turn would involve levels of prevarication I am not
prepared to attempt” (136).
8. unctuous (uhngk-choo-uhs) adj. characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic
fervor, especially in an affected manner; excessively smooth, suave, or smug; having an
oily feel or texture
derivatives: unctuously, unctuousness
“In fact, compared with Wal-Mart’s unctuous service ethic, Todd’s emphasis on the
bottom line is positively refreshing” (137).
9. aphasic (uh-fey-zik) adj. pertaining to aphasia, which is the loss of a previously held
ability to speak or understand spoken or written language due to disease or injury of the
brain
derivatives: none
“The shelves of plumbing equipment, and there seem to be acres of them, contain not a
single item I can name, which gives me an idea of what it feels like to be aphasic” (142).
10. covert (koh-vert, kuhv-ert) adj. concealed, secret, or disguised
derivatives: covertly, covertness
“The theme of covert tensions, overcome by right thinking and positive attitude,
continues in the twelve-minute video entitled You’ve Picked a Great Place to Work”
(144).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 5
excoriated
extortionists
extraneous
inculcate
modicum
obeisance
pensive
sinuous
solidarity
supplicant
1. extortionists (ik-stawr-shuh-nists) n. a person who engages in wresting or wringing
money, information, etc., from a person by violence, intimidation, abuse of authority, or
other underhanded, illegal, or dishonorable means
derivatives: extortionist, extortion, extort, extorter
“You have to wonder . . . why such fiends as these union organizers, such outright
extortionists, are allowed to roam free in the land” (145).
2. supplicant (suhp-li-kuhnt) n. a person who entreats, petitions, or begs humbly
derivatives: supplicants
“[T]he person who has precious labor to sell can be made to feel one down, way down,
like a supplicant with her hand stretched out” (150).
3. sinuous (sin-yoo-uhs) adj. characterized by a series of graceful curving motions
derivatives: sinuously, sinuousness
“I’m in ‘soft-lines,’ which has a wonderful, sinuous sound to it, but I have no idea what it
means” (153).
4. extraneous (ik-strey-nee-uhs) adj. not pertinent; irrelevant
derivatives: extraneously, extraneousness
“I even start hating the customers for extraneous reasons, such as, in the case of the
native Caucasians, their size” (165).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
5. pensive (pen-siv) adj. expressing or revealing thoughtfulness, usually marked by some
sadness
derivatives: pensively, pensiveness
“I’d gone back to the counter by the fitting room to pick up the next cart full of returns
and found the guy who answers the phone at the counter at night, a pensive young fellow
in a wheelchair, staring into space, looking even sadder than usual” (168).
6. inculcate (in-kuhl-keyt, in-kuhl-keyt) v. to implant by repeated statement or admonition;
teach persistently and earnestly, to cause or influence someone to accept an idea or
feeling
derivatives: inculcates, inculcated, inculcating, inculcation
“These are the qualities that welfare-to-work job-training programs often seek to
inculcate” (196).
7. obeisance (oh-bey-suhns, oh-bee) n. deference or homage
derivatives: obeisant, obeisantly
“In fact, it was often hard to see what the function of management was, other than to
exact obeisance” (212).
8. excoriated (ik-skawr-ee-eyt, -skohr-) v. to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally
derivatives: excoriate, excoriating
“The welfare poor were excoriated for their laziness” (220).
9. modicum (mod-i-kuhm, moh-di-) n. a moderate or small amount
derivatives: none
“[T]he more affluent reader can identify with the main character, which is me, and
imagine that I am much like themselves—a person with rights, who is used to being
treated with some modicum of respect” (225).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. solidarity (sol-i-dar-i-tee) n. union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities
and interests, as between members of a group or between classes, peoples, etc.
derivatives: solidarities
“For an old activist like me, these were peak moments, charged with solidarity and
hope” (233).
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
Fill-in-the-Blank Activity
Nickel and Dimed
Using the words below, fill in the blanks with suitable vocabulary choices. Each word or its
derivative is used once.
List 1
autonomous
desolation
mélange
mephitic
neophyte
penury
putative
servile
solipsism
sumptuous
1. As a writer, Ehrenreich can make
decisions about her career
and life management that many professionals cannot. She is independent and selfgoverning, whereas many employees are not.
2. One
benefit of one of Ehrenreich’s homes is that there are very
few children. Supposedly, this makes the place more desirable.
3. The employee lounge is filled with the
cigarettes, sweat, and desperation. It is a noxious place.
stench of old
4. Ehrenreich’s adventure in
strives to duplicate the real life of
many Americans living in poverty at the beginning of the 21st century.
5. At first, Ehrenreich’s job as a waitress inspires
notices herself become more obsequious and eager to please.
in her. She
6. Ehrenreich decides to give up her relatively
middle-class
comforts in order to experience the privations of poverty. She soon misses her luxuries.
7. Ehrenreich’s home in Key West sits in a
place, surrounded by
the dreariness of her surroundings and reflecting the barrenness of poverty.
8. The cooks at Jerry’s are a multinational, multiethnic
of culinary
artists. Regardless of their individual backgrounds or personalities, they are all mixed
together as chefs.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
9. Nickel and Dimed is written in response to a certain kind of middle-class
, a level of class-wise self-absorption and narcissism that thinks
middle-class solutions to problems are equally available to people in poverty.
10. Ehrenreich thinks her experiment might be more appropriate for a
journalist looking to make a name for herself rather than for a seasoned professional like
herself.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 2
austere
callow
craven
glossolalia
opine
presumptive
postprandial
sentient
soteriological
subordination
1. Many people enjoy a
stroll, cigarette, or game. These
after-dinner activities set the perfect tone for the rest of the evening.
2. Ehrenreich lives
without any luxuries.
during her experiment, simply and severely
3. Ehrenreich admits she is too
to start any trouble about unionizing
at WalMart, but she is not too cowardly to encourage others to consider it.
4. The patients Ehrenreich serves may be dead
, and therefore
unable to participate in any debates about the state of their salvation, but they remain
alive physically.
5. Ehrenreich is touched by Pete’s
lie about the state of his
assets. She is able to assume or infer from what she sees of him that he is actually very
poor.
6. Ehrenreich is not-so-subtly asked to
about recreational drug use.
It is obvious that she should claim to be against it, regardless of her true opinion.
7. Some of her patients at the Alzheimer’s care facility are more
others. Some are conscious of her presence with them while others are not.
than
8. Ehrenreich half-expects her fellow churchgoers to erupt into
no one starts speaking in tongues during the revival.
, but
9. Ehrenreich is uncomfortable with the level of
she is
expected to endure in her various jobs. She rebels inwardly against her subservience.
10. Ehrenreich compares herself and the Maids to the servants in Upstairs, Downstairs, who
seem mature and sophisticated in comparison to their
, immature
employers.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 3
comportment
emissaries
encomiums
fecklessness
histrionic
insurrection
malcontents
penitent
petulant
prurient
1. The Maids’
is expected to render them invisible, servile, and
inoffensive. Their behavior is meant to reflect their lack of status.
2. Nickel and Dimed might read as one long tirade from a
, but
one can hardly blame a person for complaining when she and her co-workers are treated
so badly and have so little to show for their genuine efforts.
3. Ehrenreich kneels like a
as she cleans Mrs. W.’s kitchen, but
she has done nothing for which she needs to apologize.
4. Enduring
employers and customers is just part of
Ehrenreich’s duties. The melodrama might be entertaining if her livelihood did not
depend on having a good relationship with them.
5. There is not even a whiff of
in Ted’s demeanor towards his
employees. He might work them to death, but there is nothing lustful in his attitude.
6. The degradation of spirit forced upon employees of The Maids incites
in Ehrenreich. Though she is outwardly compliant, she
rebels inside.
7. It is difficult for Ehrenreich to endure
praising the status
quo when at present the status quo is of no benefit to her. These statements of high praise
only irritate her further.
8. Ehrenreich becomes an
of the impoverished after her
minimum-wage experiences, bearing a message about what it means to be poor to those
who may not be.
9. Ted, Ehrenreich’s boss at The Maids, is somewhat
given to sudden irritation over small, insignificant issues.
at times,
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. As a maid and as a waitress, Ehrenreich has to deal with being blamed for other people’s
. Their incompetence becomes her problem.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 4
aphasic
baleful
contrition
covert
denunciations
evince
officious
pariah
prevarications
unctuous
1. October in Minnesota is typified by
weather. Pernicious
meteorological events such as wind, rain, and even snow are common.
2. Ehrenreich finds Wal-Mart’s
attitude repellent.
, excessively moralistic
3. Ehrenreich avoids outright
on her job applications. Her
lies are simply lies of omission in which she fails to disclose her college degree and
background in journalism.
4. Retail work requires employees to
both competence and
servility at the same time. They have to show clearly that they are capable workers
who will not cause the company any trouble.
5. Ehrenreich is a
investigator of minimum-wage life, keeping her
true identity and background hidden in order to understand the truth better.
6. Many companies lack
for the difficulties imposed upon
their lowest-paid wage earners. They are not sorry for the abuses of their employees
but instead applaud themselves for offering people jobs in the first place.
7. Nickel and Dimed is a
of the poor treatment of
Americans living in poverty. Ehrenreich condemns the invisibility and impotence of
the impoverished.
8. Companies like Wal-Mart worry that
, meddlesome
troublemakers like Ehrenreich might cause problems for their employees and, more
importantly, for their bottom line.
9. Ehrenreich suggests that low-wage work has the effect of making workers feel like
, social outcasts who do not fit in with conventional
consumerist success narratives.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. Ehrenreich’s unfamiliarity with plumbing and related equipments leaves her feeling
because she does not have the language or vocabulary to
function well in that department.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
List 5
excoriated
extortionists
extraneous
inculcate
modicum
obeisance
pensive
sinuous
solidarity
supplicant
1. Many job-training programs seek to
in their students an attitude
of punctuality, dependability, and professionalism. Ehrenreich wonders whether solving
childcare and transportation problems would be more effective than teaching these
values.
2. Ehrenreich finds the welfare class is constantly
for laziness,
dependency, and general profligacy, but Ehrenreich believes these criticisms are unfair,
given the systemic bias against these workers.
3. According to Ehrenreich, Wal-Mart depicts unions and their organizers as outright
bent on wringing every penny and ounce of power from
wage earners by any underhanded means necessary.
4. Ehrenreich wants to stand in
with workers, sharing a common
cause and working together to increase rights, respect, and happiness for all of them.
5. Softlines is not the
expect from its name.
6.
, graceful curving department one might
Wal-Mart does not burden its employees or its customers with
details. Ideally, everything is clearly labeled and organized with no irrelevant, distracting
information.
7. Ehrenreich’s co-worker broods
over the phones, but she
does not wonder what he is thinking about, or what has him so depressed.
8. Impoverished wage earners are not treated with even a
of
respect by American culture, employers, or policymakers, argues Ehrenreich. They
typically do not receive even the smallest bit of validation or understanding.
9. Corporate culture demands
from its lowest-paid employees
without providing compensation commensurate with the level of homage and servility
required.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
10. Large corporations with jobs available leave applicants feeling like
begging for jobs rather than like valuable workers with labor to sell.
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Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
11. Multiple Choice Exam
Nickel and Dimed
1. sumptuous
a. insane
b. fattening
c. violable
d. poisonous
e. luxurious
6. neophyte
a. combatant
b. migrant
c. priest
d. beginner
e. leukocyte
2. penury
a. guilt
b. poverty
c. stubbornness
d. obligation
e. bovine
7. putative
a. supposed
b. female
c. aimless
d. heavy
e. acquiescent
3. servile
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
8. postprandial
a. sneaky
b. regretful
c. after-dinner
d. wholesome
e. graceless
hopeless
obsequious
difficult
impoverished
inappropriate
4. presumptive
a. assumed
b. frustrated
c. perilous
d. severe
e. superficial
9. craven
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
cowardly
careful
infuriated
carefree
incendiary
5. sentient
a. embodied
b. defenestrated
c. apologetic
d. completed
e. conscious
10. callow
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
cold
immature
wild
pale
yellow
Copyright © 2013 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.nms.org
Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
11. petulant
a. mournful
b. ill-tempered
c. legal
d. sorry
e. floral
16. comportment
a. pulchritude
b. fractious
c. bellicose
d. behavior
e. poverty
12. penitent
a. repentant person
b. profitable
c. ignoble
d. malevolent
e. querulous
17. encomiums
a. citations
b. budgets
c. censure
d. placentas
e. praises
13. fecklessness
a. bashful
b. incompetence
c. pellucid
d. contemptuous
e. defiled
18. histrionic
a. melodramatic
b. panegyric
c. idle
d. triumphant
e. historical
14. evince
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
19. covert
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
pained
clever
exile
fierce
demonstrate
15. baleful
a. onerous
b. massive
c. pragmatic
d. pernicious
e. lassitude
aubergine
poignant
bitter
concealed
indolence
20. prevarication
a. torpor
b. changeable
c. atramentous
d. eviction
e. deceit
Copyright © 2013 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.nms.org
Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
21. supplicant
a. propinquity
b. beggar
c. spuriousness
d. benefactor
e. antagonist
22. pensive
a. prone
b. obsequious
c. thoughtful
d. enervated
e. prevaricate
23. excoriated
a. paean
b. thrown out
c. plagiarized
d. berated
e. attenuated
24. sinuous
a. curving
b. severe
c. feral
d. tractable
e. ululating
25. modicum
a. contumacious
b. anfractuous
c. somnolent
d. moderate
e. small bit
Copyright © 2013 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.nms.org
Vocabulary Study: Nickel and Dimed
Writing Activity
Nickel and Dimed
In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich claims, “What you don’t necessarily realize when you
start selling your time by the hour is that what you’re actually selling is your life” (187). Using
the excerpts below as well as additional evidence from the text, consider how Ehrenreich’s
diction builds her argument. How does she use her word choice to demonstrate the value of lowincome workers to American society?
“So if low-wage workers do not always behave in an economically rational way, that is, as
free agents within a capitalist democracy, it is because they dwell in a place that is neither free
nor in any way democratic. When you enter the low-wage workplace—and many of the mediumwage workplaces as well—you check your civil liberties at the door, leave America and all it
supposedly stands for behind, and learn to zip your lips for the duration of the shift. The
consequences of this routine surrender go beyond issues of wages and poverty. We can hardly
pride ourselves on being the world’s preeminent democracy, after all, if large numbers of citizens
spend half their waking hours in what amounts, in plain terms, to a dictatorship” (210).
“Even in the tightest labor market—and it doesn’t get any tighter than Minneapolis, where I
would probably have been welcome to apply at any commercial establishment I entered—the
person who has precious labor to sell can be made to feel one down, way down, like a supplicant
with her hand stretched out” (150).
“Work is supposed to save you from being an ‘outcast,’ as Pete puts it, but what we do is an
outcast’s work, invisible and even disgusting. Janitors, cleaning ladies, ditchdiggers, changers of
adult diapers—these are the untouchables of a supposedly caste-free and democratic society”
(117).
“What these tests tell employers about potential employees is hard to imagine, since the
‘right’ answers should be obvious to anyone who has ever encountered the principle of hierarchy
and subordination. Do I work well with others? You bet, but never to the point where I would
hesitate to inform on them for the slightest infraction. Am I capable of independent decision
making? Oh yes, but I know better than to let this capacity interfere with a slavish obedience to
orders . . . . The real function of these tests, I decide, is to convey information not to the
employer but to the potential employee, and the information being conveyed is always: You will
have no secrets from us. We don’t just want your muscles and that portion of your brain that is
directly connected to them, we want your innermost self” (59).
Copyright © 2013 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.nms.org