“An Explanatory Glossary”: Hemingway's Unique Spanish–English Bullfight Vocabulary

Abstract

Hemingway tells all about the bullfight in Death in the Afternoon (1932), but how much specialized vocabulary does he use? This essay focuses on the “Explanatory Glossary” at the back of his book. With 586 entries—among them swear words, cheers and jeers, popular sayings, and familiar greetings—the “Glossary” is not only richer in technical vocabulary than the main text but also surprisingly entertaining to read. Supporting this claim and opening the way for further study, two lengthy tables classify each of Hemingway's headwords and subheads according to subject, overlap from the main text, length and tone of definition, and inclusion (or exclusion) in other listings of its kind. A third table classifies the non-English vocabulary that appears in the main body of the text or elsewhere in the book but does not appear in the glossary.