The Heart Goes Last

The Heart Goes Last Glossary

totalitarianism

centralized, dictatorial system of government that demands unquestioning obedience to state authority

vicious

intentionally violent or cruel

jeering

making loud mocking remarks about someone

commiserate

to show sympathy to someone

disparage

regard something as not worth much

Ponzi scheme

named after the fraudster Charles Ponzi, a fraud in which a nonfunctioning business is sustained by new investments that only go to paying off earlier investors

griminess

covered by dirt

dementia

mental condition caused by brain disease that results in memory loss, speech loss, and personality changes

procedure

term for a surgical operation or established way of doing something

waft

scent carried on moving air

reek

smell unpleasantly and strongly

nest egg

money saved for future use

undertone

underlying quality

Elvis Presley

American pop singer and sex symbol who became a cult figure after his death in 1977

Marilyn Monroe

American actress and sex symbol who became a cult figure after her death in 1962

crosshairs

used for aiming, a pair of crossed fine wires used to establish the center of a gun sight

Honda

Japanese vehicle manufacturer know for low-cost, dependable cars and motorcycles

dystopia

imagined society pervaded by post-apocalyptic or totalitarian exploitation and limits to personal freedoms

irritable

easily angered or annoyed

financial crash

situation in which many sectors of an economy suddenly fall in value with disastrous consequences

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