The Quiet American

The Quiet American Glossary



tending or seeking to acquire and own, often greedily; eager to get wealth, possessions, etc: our acquisitive impulses; acquisitive societies.




2. also called apéritif wine; a wine served as an appetizer or cocktail.


(verb, used with object)

1. to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one's grief: to assuage one's pain.




1. rough and noisy; noisily jolly or rowdy; clamorous; unrestrained: the sound of boisterous laughter.

2. (of waves, weather, wind, etc.) rough and stormy.



1. a 303-caliber, gas-operated, air-cooled, clip-fed submachine gun.



1. In the Roman Catholic Church: a book containing all the daily psalms, hymns, prayers, lessons, etc., necessary for reciting the office.

2. a book of daily prayers and readings in some other churches.


(verb, used without object)

1. to try to attract the attention and admiration of men for mere self-gratification; flirt.

2. to act without seriousness; trifle; dally.





verb (used with object)






1. an ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.



1. pertaining to, of the nature of, or serving as an emblem; symbolic.



1. exulting; highly elated; jubilant; triumphant.




2.easily done, performed, used, etc.: a facile victory; a facile method.

3.easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons.



1. frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity: the audience was shocked by his flippant remarks about patriotism.



1. the space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.




2. a small canyon.

3. a gluttonous meal.






1. absolutely trustworthy or sure: an infallible rule.



4. In the Roman Catholic Church: immune from fallacy or liability to error in expounding matters of faith or morals by virtue of the promise made by Christ to the Church.



1. incapable of being terminated; unending: an interminable job.

2. monotonously or annoyingly protracted or continued; unceasing; incessant: I can't stand that interminable clatter.

3. having no limits: an interminable desert.



1. any of numerous minute dipterous insects, especially of the family Chironomidae, somewhat resembling a mosquito.


noun, plural pad·dies.

1.a rice field.

2.rice, especially in the husk, either uncut or gathered.





3. significant gesture without speech.



1. a fortification




1. leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal; imperative

2. imperious or dictatorial.



(verb used without object)

1. to diminish gradually and stop; dwindle to nothing: the hot water always peters out in the middle of my shower.

2. to tire; exhaust (usually used as a past participle): I'm petered out after that walk.



1. moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance



1. a small, heart-shaped board supported by two casters and a pencil or stylus that, when moved across a surface by the light, unguided pressure of the fingertips, is supposed to trace meaningful patterns or written messages revealing subconscious thoughts, psychic phenomena, clairvoyant messages, etc.



1. the list of dramas, operas, parts, pieces, etc., that a company, actor, singer, or the like, is prepared to perform.

2. the entire stock of works existing in a particular artistic field: A new play has been added to the theatrical repertoire.

3. the entire stock of skills, techniques, or devices used in a particular field or occupation: a magician's repertoire.



1. In the Roman Catholic Church; a cassock.




2. acting in a stealthy way.


(verb used without object)



3. to titter; giggle.





2. of the nature of or characteristic of an unguent or ointment; oily; greasy.

3. having an oily or soapy feel, as certain minerals.



1. the act of vexing.




The most effective of the nationalist organizations in Vietnam during the war, also called the League for the Independence of Vietnam; founded by Ho Chi Minh. Most of its leaders were members of the Indochinese Communist Party.



1. (in the Sudan and adjoining regions) a protective enclosure, as of thorn bushes.