Yonkers
A former manufacturing town and bedroom community in southeastern New York, on the Hudson River, just north of the Bronx in New York City.
bluffing
trying to deceive someone, lying.
rally
a mass meeting of people showing support for a cause.
pulling your leg
joking.
usher
Someone who takes tickets or shows patrons to their seats.
handicap
condition that limits someone physically or mentally.
illiterate
unable to read or write.
dumbstruck
Awed and astonished to the point of speechlessness.
formidable
Tough to be beat; stern and imposing.
heartrending
Capable of causing intense emotional distress exhibited both physically and mentally.
wrenching
A sudden and unanticipated painful twisting of either a physical object or one's emotional state.
mesmerized
In a sedated and suggestible state similar to hypnosis.
satchel
A messenger bag with a shoulder strap and a flap that closes with a clasp.
stoic
accepting things that come one's way without either feeling or displaying extremity of emotions.
moxie
Possessing the quality of spunkiness; fearless and spirited.
congenial
Friendly and approachable.
impervious
Immune, invulnerable, rigid.
absentminded
Forgetful, afflicted with short term memory loss.
obligation
A financial debt owed by one person to another.
hock
To pawn a possession for quick money.
buxom
Full-breasted, voluptuous.
loanshark
A shady underworld character willing to loan money at illegal and outrageous interest with the understanding that non-payment will result in physical harm to the borrower.
henchman
The muscle hired by high-level gangsters to do their dirty work.
dialect
A form of speaking a common language that is specific to an ethnicity, region or group.
James Cagney
An Oscar-winning actor whose career stretched from the 1930s to the 1980s, who is most often identified with a series of gritty movies in which he played a tough gangster.
