The Boy in the Black Suit: Chapters 10–12

by Jason Reynolds
After the death of his mother, Matt takes a job at a funeral home, where he learns to deal with his own grief and loneliness. Learn these words from the award-winning novel by Jason Reynolds.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–9, Chapters 10–12, Chapters 13–17

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jason Reynolds: When I Was the Greatest, All American Boys, Long Way Down, Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. determined
    characterized by great firmness of purpose
    I had told myself no crying on Thanksgiving, and I was determined to stick to it.
  2. instinct
    inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to stimuli
    Then, out of pure instinct, I went for the eggs. And the flour. Some sugar. There were chocolate chips in the house from when my mother and I baked cookies for my dad’s birthday.
  3. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    “But what if she don’t like them?” I said, as I tried to nonchalantly put the ingredients up on the counter.
  4. fate
    the ultimate agency predetermining the course of events
    Everything was there. For a minute it felt like fate, but then I realized it wasn’t that deep. I was just baking cookies, and my mom cooked a lot, so of course we had everything.
  5. batter
    a mixture, as of flour, eggs, and milk, used in cooking
    I measured and poured and pinched and mixed until the batter was done. (My mother was a master pincher.) Then I poured the chocolate chips in, and some honey, which I just added because I figured it would be a nice touch. I stuck my finger in the batter, which my mother would’ve tripped about, but I just had to.
  6. presentable
    fit to be seen
    Yeah. Mom was right, as usual. I was a mess. So I started over, this time ironing till everything was smooth and flat. I looked in the mirror again. No wrinkles. I looked ten times better. Presentable and trained.
  7. tradition
    a specific practice of long standing
    It’s just that my grandma cared a lot about those folks in that shelter, especially the kids. I just feel like I need to do this. Y’know, keep her tradition alive.
  8. disappointed
    sadly unsuccessful
    I wasn’t mad about not having a private dinner with Lovey in her house. Just disappointed because I had worked myself up so much to be ready for it.
  9. shelter
    temporary housing for homeless or displaced persons
    I expected the inside of a homeless shelter to look like the inside of a prison, even though I had never been inside either.
  10. mural
    a painting that is applied to a wall surface
    “That’s me and Grams,” Lovey said, catching me staring at the mural. “We had the kids paint pictures of people who inspired them. Pretty sweet, right?”
  11. impression
    a clear and telling mental image
    I could tell she wasn’t expecting me to jump right in like that, but hey, I was trying to make a good impression.
  12. available
    obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
    You never really know how many people are in a place until they all come to one space. Also, you never really know how many people are out there struggling, hungry, until there’s free food available. Folks came from everywhere.
  13. thrift
    extreme care in spending money
    Men, some old, some young. Some with canes and walkers, wearing busted shoes. Some with shirt and tie on, and old seventies thrift-store jackets. Ladies, some toothless, in oversize men’s clothes, and some looked perfectly fine. Teenagers, acting all cool as usual, doing their best to not fit in with the homeless crowd, even though they were homeless themselves.
  14. riot
    a state of disorder involving group violence
    "You almost started a riot,” Lovey said, balling up a napkin and throwing it at me.
  15. awesome
    inspiring admiration or wonder
    Other than that, everything was cool, and it was awesome to see the smiles on everybody’s faces, their eyes lighting up with every plop of macaroni and every slice of turkey.
  16. bamboozle
    conceal one's true motives from
    “Did I invite you? Or was it more like I bamboozled you?” She put her hands together like a fairytale witch casting a spell.
    “Ah. Definitely bamboozled.”
  17. checkmate
    place an opponent's king under inescapable attack, in chess
    “No sir. Just a friend,” I replied, nervous that he’d try to checkmate me in real life.
  18. pity
    a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for misfortunes of others
    If it was a pity face, I didn’t want to see it.
  19. phony
    fraudulent; having a misleading appearance
    “So what’s it been like, spending your turkey day here at the shelter?” Ms. Whitlock, who my mom used to watch all the time, asked in that weird, phony voice newspeople always talk in.
  20. grateful
    feeling or showing thankfulness
    “I mean, like, I thought folks would be sad to be in such a tough situation for Thanksgiving,” I went on hurriedly, trying to recover. “But when I got here, and started helping, I realized that most of these people are kind, and just grateful for a hot meal and someone to talk to. We all can relate to that.”
  21. glare
    an angry stare
    “You threw me into the fire! I didn’t know I was gonna be interviewed. You set me up!” I threw a fake glare at her, but that only made her laugh harder.
  22. brag
    show off
    “Yeah, but they don’t taste funny,” I bragged, breaking the cookie down the middle. “Want half?” I asked, remembering what Mr. Ray told me to do if she doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies.
  23. crumble
    fall apart
    I stood there at the top of her stoop, which thirty seconds ago felt like standing at the top of a mountain, and I crumbled, shocked, as the glow of the day faded to nothing.
  24. daze
    confusion characterized by lack of clarity
    All I knew was that a day that had gone so well, a day that was so different from any day I had ever had, the first day I wasn’t totally dazed and numb, all zoned out because of my mom being gone and my dad being all jacked up, suddenly became just like every other day before it. A mess. And just like with those days, I had no idea why it was happening.
  25. fiasco
    a complete failure or collapse
    At first I thought it was a little strange that he had shown up so late, but he was always checking up ever since he declared he’d look out for me after the Cork/Dad fiasco, so maybe this was just one of those times.
  26. fortunate
    having unexpected good luck
    “Good evening, folks. I’m Connie Whitlock, and today was a special day, not only for people fortunate enough to break bread with family, but also for the less fortunate, who today also got to share in a family meal, thanks to the good people down at Helping Hand Shelter.”
  27. massive
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    She and Connie were walking around the shelter—they got some really cool footage of all the kids waiting in line to get their pictures taken, the massive pots and pans and trays for the food, and some of the other volunteers.
  28. closure
    something settled or resolved
    If Mr. Ray hadn’t mentioned him, I would’ve let it slide, but he gave me an opening, so I took it as a sign. Maybe Mr. Ray could find closure or something.
  29. taper
    diminish gradually
    Mr. Ray’s cackling tapered off. “Wait, what did you say?” He caught his breath. “What’s the guy’s name?”
  30. stricken
    affected by something overwhelming
    Mr. Ray flopped back down on the couch, his face stricken, like he had seen a ghost.
Created on Wed Jul 12 19:17:22 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Oct 31 11:02:47 EDT 2018)

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