Wandering Through Bill's Story - Chapter 1 - Page 12

vestiges, prejudice

"Despite the living example of my friend there remained in me the vestiges of my old prejudice." ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 12

In this sentence the words vestiges and prejudice function as nouns. ²

Tidings in this sentence means great news, something that was not known before.

Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. ³

antipathy

"The word God still aroused a certain antipathy." ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 12

In this sentence the word antipathy and prejudice function as a noun. ²

Antipathy in this sentence means dislike. When Bill would hear the word God, feelings of dislike or resistance would arise in him.

Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. 3

czar

"I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of a Czar of the Heavens, however loving His sway might be." ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 12

In this sentence the word Czar functions as a noun. ²

The word czar comes from the Russian word tsar, which comes from Old Slavic tsesar, ultimately from the Latin Caesar, the name of Roman emperors like Julius Caesar. Bill uses the phrase "Czar of the Heavens" to contrast his prior conception which envisioned God as an authoritarian, monarchical ruler.

Definition from Webster's 1930 edition. 3

CONCEPTION

"He said, "WHY DON'T YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN CONCEPTION OF GOD?" ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 12

In this sentence the word CONCEPTION functions as a noun. ²

This sentence refers to a person's individual understanding of a Higher Power.

Definition from Webster's 1930 edition. 3

foundation, willingness

"Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend." ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 12

In this sentence the words foundation and willingness functions as nouns. ²

This sentence refers to a person's individual understanding of a Higher Power.

Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. 3

Scales, pride, prejudice

"Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes." ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 12

In this sentence the words scales, pride, and prejudice each function as nouns. ²

The use of the word 'scales' in this context means something like a plate that covers (e.g., fish scales). The context of the sentence indicates that he is not using the definition of a measuring device. The phrase describes the moment when Bill’s personal biases are removed. The scales that covered Bill’s eyes were created by his pride and his prejudice. Bill is using an idiom that parallels the story of the Apostle Paul from the New Testament book of Acts. Paul was blinded by a glowing light while traveling to arrest Christians; this event acted as his conversion to Christianity. This encounter, where he heard the voice of Jesus, left him blind for three days until the disciple Ananias prayed for him, causing "scales" to fall from his eyes and restoring his sight. In Bill's case, the release of his pride, thinking himself better than others, and his prejudice towards a Higher Power cause him to suddenly see a new world. ⁴

A simple definition of prejudice, you can find this in the dictionary entry below, is a pre-judgment of something or someone. Open mindedness is an opposite of prejudice (to prejudge). Bill discusses this in Appendix II - Spiritual Experience.
"WILLINGNESS, HONESTY AND OPEN MINDEDNESS ARE THE ESSENTIALS OF RECOVERY. BUT THESE ARE INDISPENSABLE. 'There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance -- that principle is contempt prior to investigation.' Herbert Spencer." ¹
Big Book - Appendix II - Spiritual Experience

Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. ³

blotted, worldly, clamors

"But soon the sense of His presence had been blotted out by worldly clamors, mostly those within myself." ¹
Big Book - Bill's Story - spans pages 12 and 13

In this sentence the word blotted functions as a past participle verb. The word worldly functions as an adjective. The word clamors functions as a plural noun. ²

The sense of a Higher Power's presence is erased by the events of everyday life, especially in the chaos created by one's own thinking. An example of clamor, "the clamoring of the church bells". Also note it did not erase His presence only the sense of it.

Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. 3

Footnotes for page 12

¹Quotes from the Big Book on listed on this page are from the public domain version, in the United States, of the 2^nd edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Accessible at 12step.org

²Sentence diagramming, to determine the word usage within the sentence, was performed by CoreNLP at corenlp.run.

³Definitions used are from the Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language 1930 Edition. Access to this dictionary online is at Hathitrust.org

⁴The Free Dictionary by Farlex entry for "scales falling from eyes"