Nine Stories: "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" by J.D. Salinger

by J.D. Salinger
In this story, the unhappily married Eloise visits her college roommate and reminisces about Walt Glass, a former boyfriend who died in a freak accident in World War II.

Here are links to our lists for other short stories in Nine Stories: A Perfect Day for Bananafish,
Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut, Just Before the War with the Eskimos, The Laughing Man, Down at the Dinghy, For Esmé–with Love and Squalor, Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes, De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period, Teddy

Here is a link to our lists for J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ambiguous
    having more than one possible meaning
    Eloise said, “Merritt Parkway, baby,” and reminded Mary Jane that she had found the house twice before, but Mary Jane just wailed something ambiguous, something about her box of Kleenex, and rushed back to her convertible.
  2. peculiar
    unique or specific to a person or thing or category
    Twenty minutes later, they were finishing their first highball in the living room and were talking in the manner peculiar, probably limited, to former college roommates.
  3. aviation
    the art of operating aircraft
    Mary Jane had left— same year, same class, almost the same month—to marry an aviation cadet stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, a lean, air-minded boy from Dill, Mississippi, who had spent two of the three months Mary Jane had been married to him in jail for stabbing an M.P.
  4. cadet
    a military trainee (as at a military academy)
    Mary Jane had left— same year, same class, almost the same month—to marry an aviation cadet stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, a lean, air-minded boy from Dill, Mississippi, who had spent two of the three months Mary Jane had been married to him in jail for stabbing an M.P.
  5. lean
    lacking excess flesh
    Mary Jane had left— same year, same class, almost the same month—to marry an aviation cadet stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, a lean, air-minded boy from Dill, Mississippi, who had spent two of the three months Mary Jane had been married to him in jail for stabbing an M.P.
  6. prompt
    assist by suggesting the next words of something
    “Thieringer,” Mary Jane prompted, lighting one of her own cigarettes.
  7. cameo
    engraving or carving in low relief on a stone
    “This?” said Mary Jane, touching a cameo brooch at her throat.
  8. brooch
    a decorative pin
    “This?” said Mary Jane, touching a cameo brooch at her throat.
  9. monogram
    a graphic symbol consisting of 2 or more letters combined
    "If Lew’s mother ever dies—ha, ha—she’ll probably leave me some old monogrammed ice-pick or something.”
  10. wherewithal
    the necessary means (especially financial means)
    With little or no wherewithal for being left alone in a room, Mary Jane stood up and walked over to the window.
  11. erect
    upright in position or posture
    She drew aside the curtain and leaned her wrist on one of the crosspieces between panes, but, feeling grit, she removed it, rubbed it clean with her other hand, and stood up more erectly.
  12. chauffeur
    a man paid to drive a privately owned car
    "She said he was her husband’s chauffeur, and he was driving her to market or something one morning."
  13. galosh
    a waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow
    “Ramona,” Eloise shouted, with her eyes shut, “go out in the kitchen and let Grace take your galoshes off.”
  14. beau
    a man with whom one has a romantic relationship
    “Who’s Jimmy?” Mary Jane asked Eloise.
    “Oh, God! Her beau. Goes where she goes. Does what she does. All very hoopla.”
  15. myopia
    eyesight abnormality in which distant objects appear blurred
    Ramona’s eyes, behind thick, counter-myopia lenses, did not reflect even the smallest part of Mary Jane’s enthusiasm.
  16. provocative
    serving or tending to excite or stimulate
    Mary Jane looked around, then looked back at Ramona, smiling as provocatively as possible.
  17. cordially
    in a politely friendly manner
    Mary Jane leaned forward cordially.
  18. lunge
    make a thrusting forward movement
    Eloise lunged suddenly to her feet.
  19. execute
    carry out or perform an action
    She stopped short on the floor board between the living room and the dining room and executed a grind and a bump.
  20. upright
    in a vertical position; not sloping
    “I mean you didn’t really know Walt,” said Eloise at a quarter of five, lying on her back on the floor, a drink balanced upright on her small-breasted chest.
  21. draft
    engage somebody to enter the army
    We were on the train going from Trenton to New York—it was just right after he was drafted.
  22. cardigan
    a knitted sweater that can be fastened up the front
    It was cold in the car and I had my coat sort of over us. I remember I had Joyce Morrow’s cardigan on underneath—you remember that darling blue cardigan she had?
  23. diaphragm
    a muscular partition in the chest used in respiration
    Eloise laughed suddenly, from her diaphragm.
  24. promotion
    the act of raising in rank or position
    He said he felt he was advancing in the Army, but in a different direction from everybody else. He said that when he’d get his first promotion, instead of getting stripes he’d have his sleeves taken away from him.
  25. stark
    completely
    He said when he’d get to be a general, he’d be stark naked.
  26. infantry
    an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot
    All he’d be wearing would be a little infantry button in his navel.
  27. navel
    a scar where the umbilical cord was attached
    All he’d be wearing would be a little infantry button in his navel.
  28. witty
    demonstrating striking cleverness and humor
    And if you tell ’em you knew a witty boy, you gotta tell ’em he was kind of a smart aleck, though, or a wise guy.
  29. critical
    marked by a tendency to find and call attention to flaws
    “You’re too critical,” Mary Jane said. “I mean you’re too critical. Maybe it was a good—”
  30. ghoul
    an evil spirit or ghost
    He’d be worse. He’d be a ghoul.
  31. regiment
    army unit smaller than a division
    “Oh,” said Eloise, “his regiment was resting someplace. It was between battles or something, this friend of his said that wrote me.”
  32. lavatory
    a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
    “Go out and tell Grace to take your galoshes off. You know you’re not supposed to come into the—”
    “She’s in the lavatory,” Ramona said.
  33. hoist
    raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
    Eloise put away her handkerchief and hoisted herself to a sitting position.
  34. feverish
    having or affected by an abnormally high body temperature
    “You feel a little feverish. Go tell Grace you’re to have your dinner upstairs. Then you’re to go straight to bed. I’ll be up later. Go on, now, please. Take these with you.”
  35. languidly
    in a lethargic manner
    In her stocking feet, she walked steadily, almost languidly, toward the phone.
  36. platoon
    a military unit that is a subdivision of a company
    “Oh. Well, that’s tough, kid. Why don’t you boys form a platoon and march home? You can say that hut-hope-hoop-hoop business. You can be the big shot.”
  37. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    Eloise picked it up and threw it, with as much force as possible, over the side of the banister; it struck the foyer floor with a violent thump.
  38. submit
    yield to the control of another
    Ramona neither struggled nor cried; she let herself be moved without actually submitting to it.
  39. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    She went downstairs, staggering now very badly, and wakened Mary Jane.
  40. plead
    appeal or request earnestly
    “I was a nice girl,” she pleaded, “wasn’t I?”
Created on Thu Oct 19 12:19:11 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Apr 08 16:29:48 EDT 2019)

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