Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce Glossary

frump

an unfashionable woman.

garment

item of clothing.

provincial

concerning the regions outside the capital city of a country, implying a certain lack of sophistication.

callus

a thickened and hardened part of the skin.

settlement

an official agreement intended to resolve a dispute.

inlaid

ornament made by embedding pieces of a different material in another.

green-eyed monster

jealousy personified.

pneumonia

Medical condition characterized by inflammation of the lungs.

corny

Uncool, old-fashioned, square, silly.

melodrama

A sub-genre of dramatic film characterized by sensational subject matter, exaggerated characters and stark emotional manipulation.

femme fatale

Essential element of film noir: a scheming, sexually enticing and irresistibly beautiful woman who inevitably leads otherwise upstanding men into a vortex of amoral ambiguity.

wolf

Slang for a man who is on the prowl for women.

red-handed

in the act of committing a crime.

know the angles

Slang for a comprehensive knowledge about a particular subject that only comes through experience.

gams

A woman's legs.

proposition

A suggestion usually offered within the context of some sort of business transaction or a scheme.

white elephant

A purchase that turns out to be troublesome to maintain or sell to someone else.

community property

A legal term describing property owned jointly by a husband and wife which impacts divorce settlements and insurance transactions differently from states and municipalities which do not have community property laws on the books.

creditor

Any person or institution that provides loans to customers.

debtor

The person to whom a creditor provides a loan.

dyed-in-the-wool

Committed to long-held beliefs and opinions.

impressionable

Highly suggestible; easily influenced.

swamped

Overwhelmed.

debutante

A young, pampered woman from an upper social class being formally "introduced" to society at a fancy-dress ball.

acquaintanceship

Companionship and solidarity.

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