Brave New World Vocab

A.F.

A.F. stands for 'After Ford,' referring to the dates in the modern era as coined by Aldous Huxley.

Castes

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon are the names of the castes in the dystopia, representing a social hierarchy.

Bokanovsky's Process

A method for producing many identical eggs from a single egg, forming the basis for creating identical human beings.

Caffeine solution

A tea-like drink used in Huxley's Brave New World.

Cyprus Experiment

An attempt to create a society composed solely of Alphas.

Falkland Islands

A group of islands in the South Atlantic where characters Bernard and Helmholtz are banished.

Flivver

A small, cheap automobile, especially an old one, referring respectfully to Ford's Model T.

Freemartin

An imperfectly developed female calf, used here to denote a sterile woman in the dystopia.

Henry Ford

The U.S. automobile manufacturer regarded as a god-like figure in the dystopia.

Ireland Experiment

A scenario involving short work days for lower caste workers.

Hypnopaedia

Sleep-teaching, a method used for indoctrination in Huxley's society.

Malthusian drill

Practice of contraception named after Thomas Malthus, who theorized population control methods.

Mescal

A colorless alcoholic liquor made from fermented agave juice, originating from Mexico.

Model-T

The first car produced on Henry Ford's assembly line.

Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning

A form of infant training in the dystopia based on Pavlov's classical conditioning.

Our Freud

A reference to Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis.

Pneumatic

Describing a woman with a full, shapely figure, as used by Huxley.

Podsnap's Technique

A method for accelerating the ripening of mature eggs to produce identical human beings.

Strumpet

A term referring to a prostitute.

Viscose

A substance used to make rayon thread and fabric.

Viviparous

Bearing or bringing forth living young, characteristic of most mammals.

Zippicamiknicks

Huxley's term for one-piece underwear designed for women.