- occupiedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Engaged in a particular job or activity; here Holden means what work his parents did for a living before he was born.
“what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me”
- grandstandnounChapter 1 →
The large covered rows of seats at a sports field or stadium where spectators watch a game or event.
“I was the only one that wasn't in the grandstand rooting like mad.”
- rootingverbChapter 1 →
Cheering enthusiastically for a team or person, showing loud support from the sidelines.
“I was the only one that wasn't in the grandstand rooting like mad.”
- crooksnounChapter 1 →
Dishonest or morally corrupt people; Holden uses it broadly to mean anyone he sees as fake, selfish, or unethical.
“Pencey was full of crooks. Quite a few guys came from these wealthy families, but it was full of crooks anyway.”
- nodding routinephraseChapter 2 →
A habitual, exaggerated pattern of nodding one's head repeatedly, done so often it feels like a rehearsed performance rather than genuine agreement.
“He started going into this nodding routine. You never saw anybody nod as much in your life as old Spencer did.”
- opposite ends of the polephraseChapter 2 →
Completely different from each other in outlook or feeling, with no common ground between them; a variation of 'opposite ends of the spectrum.'
“I just couldn't hang around there any longer, the way we were on opposite ends of the pole.”
- terrific liarphraseChapter 3 →
Extremely skilled or accomplished at telling lies; 'terrific' here means impressively good at something, not admirable.
“I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful.”
- slobnounChapter 3 →
A person who is messy, dirty, or has poor personal habits, but who hides this fact from others.
“He was a secret slob.”
- knocked me outphraseChapter 4 →
Impressed or captivated someone completely; to find a person so appealing or interesting that you are overwhelmed by them.
“I wouldn't exactly describe her as strictly beautiful. She knocked me out, though.”
- leukemianounChapter 5 →
A cancer of the blood or bone marrow in which the body produces abnormal white blood cells; it is the disease that killed Holden's younger brother Allie.
“He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946.”
- fielder's mittnounChapter 5 →
A padded leather glove worn by a baseball player in the field to catch the ball; Allie had written poems all over his.
“He had this left-handed fielder's mitt. He was left-handed.”
- moronnounChapter 6 →
An extremely stupid or foolish person; Holden uses it as a strong insult when he is angry or contemptuous.
“I told him he was a goddam stupid moron. He didn't say anything.”
- bastardnounChapter 6 →
Used as a harsh insult for a person Holden finds unpleasant, cruel, or contemptible; not used in its literal sense about parentage.
“Her son was doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.”
- crumbyadjectiveChapter 8 →
Inferior, worthless, or unpleasant; Holden's all-purpose word for anything he finds shabby, fake, or disappointing.
“Her son was doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.”
- liableadjectiveChapter 8 →
Likely or apt to do something, often impulsively or without thinking; here it means Holden would probably blurt out a lie without planning to.
“If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera.”
- doubtlessadverbChapter 8 →
Almost certainly; used to say that something is very probably true even without direct proof.
“Her son was doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.”
- give somebody a buzzphraseChapter 9 →
To telephone someone; an informal expression meaning to make a phone call to a particular person.
- depressedadjectiveChapter 9 →
Feeling a deep, heavy sadness and emptiness that is hard to shake off; more than just being briefly unhappy.
“New York's terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night. It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed.”
- cornyadjectiveChapter 12 →
So sentimental, old-fashioned, or crowd-pleasing that it feels cheap or overdone; lacking originality or subtlety.
“He's so good he's almost corny.”
- sexyadjectiveChapter 6 →
Physically attractive in a way that arouses desire; Holden uses it to describe someone with strong sexual appeal.
“He was a very sexy bastard, Stradlater.”
- agnosticismnounChapter 14 →
The belief that whether God exists cannot be known for certain; a position between firm religious faith and outright atheism.
- sort ofphraseChapter 14 →
Used to soften or qualify a statement, meaning 'in a way' or 'not quite fully'; Holden uses it constantly to hedge what he says.
“I sort of tried to pray. I say sort of. I mean I folded my hands and everything, but I couldn't make it.”
- wickeradjectiveChapter 15 →
Made from thin, woven plant stems or reeds; wicker suitcases are cheap and old-fashioned compared to leather luggage.
- dioramasnounChapter 18 →
Three-dimensional display scenes, often in a glass case, showing figures and settings frozen in a lifelike arrangement, as in a natural history museum.
- kingsnounChapter 11 →
In the board game of checkers, a piece that has been crowned and can move in any direction; Jane's habit was to leave hers unused in the back row.
“She wouldn't move her kings. What she'd do, when she'd get a king, she'd just leave it in the back row.”
The Catcher in the RyeNovel by J. D. Salinger