jan14-meanings

Some words in the two short works about Cinderella definitely caught my attention.  A lot of the words stuck out to me because I did not know the meaning of them, or they were being used in a different way then I am accustomed to.  Cinderella however caught my attention because it was describing the main character rather then being used as her name.  I googled the words that stuck out to me, here are the meanings:

 

Charwoman-a woman hired to do cleaning or similar work, usually in a large building.  I wasn’t sure what this word meant because a woman was described as a “charwoman on the bus when it cracks up,” but it essentially meant a maid who then gets rich by collecting from insurance.

Al Jolson-was a highly acclaimed American singer, comedian, and actor.  His career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950, during which time he was commonly dubbed "the world's greatest entertainer.” Numerous well-known singers were influenced by his music, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Judy Garland.  He enjoyed performing in blackface makeup.  Cinderella was compared to Al Jonson because her face was black from sleeping by the fireplace, and he would paint his face black for some of his performances.

Lentils-kind of a bean, bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 15 inches tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.  In both handouts, Cinderella had to fetch these lentils out of the fireplace.

Pious-having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations.  The mother requests that Cinderella remains pious and good after her death, so she wanted Cinderella to remain religious and good.

Smock-A loose coatlike outer garment, often worn to protect the clothes while working.  This is what Cinderella had to wear, except instead of protecting her clothes, this garment was her wardrobe.

Cinderella-One that unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect.  I had never heard this word used as anything different then the name of this character, so I found it very interesting when it was an adjective that was then placed on the girl because she was in very hard times, then ends up marrying a prince.

Pitch-any of various dark, tenacious, and viscous substances for caulking and paving, consisting of the residue of the distillation of coal tar or wood tar.  I have heard many uses for pitch, but never when it is a substance, so I had to google the word to find that it is a black, sticky substance that the prince used to make Cinderella’s shoe stick on the staircase so she would leave it behind.