The Downstairs Girl: Chapters 22–32

by Stacey Lee
In 19th-century Atlanta, Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid while secretly penning a controversial advice column and attempting to learn the truth about her past.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–21, Chapters 22–32, Chapter 33–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. opine
    express one's view openly and without fear or hesitation
    I opine on what to do with a suitor who prefers grunting to conversation (drop him like a hot biscuit), a gold digger (same), and a woman who is a coquette (get thee a cooler biscuit).
  2. coquette
    a woman who flirts, often for personal gain
    I opine on what to do with a suitor who prefers grunting to conversation (drop him like a hot biscuit), a gold digger (same), and a woman who is a coquette (get thee a cooler biscuit).
  3. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
    May I bring a certain wide-eyed candor to the table.
  4. chenille
    a heavy fabric woven from soft tufted cord
    I'd stopped asking about my parents long ago, after getting all I could out of Old Gin; I had been left on his doorstep, wrapped in chenille and sucking my finger.
  5. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    His eyes, usually hidden, shine bright as a full moon, crinkled at the outside corners by years of wry humor.
  6. viscous
    having a relatively high resistance to flow
    Before he starts to wonder about the coincidental timing, I pretend to hack up a viscous wad of phlegm in my throat.
  7. assiduous
    marked by care and persistent effort
    "My, you are assiduous."
    I frown with the effort of remembering what that particular word means.
    “Assiduous, meaning 'hardworking.’"
  8. assay
    make an effort or attempt
    "Ah. Then I shall assay not to assault your ears."
  9. expediency
    the quality of being suited to the end in view
    "No matter, then. I will find out another way. I simply ask for expediency."
  10. quixotic
    not sensible about practical matters
    After Mr. Bell read the story of Don Quixote to him, Nathan spent a whole year proclaiming everything from the way his bread crumbs stuck to his shirt to the way certain flies don't budge even when you blow at them quixotic.
  11. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    Velvet wallpaper smooths the walls between doors, tight as a lady's bodice.
  12. lout
    an awkward, foolish person
    My ten-year-old boy takes after his father, a lazy back-talkin' lout.
  13. saucy
    improperly forward or bold
    "Well. I guess the gilding on my door was too hard to resist.” He smirks, feeding my saucy comment back to me.
  14. cretin
    a person of subnormal intelligence
    But what could a cretin like him understand about how it feels to be a pawn on the chessboard, only moving within tightly prescribed rules?
  15. artesian
    relating to water that rises due to natural pressure
    We merge into the traffic that draws a circle around a seventy-foot-high artesian well, then take the point that shoots us toward the print shop.
  16. grouse
    complain
    "Goddamned fungus! No information can be worth that," Nathan grouses.
  17. livery
    the care of horses for pay
    Before we reach the print shop, I stop in front of a livery supply smelling of leather and hay.
  18. perpetuate
    cause to continue or prevail
    “I want to apologize for making you perpetuate a falsehood.”
  19. mealy
    having a rough, grainy texture or consistency
    I should be happy for her success, but my insides feel as mealy and brown as a January apple.
  20. brook
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    “Why should I waste my time? Miss Sweetie is a know-it-all. The sort I cannot brook."
  21. swath
    a path or strip (also figurative)
    With its witch's-hat shape, the two hundred acres of Piedmont Park, home of the Gentlemen's Driving Club, features long swaths of green cut with pathways, and surprisingly few trees for a city so full of them.
  22. slake
    satisfy, as thirst
    Caroline is not at the water trough, and so after letting Sweet Potato slake her thirst, we head for the cemetery.
  23. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    I hug my cloak to me, trying to work out how to broach the topic of our debt.
  24. abscess
    a localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue
    I'm reminded of the time Sully's mule started walking crooked, and Old Gin found an abscess in the animal's hoof.
  25. formidable
    extremely impressive in strength or excellence
    Mrs. Bread Loaf steps aside, revealing Mrs. English, all five feet of her, looking formidable in a slate-gray suit with silver buttons.
  26. maven
    one who is very skilled in or knowledgeable about a field
    I can't help admiring not just the color combination—she has always been a fashion maven—but also her business sense.
  27. impertinence
    the trait of being rude and inclined to take liberties
    "I don't know what you're talking about, and you're verging on impertinence."
  28. diffuse
    spread out; not concentrated in one place
    The shame that warms my cheeks feels more diffuse than it did at age thirteen, and I gather it in my hands and set it in a corner.
  29. unseemly
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    “What happened back there was just so"—she wiggles her gloved fingers—“unseemly. I didn't want to be a suffragist, but Mrs. English said it's the right thing to do, and plus it's good for business."
  30. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
    Only Lizzie Crump knows the truth, and while she might be slow in the foot and frivolous, she is not cruel.
  31. snub
    a refusal to recognize someone you know
    Maybe in her young mind, Caroline considered every nod to someone else a snub to herself.
  32. duplicitous
    marked by deliberate deceptiveness
    “Merritt is of the highest caliber, that duplicitous Bostonian wench.”
  33. paltry
    contemptibly small in amount or size
    I step out from behind the philodendron, which feels as paltry as a fig leaf.
  34. drivel
    a worthless message
    I am fond of newspapers myself, but lately, I have found they are full of drivel.
  35. quarry
    a person who is the aim of an attack by a hostile influence
    "Nonsense. You are a young woman who reads newspapers, the quarry for whom this woman has sprung her traps. Do you feel this article emboldens women to reject marriage in pursuit of their own interests?"
  36. grievance
    a complaint about a wrong that causes resentment
    If I take responsibility, perhaps he'll overlook his grievance with the Focus and things can return to the way they were before Miss Sweetie arrived on the page.
  37. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    He makes a guttural noise, probably the prelude to a spouting-off, but then his attention catches on something behind me.
  38. rakish
    marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness
    When he spots us, a rakish grin bends the perfect line of Merritt's mustache.
  39. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    Something wistful passes over his face. “Can we not be friends?"
  40. girth
    the distance around something, especially a person's body
    Old Gin and I stand the same height, though he bests me in girth by an inch or two.
Created on Wed Jan 15 10:20:42 EST 2020 (updated Thu Jan 23 14:47:04 EST 2020)

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