Blow Their Stake

Of Mice and Men Chapter One Vocab and Idiom KEY blow their stake: Lose and/or spend all their money blowin' in our jack: losing, spending, or gambling away all our money bustin' a gut: engage in very hard physical labor -- so hard that you ache all over -- even in your gut. in hot water: to be in trouble. jungle-up: During the Great Depression, many wanderers (hoboes and tramps) would settle for the night in groups. These areas would be known as hobo jungles. To jungle-up is to camp out for the evening in the company of other like companions of the road. live off the fatta the lan': an expression that refers to having the best of everything. In the case of Lennie and George and their dream for a place of their own, it also means that they believe they will be able to survive and prosper by simply relying on what they can grow and raise -- that the land is so "fat" they will need nothing else to be happy. anguished (adj.): anguish is a feeling of great physical or mental pain. An anguished look shows mental or physical pain. bank (n.): the part of land that meets a body of water bindle (n.): a small bundle of items rolled up inside a blanket and carried over the shoulder or on the back; a bedroll. brusquely (adv.): quickly, almost rudely bucking (v.): to throw large bags of grain on a truck. cat house (n.): whore house contemplated (v.) think about something elaborate (adj.): expressed in great detail flats (n.): level, flat ground junctures (n.): where two things come together mimicking (v.): imitating morosely (adv.): in a sad, gloomy manner mottled (adj.): having a variety of hues or colors periscope (n.): used on submarines to allow the sailors to see above the waterline. recumbent (adj.): still; without movement stake (n.): an amount of money stilted (adj.): thin, like stilts sycamores (n.): a tree with leaves resembling the leaves of a maple tree thrashin' machines (n): used on farms to separate the grain or seed from the straw of such plants as barley or wheat. unslung (v.): removed; took off wearily (adv.): tired; in a tired way