Quarter 3 Visual Dictionary by JOSEPH LANTER

stippling - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2025-10-09 02:37:45 UTC

On page 123 of Mr. Mercedes, Brady is contemplating his murder and describing the dripping blood on the car. The text reads, "Thing One had been on the passenger seat of Mrs Trelawney’s Mercedes when he left City Center on that foggy morning the previous April, with blood dripping from the bent grille and stippling the windshield.

Stippling is defined as "the art or process of drawing, painting, or engraving using numerous small dots or specks."

Noun: stippling

Verb: stipple

Adj: stippled

Adv: stippledly

Ai example:

"Texture the Copper clay by stippling with the ball tip stylus."

casters - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2026-02-13 16:30:57 UTC

In Mr. Mercedes, m.p., Brady describes his workspace, including a chair that rolls on casters. The text reads, "There’s also a chair on casters, so he can roll rapidly from one to another. "

Casters are defined as "specialized, undriven wheel assemblies designed to be mounted to the bottom of objects—such as carts, furniture, or machinery—to enable easy,, mobile, or maneuverable movement."

Noun: casters

Verb: none

Adj: none

Adv: none

Ai example:

"The lunch cart, which the students stacked their trays on, rolled using its casters."

malaise - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2026-02-27 03:16:59 UTC

On page 3 of The Devil in the White City, when describing the slow pain/unease that caused Daniel Burnham's foot problem, it says, "He recognized that the systemic malaise that caused it was a consequence in part of his own refusal over the years to limit his courtship of the finest wines, foods, and cigars."

Malaise is defined as "a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify."

Noun: malaise

Verb: none

Adj: none

Adv: none

Ai example:

"After working long hours without a break, she felt a sense of malaise that made it hard to focus."

druthers - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 17:47:32 UTC

On page 195 of Mr. Mercedes, Hodges is talking about Brady's preferences in who he will hurt. The text reads, "Given his druthers, he wouldn't involve Jerome Robinson any more than h already has, but if he's going to follow up on old Mrs. Wharton's parting shot, he may have to."

Druthers is the plural for druther, meaning "a person's preference in a matter."

Noun: druthers

Verb: druther

Adj: druther

Adv: druther

Ai example:

"If I had my druthers, I'd go to the beach."

argyle - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 17:52:22 UTC

On page 195 of Mr. Mercedes, Hodges is describing his sock weapon that he filled with ball bearings and the pattern it has. An excerpt reads, "He thinks briefly of the makeshift but very effective weapon he keeps in his dresser drawer, the argyle sock filled with ball bearings."

Argyle means "a pattern composed of diamonds of various colors on a plain background, used in knitted garments such as sweaters and socks."

Noun: argyle

Verb: none

Adj: none

Adv: none

Ai example:

"He wore a classic argyle vest to the golf tournament".

Semblance - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 18:03:40 UTC

On page 199 of Mr. Mercedes, Brady is pulling himself together after Hodges sent him an upsetting message. The text says, "Then some semblance of rationality--fragile and wavering--reasserts itself."

Semblance means, "the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different."

Noun: semblance

Verb: none

Adj: semblable

Adv: none

Ai example: "After the storm, we tried to bring some semblance of normalcy back to our lives."

assiduously - adv.

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 18:06:27 UTC

On page 199 of Mr. Mercedes, it says that Brady follows the local crime with great care. An excerpt reads, "Brady follows local crime new assiduously, and knows both Donnie Davis's name and his handsomely chiseled features."

Assiduously means "with great care and perseverance."

Noun: Assiduity

Verb: none

Adj: assiduous

Adv: assiduously

Ai example: "He studied music very assiduously all his life".

Dervish - noun

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 18:18:48 UTC

On page 200 of Mr. Mercedes, Brady is mad that Hodges doesn't believe he's the killer and frustratedly spins in circles. The text says, "Brady whirls around like a dervish--once, twice, three times. His head is splitting."

A dervish is "a member of a Muslim (specifically Sufi) religious order who has taken vows of poverty and austerity. Certain orders of dervish are known for their devotional rituals, and are sometimes referred to as dancing, whirling, or howling dervishes according to the practice of their order."

Noun: dervish

Verb: none

Adj: none

Adv: none

Ai example: Sitting in the booth one night, Pendarvis is a whirling dervish fueled by Classic Coke and Kools."

Rancorous - adj.

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 18:46:43 UTC

On page 220 of Mr. Mercedes, we learn why Janey was visiting Mrs. Wharton at the end of her life. The passage reads, "And of course it was Janey, still hurting from her abusive marriage and rancorous divorce, who was there at the end."

Rancorous means "characterized by bitterness or resentment."

Noun: rancor

Verb: none

Adj: rancorous

Adv: Rancorously

Ai example: "The pact marked the end of a rancorous, nearly two-year fight that led to costly court fights and heightened tensions inside the union."

Congealed - adj.

28lanterjoseph — 2026-03-06 19:00:38 UTC

One page 225 of Mr. Mercedes, Hodges sees old hamburger and congealed, jelly-like grease film. It says, "He peers into it and sees crumbles of burnt hamburger rising like small volcanic islands from a film of congealed grease."

Congealed means "having become semisolid, especially on cooling."

Noun: Congealment

Verb: Congeal

Adj: Congealed

Adv: none

Ai example: "the blood had congealed into blobs"