Ragtime

Glossary of Terms

ALL CAPS = Song lyrics
Sentence case = Dialogue

Accoutrements: items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity.

His considerable income was derived from the manufacture of fireworks and bunting and other accoutrements of patriotism.

Apex: the top or highest part of something, especially one forming a point.

At the very apex of the American pyramid.

Asylum: an institution offering shelter and support to people who are ill.

Is it true you haven’t visited your husband in the asylum since the trial?

Bourgeois: of or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.

POOR YOUNG BOURGEOIS!

Cesspool: a filthy, evil, or corrupt place or state.

Immigrants from every cesspool in western and eastern Europe.

Charity Ward: an older expression referring to a segregated section of a hospital, where free care was given to people of lower socio-economic classes.

To the charity ward. Eventually she will have to stand charges.

Comrade: a companion who shares one's activities or is a fellow member of an organization; it also has an implication of a connection to socialism or communism

You should be ashamed of yourself, comrade.

Genuflection: the act of bending one knee to the ground as a sign of respect or worship

A GENUFLECTION TO HENRY FORD!

Guttural: (of a speech sound) produced in the throat; harsh-sounding.

THAT YOU PRAY FOR IN YOUR GUTTURAL ACCENT?

Impudent: not showing due respect for another person.

That impudent, cocky, king of the road smirk?

Philharmonic: devoted to music (chiefly used in the names of orchestras).

And remember to cancel our subscription to the Philharmonic.

Ragtime: a style of music created by Black musicians in the 1890s and played especially on the piano, characterized by a syncopated melody line and regularly accented accompaniment.

THE PEOPLE CALLED IT RAGTIME!

Sublime: of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe.

SIMPLE AND SOMEHOW SUBLIME

Syncopation: the practice of displacing the beats or accents in music or a rhythm so that strong beats become weak and vice versa.

GIVING THE NATION A NEW SYNCOPATION

Tenement: a room or a set of rooms forming a separate residence within a house or block of apartments.

LOOK AT THE SILHOUETTES HERE IN THE TENEMENTS

Vaudeville: a type of entertainment popular in the US in the early 20th century, featuring a mixture of specialty acts such as burlesque comedy and song and dance.

He was a headliner in the top vaudeville circuits.