- niggardlyadjectiveChapter 1 →
Extremely stingy and unwilling to spend money; miserly to an excessive degree, hoarding wealth rather than using or sharing it.
- usurernounChapter 1 →
A moneylender who charges extremely high or illegal rates of interest, preying on people desperate for loans.
- fennounChapter 1 →
A low, marshy stretch of ground that is waterlogged and boggy, often overgrown with reeds and difficult to cross.
- morassnounChapter 1 →
A stretch of swampy, treacherous ground that is soft and wet underfoot, making passage dangerous or impossible.
- caitiffnounChapter 1 →
An archaic term for a despicable, cowardly, or wretched person; someone regarded as base and contemptible in character.
- spectrenounChapter 1 →
A ghost or frightening apparition, especially one that haunts a particular place and fills those who see it with dread.
- extortionernounChapter 1 →
A person who obtains money or advantage from others by threats, force, or abusive use of power or authority.
- psalmnounChapter 1 →
A sacred song or hymn, especially one from the biblical Book of Psalms, used here as a show of religious piety.
- catechismnounChapter 1 →
A summary of Christian religious doctrine in question-and-answer form, used for instruction; here carried ostentatiously as a sign of false piety.
- bullionnounChapter 1 →
Gold or silver in the form of bars or ingots, not yet minted into coins; raw precious metal stored as wealth.
- prodigaladjectiveChapter 1 →
Recklessly wasteful with money or resources, spending extravagantly without thought for the future.
- penuriousnessnounChapter 1 →
The quality of being extremely mean and reluctant to spend money; an almost pathological tightfistedness.
- aguenounChapter 1 →
A fever accompanied by fits of shivering and sweating, often associated with malaria; used here to suggest a terrifying physical shock.
- dintnounChapter 1 →
In the phrase 'by dint of,' meaning by means of or through the force of a particular effort or quality.
- apparitionnounChapter 1 →
A ghostly or supernatural figure that appears suddenly and unexpectedly, causing fear in the person who witnesses it.
- wampumnounChapter 1 →
Beads made from shells, used by Native Americans as currency or for ceremonial purposes; here referencing buried Indigenous treasure.
- deaconnounChapter 1 →
A lay officer or minor clergyman in a Christian church; here used ironically, as the title is held by a corrupt and dishonest man.
- mortgageverbChapter 1 →
To pledge property as security for a loan, risking losing it if the debt is not repaid; here used to show Tom's ruthless financial dealings.
- zealotnounChapter 1 →
A person who is fanatically devoted to a religion or cause, often to an extreme and intolerant degree; here applied to Tom's sudden, showy religious fervor.
The Devil and Tom WalkerShort story by Washington Irving