Alcatraz
a former federal prison located on an island in the San Francisco Bay
barracks
temporary housing
Beat
a term Kerouac coined that represents the lifestyle he and his friends followed during the 1940s and '50s, which gained enough traction that one can call this time in American history the Beat Generation
beatnik
a person who lives the Beat lifestyle, characterized by voluntary poverty, loose sexual morals, drugs, alcohol, and intellectual freedom
Bebop
a type of jazz music
benzedrine
a stimulant drug
bohemian
a person who lives an unconventional lifestyle
bookie
short for bookkeeper; a person who takes bets and pays money depending on the results
Caesarian
a form of childbirth in which the child is brought out of the mother through a cut made in her abdomen
charge
a person in someone's care
Chicano
a person of Mexican-American culture
Coit Tower
an art-deco monument on top of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, California
dilapidated
worn down, tired, deteriorating
doldrums
a state of inactivity or stagnation
Dostoevski
a Russian novelist, considered one of the great writers of the 19th century
Embarcadero, The
the eastern waterfront roadway of the Port of San Francisco
fellahin
(pl. fellaheen) a person from a marginalized culture
Frisco
short for San Francisco
harangues
long, often pompous speeches
highball
a glass tumbler used to serve alcohol
hipster
someone influenced by jazz culture
Hudson
a popular brand of car in the 1940s and '50s
hustle
a scam to steal money
jalopy
a broken-down or ragged car
jazz
an American musical style characterized by improvisation and unusual rhythms, made popular by African American musicians starting in the 1930s
kicks
good times, good feelings, a party
Mann Act
a 1910 act that prohibits the transport of women for prostitution or immoral purposes
Okie
someone displaced from Oklahoma during the Great Depression of the 1920s; more generally, a poor white person
Pachuco
a subculture of Mexican-American youth in the 1940s and '50s
patriarch
a man who holds authority over an extended family
pimp
a person who finds and manages prostitutes
Route 66
a famous, historic pre-interstate highway that ran from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California
shrew
a derogatory term for a woman, especially one with a bad attitude; a rodent
Sierra Madre
a Mexican mountain range
tea
marijuana
tenorman
a jazz musician who plays tenor saxophone
Travel Bureau
an office helping travelers and arranging rides for and among travelers
Truman
Harry S Truman, the thirty-third President of the United States (1945-1953)
W.C. Fields
an American comedic actor
