Walter's Glossary

Key words, expressions and names from Walter's Way


The terms and people below were all relevant to Walter’s time and interests. To view the descriptions simply click the term to see more.

“banking the fire”

building up the right amount of coal or wood to heat a room or house without burning too hot or burning out.

Boot

British term for the trunk of a car.

Byrd

The term used by the Cockney working class for “girl”.

Caretaker

A person who takes care of another.

Charles “Tex” Thornton

One of the Whiz Kids; graduated from Harvard University; used science to build the Electro Dynamics Corporation (with Roy Ash) which became Litton Industries, Inc. in 1953.

Cockney

Native of East London, born within the sound of Bow Bells in the City of London.
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Comptometer

The first adding machine, invented in 1887.

Cost Plus Percentage of Costs (CPPC)ion

Types of contracts, widely used during wartime to encourage production, where the contractor receives a profit beyond the actual cost of production.

David Rockefeller

President of Chase Manhattan Bank.

Death Rattle

The sound from the buildup of fluids in lungs and throat, usually signifying that death is near.

Eddie Yost

A major league baseball player; third base coach for NY Mets from ’68 to ’76.

Five and Dime store

A convenience store that carried various types of merchandise for mainly 5 and 10 cents.

Fixed Price Contract (FPC)

Contractor receives a fixed price for production, whether it covers the actual price of production or not.

Fluoroscope

An instrument with a fluorescent screen used for viewing the internal body through the use of x-rays.

General Cassius Clay

Ended the Soviet blockade in Berlin in 1949; Chairman of the Board of the Continental Can Company.

General MacArthur

General in the U.S. Army; head of military forces in WWII and the Korean War.

Growler

A reusable glass or ceramic jug used to transport draft beer.

Icebox

An insulated box used for cooling food and beverages before refrigerators were invented.

Iceman

The man who sold and delivered ice to the icebox; often traveling street to street and selling it from a cart.

IRA- Irish Republican Army

Organized citizens who sought to achieve independence from British rule in Ireland in the early 20th century. During the 60’s-70’s the group changed and became the Provisional IRA who believed violence was necessary.

Iron Lung

A tank respirator that was used in the treatment of Polio; enclosed the body up to the head, assisted with breathing, and had portals on the sides to reach in to adjust or massage the limbs of the patient.

Jimmy Carter

39th President of the United States .

Kris Weatherhead

Lead actress in “Whatever It Takes”, 1984.

Lee Ann Meriwether

Actress, model, and 1955 Miss America winner, she was nominated for 2 Golden Globe awards, a Primtime EMMY, and two others during her career. She was perhaps best known for her roles on the 1960s Batman series and the 1970s Barnaby Jones.

Litton Industries

An electronics company that became one of the leading U.S. military contractors in the ‘60s.

Lobectomy

Removal of one of the lobes of a lung.

Martin Balsam

An American actor known for his role in A Thousand Clowns as Arnold Burns.

Milton Friedman

The economic adviser to Ronald Reagan; advocate of free markets.

Mimeograph Machine

A low cost printing machine used in the 60’s that used ink and a stencil to print copies.

Phil Rizzuto “The Scooter”

New York Yankee shortstop for 13 seasons in the ‘40s and ‘50s; entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

Pinochle

A card game for two; involves 48-card deck and scoring can occur in various combinations.

Pleurisy

Inflammation of the membrane around the lungs and rib cage causing sharp chest pain.

Pnuemothorax

A collapsed lung.

Polio

A contagious virus that can result in motor paralysis and difficulty breathing followed by muscular atrophy and most times, permanent deformities.

Press Fax

An early facsimile machine which transmitted full page proofs from the editor’s desk to the printing plant and was used by the Press.

Red Brigade

A militant Marxist-Leninist left-wing group in Italy known for their acts of terror and violence during the 70s and 80s.

Relief kids

The kids of families receiving relief aid during the Great Depression.

Roy Ash

A graduate of Harvard Business School; co-founder (with Tex Thornton) of Electro Dynamics Corporation which became Litton Industries, Inc. in ‘53

Roy Cohn

U.S. attorney known for being Senator Joe McCarthy’s chief counsel during the investigations into communist activity.

“Rushing the Growler”

The term which means “to get beer”; originated from transporting beer from the pub to the home in a growler.

Sanatarium

A place of treatment and recovery for patients with long term diseases, such as tuberculosis.

Sister Kenny Treatment

Elizabeth Kenny’s revolutionary polio treatment method of using heat packs and gentle exercises of affected limbs.

“Skin In The Game”

A term originally used by Warren Buffett referring to individuals being financially invested in the company; generally refers to individuals being invested in the final goal.

Sputum

A mixture of saliva and mucus produced in the lungs and air passages..

Sputum culture

A test to check for infection causing bacteria being produced in the lungs.

Stickball

A street version of baseball played with a broom handle as a bat, a rubber ball, cars as 1st and 3rd bases, and manhole covers as home and 2nd base. Neighborhoods would create teams and compete against other neighborhoods.

Stirling Moss

A celebrated British race car driver, known as the greatest in the history of motorsport; 1948-2011.

Sunset Strip

An iconic strip of LA’s Sunset Boulevard that provides music, restaurants, and entertainment.

Telly Savalas

A Greek-American film actor who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). His other movie credits include The Young Savages (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Scalphunters (1968), supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), Inside Out (1975), and Escape to Athena (1979).

Perhaps best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama TV series Kojak, Savalas’s trademarks on that show were his bald head, affection for lollipops instead of cigarettes, and the phrase “Who loves ya, baby?”

An actor known for his role in the TV series Kojack.

Term limits

Restrictions on the number of terms an official may serve in office.

Thoracoplasty

The removal of several ribs in order to collapse a lung.

“Three Sewer Hitter”

Refers to how many street sewer covers a player could hit the ball past while playing stickball.

Tuberculosis

An infectious disease that mainly attacks the lungs and causes a chronic cough, blood in the sputum, weight loss and other symptoms; effective antibiotics were not developed until 1946.

Whist

The name means “quiet”; a silent trick taking card game played with four players in two teams.

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