The Woman All Spies Fear: Chapters 6–11

by Amy Butler Greenfield
In this biography, Amy Butler Greenfield tells the story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a Shakespeare enthusiast who became one of the most famous cryptologists in the world.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapters 19–25, Chapters 26–32
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    The work was daunting, especially at first. Only a year before, Elizebeth had been an assistant high school principal and William had been studying fruit flies. But they knew they were fast learners—and with their country depending on them, they refused to give up.
  2. smattering
    a small number or amount
    Some messages were in German, others were in Spanish, and a smattering of them were in other languages.
  3. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    Elizebeth and William devised new tests and tables and shortcuts that helped them to find patterns and solutions.
  4. ostracize
    expel from a community or group
    “You would have thought that Bill had committed murder,” his brother Max said. “If he had still been living in Pittsburgh, he would have been ostracized.”
  5. subdued
    restrained in style or quality
    On May 21, 1917, they made a secret trip to Chicago, where a rabbi married them. In their wedding photos, they both look subdued, as if stunned by their own daring.
  6. tryst
    a secret rendezvous, especially a romantic one
    One clear August evening, they pledged a new vow. “Tonight my Lover-Husband and I made a tryst with the future,” Elizebeth wrote.
  7. afield
    far away from home or one's usual surroundings
    Their job was secret, and few people knew who they were or what they were doing. But among intelligence circles, Riverbank was becoming famous, not only in the United States, but also farther afield.
  8. stoke
    increase or intensify an emotion or response
    As part of the British Empire, India was contributing both men and supplies to Britain’s war effort. Germany wanted to stoke unrest there to weaken Britain and distract it from the war in Europe.
  9. coup
    a brilliant and notable success
    But they both knew it was a joint code-breaking coup, one they had achieved together.
  10. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    Time and again, she amazed him with a “shrewd ‘guess’” that was worth more than “a whole day’s painstaking labor.”
  11. forgo
    lose or lose the right to by some error, offense, or crime
    Not wanting to forgo his paychecks, William said: “Yes, Sir!”
  12. propound
    put forward, as of an idea
    Then he would propound to me a question to which I was not to consider the reply to any degree, not even for one second, but instantly to come forth with the word which his question aroused in my mind.
  13. undermine
    weaken or impair, especially gradually
    Working together, they were solving problems that no one else could. As partners, they seemed almost invincible. Secretly, however, someone was undermining them.
  14. wryly
    in a humorously sarcastic or mocking manner
    As Elizebeth wryly noted, Fabyan acted as if he were “the supreme commander of our personal lives.”
  15. logistical
    of or relating to the management of an operation or event
    Sending secret messages from Washington to Riverbank was a logistical hassle and a security headache.
  16. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Solemn and thin, he stands tall in his high-collared uniform.
  17. wan
    lacking vitality as from weariness or illness or unhappiness
    Elizebeth nestles by his side with a wan smile. There are circles under her eyes.
  18. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    She wanted to go to France with William, but the Army did not allow female code breakers to serve so close to the front lines. The policy riled Elizebeth.
  19. rankle
    make resentful or angry
    “I, a mere woman, could not follow to pursue my ‘trade,’” she wrote years later. The unfairness of it still rankled her.
  20. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    Aware that wartime censors could open her mail, she was discreet and even stilted at first.
  21. stilted
    artificially formal or stiff
    Aware that wartime censors could open her mail, she was discreet and even stilted at first.
  22. zephyr
    a slight wind
    “I thought, last year, that I loved you—but that was as a zephyr to a gale, compared to this engulfing, enveloping worship of now,” she wrote.
  23. elide
    omit or strike out
    In letters that were passionate and practical by turns, they did whatever they could to elide the miles between them.
  24. erratic
    likely to perform unpredictably
    But mail service was erratic, which tested them. “Just imagine, almost a month since even a letter from you,” William wrote.
  25. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    “The work is so hard, and the results so very, very meagre,” he wrote soon after his arrival.
  26. in tandem
    with cooperation and interchange
    After working in tandem with Elizebeth, it felt strange to go back to breaking codes by himself, but that was Army policy.
  27. bleak
    offering little or no hope
    For Elizebeth, the outlook was bleaker. The government rarely needed Riverbank anymore, so Fabyan pressured her to return to the Shakespeare project. The situation grew unbearable.
  28. fateful
    having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
    On the night that peace was being brokered, his first thought was for her. “Dearest Woman in the Universe,” he wrote. “This is surely a fateful day.”
  29. entail
    impose, involve, or imply as a necessary result
    “Home does not entail a spotless kitchen and a faultless parlor,” he wrote. “Home does entail the presence of hearts that beat in unison....”
  30. robust
    sturdy and strong in form, constitution, or construction
    William’s health began to buckle under the strain. Never robust, he became depressed and lost weight.
  31. breach
    a failure to perform some promised act or obligation
    They had to finish their work in progress before they left Riverbank, he told them. Anything else was “a breach of loyalty.”
  32. devious
    characterized by insincerity or deceit
    Yet again, Fabyan had found a devious way to trap William and Elizebeth at Riverbank.
  33. underhanded
    marked by deception
    Always a model of courtesy, William hated to do anything underhanded, but Elizebeth made him promise he would say nothing to Fabyan until the very last moment. “We’ve got to be just as tricky as he is,” she said.
  34. transpose
    change the order or arrangement of
    A rail fence cipher is a type of transposition cipher. Unlike a substitution cipher, it doesn’t replace any of the letters in the original message. All the letters stay the same, but they are moved around—transposed—into the wrong places.
  35. stagnate
    exist in a changeless situation
    During that same period, Elizebeth had stagnated. Barred by her gender from joining William in France, she instead had spent her time dealing with Fabyan and then her father. None of it taught her anything new about code breaking.
  36. inane
    devoid of intelligence
    Women could be oppressors, too, she thought, and she took a dim view of “inane woman’s rights, man-rebellious twaddle.”
  37. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    In their wartime letters, it was Elizebeth who first broached the subject, saying she sometimes wished that they’d had a child before he left for France.
  38. profoundly
    to a great depth psychologically
    William missed her profoundly, at work and at home.
  39. blithely
    in a joyous, carefree, or unconcerned manner
    She blithely sent William “60 trillion kisses” but told him “you mustn’t love me too much.”
  40. whim
    an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
    “This is my five weeks and I shall live them to the end as my whims dictate. I may come home, not by Buffalo, but by Timbuctoo! Who knows?”
Created on Tue May 03 15:05:28 EDT 2022 (updated Fri May 06 14:55:37 EDT 2022)

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