My Fine Fellow: Chapters 1–3

by Jennieke Cohen
In this twist on the musical My Fair Lady that was inspired by George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, Helena Higgins and Penelope Pickering, students at 19th-century London's Royal Academy of Culinaria Artisticus, disagree on whether transforming street vendor Elijah Little into a gentleman chef is a worthwhile project.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–15, Chapter 16–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. epitome
    a standard or typical example
    Of course, as even Penelope would admit if pressed, Helena had never been what one might call the epitome of charm. Nor would one characterize her as a lady of grace, for her sharp tongue offended nearly everyone she met.
  2. purveyor
    someone who supplies provisions, especially food
    The usual assortment of unaccompanied young men and ladies her own age milled around the purveyors who had set up on the street—those who couldn’t afford stalls inside the columns of the market building.
  3. coiffure
    the arrangement of the hair
    “I must apologize for my son,” said the third of the party, a middle-aged woman with a tall feather protruding from her coiffure.
  4. abate
    become less in amount or intensity
    “The weather shows no sign of abating, I fear.”
  5. conservatory
    a schoolhouse with special facilities for fine arts
    “My sister dabbled a bit but decided to go to the Royal Conservatory of Commoditas and Design in the end,” he said with a gesture at the young woman.
  6. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    “Well,” said he with a rueful smile, “perhaps I am, but I make a dashed fine pheasant pie.”
  7. livelihood
    the financial means whereby one supports oneself
    “Some gentleman, jostling poor cooks and knocking their livelihoods onto the street,” he said loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.
  8. semblance
    the outward or apparent appearance or form of something
    The boy winked at her then, and Penelope looked away from the exchange, realizing that the young man might have been attractive if he washed the dirt from his face and had the waves of his brown hair cut into a semblance of a shape.
  9. mince
    cut into small pieces
    The perfectly fried corn-based dough and well-spiced minced beef, diced potato, and onion mixture yielded under her teeth.
  10. rakish
    marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness
    He lifted the tray nearer Penelope’s face as the corner of his lips kicked up at one side—the kind of smile she imagined rakish gentlemen used to attract naive girls who had greater dowries than judgment.
  11. balderdash
    trivial nonsense
    “Balderdash! Utter balderdash!” a voice boomed from behind a column.
  12. insinuate
    suggest in an indirect or covert way; give to understand
    “How dare you insinuate that I would steal your accidental recipe for a Peruvian empanada. Why, the very idea—”
  13. delicacy
    refined taste
    Helena chomped into it with little delicacy, chewed a few times, and tilted her head to the side.
  14. flourish
    make steady progress
    “But instead he’s forced to walk the streets with his wares, making barely enough to live on. If we could but educate these poor souls to a higher degree, just think how society would flourish.”
  15. preeminent
    greatest in importance, degree, or significance
    I mean, if you think about it, had King George not given his assent to Lady Bramley’s Freedom of Female Education Bill, we might not be able to become the preeminent Culinarians we are destined to be.
  16. guileless
    innocent and free of deceit
    Her cat eyes stretched into guileless green orbs.
  17. pallet
    a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts
    He’d scrunched the pallet he slept on when his uncle wasn’t at sea into the corner to make the room seem bigger, but the effect was marginal.
  18. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    Since he had no looking glass, he swiped his wet hands over his face a few times, then dried everything with a piece of cloth. It was a tedious process for so late at night, but one he was well used to.
  19. influx
    the process of flowing in
    If he kept up his hours working with his neighbor Charlie in exchange for the use of his kitchen, and with this fortunate influx of funds, Elijah could do some right good business.
  20. gall
    irritate or vex
    Her pretty friend with the brown eyes (and superior taste in empanadas) had been kind to make her apologize, but the fact that Helena Higgins hadn’t seemed to realize how offending she’d been galled him even more.
  21. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    Elijah peered into the water stains above him. Though brown, mottled, and ever present, they were nothing compared to the black mold spread across the window casing and the moth-eaten, threadbare carpet covering the slats of the floor.
  22. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    Only three plates of food and two place settings sat upon it, but Helena enjoyed acting as though things were lavish even if they were not—it gave her a sense of joy in the everyday course of events, especially since, in her mind, so many things in life were utterly mundane.
  23. echelon
    level of authority in a hierarchy
    Though she knew her future as a Culinarian of the highest echelon would be anything but routine, the fact that she still had a final term left to finish before her fascinating new life began irked her whenever she bothered to dwell on it.
  24. bearing
    relevant relation or interconnection
    “I take it this has some bearing on your final project?”
  25. unadulterated
    not mixed with impurities
    Wild boar fried in what I presume is its own lard. Unadulterated by flour this time.
  26. complement
    make perfect or supply what is wanting
    Same mushrooms, but the sauce contains cured pork belly, which complements the mushrooms and the boar.
  27. trite
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
    “Yes, yours is superior. I suppose it proves once again that cleaner, more robust flavors can be achieved with the correct techniques—is that to be your proposal?”
    Helena shook her head. “Nothing so trite, I assure you.”
  28. in earnest
    in a serious manner
    Their headmistress approved every project before the girls could begin research in earnest.
  29. insular
    narrowly restricted in outlook or scope
    I tell you, Pen, this country mainly consists of insular fools who believe nothing resides outside of Britain.
  30. forego
    do without or cease to hold or adhere to
    And of course, I shall have so much work here once we graduate. I cannot believe you would forego the excitement of starting your vocation—of consulting with the queen and the nobility—just to go gallivanting with your parents.
  31. gallivant
    wander aimlessly in search of pleasure
    “Gallivanting” with them to faraway locales during the summer holidays, therefore, was time Penelope always looked forward to.
  32. revere
    regard with feelings of respect
    “Oh, the queen quite likes me. Of course it’s common knowledge how much she and the royal family revere Culinaria, but I confess I was surprised to see how passionate they are about the field. You know, Pen, I rather fancy Queen Charlotte wishes she could have been a Culinarian herself—if her royal responsibilities might have allowed it.”
  33. hinder
    prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    “Though you must admit that some people are more hindered by societal limitations than others.”
  34. fawning
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
    That Goose thinks she has all the knowledge of a Culinarian but without any of the training. I suppose that’s what happens when her parade of fawning Culinarians have more interest in being paid their fee than telling her the truth.
  35. espouse
    choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.
    They’d all learned in Consultation Management class that a delicate balance existed between appeasing one’s client and espousing perfect culinary principles.
  36. sycophant
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
    “It almost serves the Goose right. Though Mabel would have thought the lemon thyme you detected in that first dish was sumac, the princess will likely find her a willing sycophant. She won’t even know how average Mabel’s palate is. I have no sympathy for either of them.”
  37. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    Bakers, you know, Pen, often have palates that can discern varying strains of yeast, even if they haven’t the knowledge to name them.
  38. refined
    cultivated and genteel
    “So, you still believe you can turn Mr. Little into a culinary shop owner, as he wishes? In some ways, that requires an even more refined skill set than being a gentleman chef does.”
  39. magnate
    a very wealthy or powerful businessperson
    Once we get him cleaned up, his hair cut, his grammar fixed, and some basic culinary technique embedded in his skull, he’ll be beating ladies away with a walking stick—why, he could even marry a shipping magnate’s daughter—or a countess’s cousin!
  40. acolyte
    a devoted follower or assistant
    You’ll be able to open a shop of your choosing, with the financial backing of some of your newfound, fawning acolytes, and live an honorable, well-rounded life.
Created on Wed May 03 12:56:24 EDT 2023 (updated Mon May 08 09:25:09 EDT 2023)

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