chitlins
small intestines from a pig, often fried; a traditional Southern dish
congregate
to gather into a large group
dossier
a collection of documents and other objects, connected through their relation to a particular subject
dungarees
denim pants or overalls
eloquence
appealing, persuasive language
fricassee possum
a Southern dish of fried or stewed possum
genuflect
to bend down as a show of respect
glockenspiel
a melodic percussion instrument
guise
a costume or other deceptive way of covering up one's true identity
ice
slang for murdering someone
johnny pump
New York slang for a fire hydrant
malign
to talk about someone in an excessively resentful or critical way
miscegenation
an antiquated term for interracial breeding
nappy hair
slang which refers to the unique texture of some African and African-Americans' hair
prodigy
a young person with extremely advanced abilities in a given area
raffish
appealingly disreputable
Spaudeen
a phonetic spelling of Spalding, which refers to the popular pink bouncing balls produced by the company Spalding
sterno
flammable jelly used for fuel
the dozens
a practice, traditionally associated with African-American culture, of two people competing in a series of ever-escalating insults; this can be comedic and entirely in good fun, or quite serious, depending on the context
ventriloquist
traditionally, a performer who works with wax dummies and 'throws' his or her voice so that the dummy appears to be speaking; figuratively, anyone who speaks using the voice of someone else
