Some Important Notes from The Last Leaf- O. Henry
Washington Square: a park in the fashionable residential area of New York. The name is applied to the whole area also.
Run crazy: become confusing; lose any pattern or design.
Greenwich Village: not a village, but a cheap area in New York, traditionally inhabited by poor writers and artists.
Attic: a space or room immediately below the roof of a house.
Pewter: a gray metal made by mixing tin with lead; Also cups and mugs made of pewter.
Chafing dish: a heated pan for keeping food warm at the table.
Squatty: short and thick-looking (describes the house where the studio was).
Maine: one of the states in the USA. California: another state in the USA.
Chicory: a plant with bitter leaves, eaten either raw or cooked.
Pneumonia: a serious illness, causing breathing difficulties.
Ravager : Attacker.
Chivalric: polite and helpful towards women; chivalrous
Mite: a little thing.
Zephyrs: winds.
Shaggy: covered with long, thick, untidy hair.
Pharmacopeia (or pharmacopoeia): a book containing a list of medicines and directions for their use.
Styles: fashions.
Cloak: (here) overcoat; also a type of coat without sleeves.
Ragtime: a kind of music, especially played on the piano, which was first created in the USA in the nineteenth century.
Monocle: a single eyeglass kept in place by the muscles round the eye.
Idaho cowboy: a man who looks after cattle in the state of Idaho, USA. Cowboys, who are skilled riders, are popular characters in adventure stories and films.
Ivy vine: a climbing green plant having leaves with five points (not vine, the climbing plant of grapes).
The hem of his Mistress's robe: Behrman was the servant of art; therefore his Mistress's robe is the dress worn by Art. This is a metaphorical way of saying that Behrman had not even earned the smallest distinction as an artist.
Juniper: a bush that does not lose its leaves in winter. Its berries (fruits) are used to flavor gin, an alcoholic drink. Behrman smells of juniper berries because he has drunk gin. vass, mit, bose and pusiness are how Behrman mispronounces the words 'what', 'with', 'pose' and 'business'. He is German; he can't pronounce all English words properly.
Flibbertigibbet: a silly person who talks too much and cannot be relied upon.
Eaves: the lower edges of a roof that project over the walls; the lower edges of the cornice.
A goosey: a fool.
Streetcars (or street cars): trams. Cars carrying passengers, driven by electricity and moving on steel tracks (tramlines) on city streets.
Michael Angelo's Moses beard: a thick, bushy beard. The kind of beard given to Moses in the paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo (1475-1564), a famous Italian artist.
Even chances: equal possibilities. Both death and recovery are equally possible.
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