| swamper | (n.): a handyman; someone who performs odd jobs often involving cleaning |
| stable buck | (n.): a stable is a building where horses are kept. A buck, in this case, is a derogatory word for a black man. A staple buck, then, would be a black man who works in a stable. |
| tick | (n.) mattress covering |
| skeptically | (adv.): To be skeptical is doubt or question something. George is doubting that the bunk house, and especially his mattress, is really clean |
| skinner | (n.) a person who prepares or deals in skins or hides |
| cesspool | (n.): a deep hole in the ground into which sewage from sinks, toilets, etc. is drained |
| mollified | (adj.): soothed; pacified |
| pugnacious | (adj.): eager and ready to fight |
| ominously | (adv.): in a threatening way |
| derogatory | (adj.): belittling and insulting |
| plaintively | (adj.): expressing sorrow or melancholy; mournful |
| contorted | (adj.) twisted in a violent manner; distorted. |
| apprehensive | (adj.): anxious; fearful |
| profound | (adj.) pervasive or intense; thorough; complete |
| complacently | (adv.): in a pleased, satisfied manner |
| precede | (v.): go before or ahead of |
Of Mice and Men vocabulary Chapter 2
April 30, 2020