Both Uses of
enigma
in
In Cold Blood
- how a girl not yet seventeen could haul such a wagonload, and do so without "brag," with, rather, merely a radiant jauntiness, was an enigma the community pondered, and solved by saying, "She's got character."
Chpt 1 *enigma = mystery
- And though even Duntz had forfeited his composure-had shed, along with tie and coat, his enigmatic drowsy dignity-the suspect seemed content and serene; he refused to budge.†
Chpt 3enigmatic = mysterious and seeming unexplainable
Definitions:
-
(1)
(enigma) something mysterious that seems unexplainable
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
The word may also be seen in the proper noun, Enigma Machine. It refers to an encryption device used by Nazi Germany during the second world war. Britain eventually learned to unencrypt messages sent with the machine, but kept that ability a secret.