secretary
also known as an escritoire; a piece of furniture made of a base of wide drawers, with a desk on top, and a set of cabinet doors or bookcase set on top of that.
Victoria Vetri
the name of the actress for whom Rosemary mistakes Terry Gionoffrio, and also the real name of the actress playing Terry Gionoffrio, who performed under the stage name Angela Dorian
partition
an interior wall or barrier dividing a room into separate areas
Vodka Blush
a fictitious cocktail Roman serves to Rosemary that he says is "very popular in Australia"
Luther
a 1961 play directed by John Osborne about the life and death of Martin Luther, starring Albert Finney in the lead role. Roman mistakes Guy for Finney's understudy
Mrs. Fiske
a reference Roman makes to Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865-1932), a famous leading actress in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century theater scene who helped popularize the dramatic works of Henrik Ibsen
Forbes-Robertson
a reference Roman makes to Johnston Forbes-Robertson (1853-1947), a British actor and theatrical producer who starred in a silent film version of Hamlet (1913).
Modjeska
a reference Roman makes to Helena Modjeska (1840-1909), a prominent Polish actress who specialized in playing female roles in Shakespearean tragedies like Juliet, Ophelia, and Desdemona.
Henry Irving
a Victorian-era English stage actor (1838-1905) whom Guy mentions that Roman knew before he died
tannis
a made-up name for the "root" that is in fact Devil' Pepper, a mold Minnie puts in the charm of Rosemary's necklace and her vitamin drinks; a loose anagram of "Satan"
mousse
a sweet dish made as a smooth light mass with whipped cream and beaten egg white, flavored with chocolate, etc.; Minnie Castevet also calls it a "mouse"
The Fantasticks
a 1960 musical play with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones about neighbors who pretend to feud in order to convince their children to fall in love
herbarium
an organized and arranged collection of dried plants
ectopic
in an abnormal place or position
crape-hanger
a person who sees the dark side of things; a pessimist
anagram
a word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another
coven
a regular group or gathering of witches
esbat
a coven meeting at a time other than one of the Sabbats
sabbath
a supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil
Dubrovnik
a Croatian city on the Adriatic sea where the Marcato family is allegedly from