As CoffeeCup is reading this one, I figured I would put up some vocabulary for it.... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) a novel by Ken Kesey.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Vocabulary
Part 1



1. Acoustic of or relating to sound, the sense of hearing, or the science of sound.
Example: The day room was designed to enhance the acoustic qualities of the radio.
2. Bile a bitter digestive liquid in the liver, ill temper
Example: The patient could taste his own bile when he threw up.
3. Callus a hardened or thickened part of the skin
Example: McMurphy put his big callused hand out for Chief to shake.
4. Croon sing softly and plaintively
Example: The bird seemed to sing and croon behind Chief in the closet.
5. Chronic of long standing; inveterate; continual
Example: The chronic patients could not be cured and just stood around in the day room.
6. Folio a sheet of paper folded once; a book of largest size; a page number
Example: Nurse Ratched created a folio that included a written description of the acutes’ status.
7. Hallucinate feeling a sensory experience that does not exist outside of the mind
Example: Chief was hallucinating when he thought he was inside the fly fishing painting.
8. Heft weight; heave; test the weight of by lifting
Example: The acutes bet McMurphy that he couldn’t lift the cabinet because of its heft.
9. Hovel a disorganized, dirty dwelling or hut
Example: Chief used to live in a hovel in the woods.
10. Ineffectual powerless; ineffective
Example: The doctor was ineffectual because the big nurse constantly undermined his authority.
11. Knobby full of or covered with knobs. Shaped like a knob.
Example: The control panel was knobby and had a lot of places where McMurphy could get a hand-hold.
12. Matriarchy a social system ruled by mothers or women
Example: Nurse Ratched is part of a matriarchy that controlled the doctor and the male staff.
13. Maudlin tearfully, or drunkenly; sentimental
Example: Nurse Ratched is never maudlin, she always acts pleasant and in control.
14. Ornery of ugly disposition; hard to manage
Example: Pete was so ornery that he was always picking fights.
15. Overzealous Excessively enthusiastic
Example: McMurphy entered the conversation enthusiastically with an overzealous statement.
16. Prototype the original or model on which something is based or formed.
Example: Chief was supposed to be the prototype of a patient cured by shock therapy, but the therapy failed
17. Sadism the association of satisfaction with the infliction of pain on others
Example: Chief thinks that the interns’ sadism showed when they tortured the patients with the thermometer.
18. Sadistic any enjoyment in being cruel
Example: Nurse Ratched only picked cruel and sadistic people to work for her.
19. Varnish a resinous coating material that produces a glossy surface
Example: The light reflected off the polished varnish on the floor.
20. Wheedle to persuade or influence
Example: McMurphy tried to wheedle the patients into voting for more TV time.