Vocabulary in The Cask of Amontillado

Wrongs or offenses done to a person's honor and feelings, not necessarily physical harm. Here it means the repeated slights and humiliations Fortunato has inflicted on Montresor over time.

Endured or put up with something painful or unpleasant over a period of time without striking back. It is the past participle of 'bear' used in the sense of tolerating.

Dared to go as far as doing something, especially something bold or offensive. Here it means Fortunato crossed a line by committing an outright insult rather than mere injury.

Freedom from punishment or harmful consequences for one's actions. Montresor insists that true revenge must be carried out without any risk of being caught or penalized.

A remedy or compensation for a wrong that has been suffered. Montresor uses it to mean setting right the harm done to him through an act of revenge.

Expert knowledge and refined judgment about a particular subject, especially fine wine or art. Montresor exploits Fortunato's pride in his supposed expertise to lure him into the vaults.

A rare and prized variety of dry Spanish sherry wine. Montresor uses the promise of tasting a pipe of it as the bait to draw Fortunato underground.

A large cask or barrel used to store wine, holding roughly 126 gallons. Montresor claims to have purchased a full pipe of Amontillado to tempt Fortunato.

Potassium nitrate, a white crystalline salt that forms as a crust on damp stone walls. In the story it coats the walls of the underground catacombs, signaling their cold and moisture.

Underground tunnels and chambers used as burial places, lined with the bones and remains of the dead. Montresor leads Fortunato through his family's catacombs beneath the palazzo.

Drunk from consuming too much alcohol. Fortunato has already been drinking heavily at the carnival before Montresor meets him.

The multicolored costume traditionally worn by a court jester or fool. Fortunato is dressed in this outfit because he has been celebrating the carnival.

A flat-bladed hand tool used by masons to spread and smooth mortar when laying bricks. Montresor produces one as a dark joke when Fortunato makes a Masonic gesture, but it is also the real tool he will use to wall him in.

Members of Freemasonry, a secretive fraternal organization with private rituals and signs of recognition. Fortunato signals his membership with a gesture, which Montresor mockingly answers by showing a trowel.

A shallow recess cut into a wall, here large enough to hold a person. Montresor chains Fortunato inside one of these recesses before bricking up the opening.

Chained or shackled so that a person cannot move. Montresor secures Fortunato to the granite wall of the niche with iron fetters before beginning to build the wall.

The craft of building with stone or brick and mortar. Montresor uses this skill to construct the wall that seals Fortunato inside the niche.

Suddenly drew back in shock, fear, or disgust. It describes a sharp involuntary backward movement in response to something alarming.

A Latin phrase meaning 'May he rest in peace,' traditionally said as a prayer for the dead. Montresor speaks it as the final, chilling words of the story after sealing Fortunato in forever.