Handy glossary of terms used in “MR. SQUISHY,” published (as Elizabeth Klemm) in McSweeney’s # 5 (pp.199-248)

 

Numbers preceding each entry refer to the page number and then the line of text in which the term can be found (for example, 200.37 means the term appears in line 37 on page 200).

 

200.37    vetted – submitted for examination

 

201.23    fictile – capable of being molded

 

201.26    voir dire – [Old French] literally, to say the truth; an oath given by a witness that he will tell the truth in regard to questions concerning his competency (DFT)

 

201.34    maltilol – [Chemistry] a disaccharose alcohol, widely useful in applications to food, medicine, tobacco

 

201.35    lecithin – [Chemistry] a nitrogenous fatty substance found in the nerve tissues, the yolk of eggs, blood, and other fluids of the body

 

201.37dextrose – [Chemistry] the form of glucose which is dextrorotary to polarized light; dextro-glucose; ordinary glucose or grape sugar

 

201.37sorbitol – [Chemistry] an unfermentable saccharine principle found in the berries of the mountain ash

 

202.7    deliquescent – “melting away”

 

202.8    marzipan – a kind of confectionery composed of a paste of pounded almonds, sugar, etc., made up into small cakes or molded into ornamental forms

 

202.32    parabolic mike – specialized microphone whose range

 

202.36    abraded – worn by friction, rubbed

 

203.15    univariable – [Statistics] having a single variable only; or, pertaining to a statistical problem in which there is only one dependent variable (DSM)

 

203.39    davit - ???

 

205.8    astringent – severe, austere, stern

 

205.17    finials – ornaments placed upon the apex of a roof, pediment, or gable, or upon each of the corners of a tower, etc.

 

206.12    discriminant-analysis – [Mathematics, Statistics] a type of regression analysis that classifies the dependent variable into discrete groups based on two or more continuous independent variables (DSM)

 

206.23    purview – the scope or limits of any document, statement, scheme, subject, book, or the like; the purpose or intent; also, the range, sphere, or field of a person’s labor or profession

 

206.26    parametric – [Statistics] pertaining to statistical techniques designed for use when data have certain characteristics — usually when they approximate a normal distribution and are measurable with interval or ratio scales (DSM)

 

207.3     chi-square – [Statistics] a type of theoretical probability distributions used in hypothesis testing (also written χ²) (DSM)

 

207.3  t distributions – [Statistics] a type of theoretical probability distributions used in     hypothesis testing, especially important for interpreting data gathered on small samples when the population variance is unknown (DSM)

 

207.10    increscent – increasing, growing greater

 

207.14    crampons – small plates of iron set with spikes or points which are fastened to the foot to secure a firmer hold in walking over ice or slippery ground, or in climbing a steep

 

207.32    brindled – streaked, spotted

 

211.2    oscitance – yawning; failure to be alert, inattention

 

211.6    primipara – a female that brings forth for the first time

 

212.4    discomfit – to throw into perplexity, confusion, or dejection; to cast down utterly; to disconcert

 

213.1    clabbering - curdling

 

213.15    in camera – [Latin] in chamber, in private (DFT)

 

213.21    casualism – “a casual euphemism or rhetorical phrase”

 

213.22    perpend – to weigh mentally, ponder, consider, examine, investigate

 

213.29    ex post hasto – [Latin] “at once”

 

213.40    fillip – a movement made by bending the last joint of a finger against the thumb and suddenly releasing it (so as to propel some small object, or merely as a gesture); a smart stroke or tap given by this means

 

214.11    bailiwick – jurisdiction

 

216.38    assuasive – soothingly persuasive

 

222.25    transrational – going beyond or surpassing what is rational

 

223.6    dekate – [Greek, Religion] “tithe” or “tenth”?

 

226.10    convolved – rolled together, coiled, twisted

 

226.10    esprit de corps – [French] the regard entertained by members of a body for the honor and interests of the body as a whole, and of each other as belonging to it

 

226.36  contra face – [Latin] “turning around”

 

227.3    mortise – a cavity or hole into which the end of some other part of a framework or structure is fitted so as to form a joint

 

227.12    neocortices – plural of neocortex (the phylogenetically youngest portion of the cerebral cortex, which is coextensive with the neopallium)

 

227.18    arachnoid – spider-like

 

227.18    saurian – lizard-like

 

228.30    nebulizer – an instrument for converting a liquid into a fine spray, esp. for medical purposes

 

228.31    epaulette – a shoulder-piece; an ornament worn on the shoulder as part of a military, naval, or sometimes of a civil uniform

 

232.7    gilt – gilded, covered in a thin layer of gold

 

232.7    rococo – excessively ornate scroll-work or decoration

 

233.12    evect – to “lift up” (see 184.36 in “Another Pioneer” glossary)

 

234.4    lineaments – distinctive features or characteristics

 

235.22    indurate – morally hardened, rendered callous; also, fixed in determination, stubborn, obstinate

 

235.36    bonhomie – [French] good nature; the quality of being a good fellow

 

236.14    rubicund – red-faced

 

236.23    Medicean – referring to the Medicis of 15^th Century Florence, a notorious family who were given to plots and intrigues

 

236.28    straticulate – arranged in thin layers

 

237.20    retorts – [Chemistry] vessels generally made of glass, but occasionally of metal or earthenware, and provided with a long neck, bent downwards, in which liquids, etc., subjected to distillation are heated

 

237.24    jequirity – a woody twining shrub, Abrus precatorius or Indian liquorice, indigenous to India, but now found in most tropical countries, the parti-colored seeds of which, called jequirity beans, are variously used for ornament, for weights, and in medicine.

 

238.20    cyanosis – [Medicine] blueness or lividness of the skin owing to the circulation of imperfectly oxygenated blood; blue disease, blue jaundice

 

238.20    VF – [Medicine] stands for “ventricular fibrillation,” quivering or flickering of ventricular muscles in the heart

 

238.21    reagents – [Chemistry] substances employed as a test to determine the presence of some other substance by means of the reaction which is produced

 

239.38    atomize – to separate; to lose social unity

 

240.7    exordial – of, pertaining to, or of the nature of, an exordium (the introductory part of a discourse)

 

241.1    cavalierly – knightly; gallantly

 

242.2    ptyalin – an amylolytic ferment in saliva

 

242.4   luxe - luxury

 

242.10    saprophyte – any vegetable organism that lives on decayed organic matter

 

242.23    penumbra – a partial shadow

 

243.12  retroscenic – “behind the scenes” (probably a coinage of Wallace’s)

 

243.17    mentee – “one who is mentored”

 

243.29    catamaran – a sailing boat with twin hulls placed side by side, widely used as pleasure craft and in sailing contests

 

246.22    averred – asserted, maintained

 

248.13    sub rosa – [Latin] “under the rose,” in secret, secretly

 

 

This glossary by no means represents an authoritative, exhaustive research into all the terminology and words used in “Mr. Squishy.” Material in quotes or with a question mark reflect guesses and/or estimations on my part. Please feel free to e-mail me (Jesse) at platelet60(remove spam block) AT hotmail.com with any suggestions or comments.

 

All definitions came from the Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, unless otherwise noted.

 

DFT = Dictionary of Foreign Terms, second edition. C.O. Sylvester Mawson and Charles Berlitz. Thomas Y. Crowell Company: New York, 1975.

 

DSM = Dictionary of Statistics & Methodology, second edition. W. Paul Vogt. SAGE Publications, Inc: Thousand Oaks, CA, 1999.