Everyday Use

Everyday Use Glossary

Asalamalakim

Muslim saying for "peace be with you," a general greeting exchanged between people.

checkerberry snuff

A type of lip tobacco infused with the essence of wintergreen berries

churn

a container that makes butter from milk

clabber

clotted milk

cowering

Shaking or trembling with fear

dasher

a plunger used to beat cream in a butter churn

enveloped

Wrapped around, encased

loud

gaudy or showy

made it

to have become successful in life

Model A car

the first car produced by the Ford Motor Company in 1903

pieced together

put together; in the story, Mama uses the phrase in reference to assembling pieces of a quilt before it is stitched together.

porthole

a small window of a ship

quick

description of someone who is smart and clever

ream it out

in the story's context, an idiom meaning to squeeze it out

recompose

make or compose again or differently

rifle

to search or rummage through

sporty

flashy or showy in appearance

talk a blue streak

to talk continuously for a long time with intensity

tottering

moving in an unsteady, shuffling way

Wa-su-zo Tean-o

a form of greeting from Uganda meaning "good morning"

well-turned

elegantly expressed

whittle

to carve from wood

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