That Was Then This is Now

VocabularyChapters 1-3

Sole

• Being the only one

• She was her mothers sole support.

Hustle

• To lure less skillful playing into competing

• They hustled the kid into playing a poker game.

Adjoining

• To be next to something

• The hotel rooms were adjoining.

Tradition

• Passing down of beliefs and customs from one generation to the next

Taunt

• To challenge or insult

Wistful

• To long for something or someone

• He cast a wistful look my way.

Wince

• To make a movement in response to pain either physical or mental

• I winced with pain after falling off of my bike.

Lame

• Unable to walk or use a limb due to a disability

Lanky

• Tall and thin

Intention

• Determined to act in a certain way

Inclined

• An attitude about something. Leaning towards one way or the other

Conceited

• having an excessively favorable opinion of one's abilities, appearance, etc.

Chapters 4-5

• Stifle

• To hold back a thought or action

• I stifled my yawn as long as I could.

Invalid

• A person suffering from a disease or long term illness. Sickly.

• The invalid was often hospitalized.

Sassy

• Making a smart-aleck remark or comment

Flounced

• To move with exaggerated jerky or bouncy movements.

• He flounced out of the room.

Indifferent

• Not caring one way or the other

Sarcastic

• To make rude or cutting comments directed at another person

Reminisce

• To think or recall a past experience

Rueful

• Having pity or sympathy

• I was rueful to my neighbor when her goldfish died.

Ritzy

• Fancy or the appearance of wealth

Liberals

• People who are open-minded about things like religion or politics

Vague

• Unclear or not clearly expressed

• The directions to the assignment were very vague.

Glint

• Emotion expressed through the eyes

• He had a glint in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

Chapters 6-8

• Hysterical

• Showing excessive emotion or fear

Obliging

• Will to do a favor, accommodate

• He was very obliging when it came to lending his brother money.

Ego

• Self-esteem or concerned with self

Lingo

• Vocabulary associated with a particular area of interest or the vocabulary of a unique person

Stimulants

• Drugs that increase mental or physical activity

Crude

• Rough manner, vulgar

Impulsive

• Acting without thinking about the consequences of ones actions

Analyze

• To study the nature or actions of someone or something

• I analyzed the Biology problem and came up with a solution.

Recollection

• Able to remember the events of an occasion or incident

• I recollected the time when my grandmother took me to Florida.

Gulf

• Gap between two people due to argument or difference of opinion

• Growing apart

• There was gulf between the two friends.

Half-hearted

• Lacking heart, spirit, or interest

Hedging

• Not making a comment, evasive

• The defendant was hedging the question.

Chapters 8-11

• Witty

• Use of clever remarks

Quiver

• trembling

Commune

• A small community often associated with the 1960’s and hippies. A place where a group of people live and work together.

• She lived on a commune with her family.

Glorify

• To hold in highest esteem, to honor, to praise

Relapse

• Recurrence of an illness or addiction

Concept

• An idea or thought

• At the time, using computers to build cars was a new concept.

Justify

• To give or show reason for a course of action

Bewildered

• confused

Impersonal

• Indifferent, not friendly or caring about another’s feelings

Formalities

• Established procedure or way of doing something

• The formalities of a wedding can be quite extensive.

Obscure

• Not clear or easily understood or expressed

Sinister

• Evil