The Amber Spyglass: Chapters 17-23

by Philip Pullman
When the third book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy begins, Lyra has been kidnapped, and both Will and the evil forces of the Consistorial Court are searching for her. Lyra and Will must fight against a power-hungry archangel as they learn more about the mysterious substance called Dust.

Here are links to our lists for The Amber Spyglass: Chapters 1-8, Chapters 9-16, Chapters 17-23, Chapters 24-31, Chapters 32-38

Here are links to our lists for works by Philip Pullman: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reverie
    absentminded dreaming while awake
    She drifted into a sun-doped reverie until Atal asked:
    What are you dreaming?
  2. polarize
    cause to vibrate in a definite pattern
    Reflected light like the glare off the sea was polarized; it might be that the shadow particles, when they behaved like waves as light did, were capable of being polarized, too.
  3. amber
    of a medium to dark brownish yellow color
    By boiling the sap and dissolving it in the alcohol they made from distilled fruit juice, the mulefa made a substance like milk in consistency, and delicate amber in color, which they used as a varnish.
  4. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    They would usually make it opaque with various oxides, but sometimes they left it transparent, and that was what had interested Mary: because the clear amber-colored lacquer had the same curious property as the mineral known as Iceland spar.
  5. varnish
    a coating that provides a hard, lustrous finish to a surface
    And she began, splitting it very delicately from the edge, taking the greatest of care not to scratch the lacquer from behind, but eventually removing most of the pine and leaving a mess of torn and splintered wood stuck immovably to the pane of clear, hard varnish.
  6. disassemble
    take apart
    The contours matched exactly, of course, and as Mary ran her hands around the inside of the wheel, she could feel no difference in texture: it was as if the mulefa and the seedpod really were one creature, which by a miracle could disassemble itself and put itself together again.
  7. soothe
    cause to feel better
    Atal was soothed, and so was Mary, by this contact.
  8. begrudge
    be envious of or feel annoyance toward
    So she didn’t begrudge the time she spent with her, and now she was happy to clean the wheel holes of all the dust and grime that accumulated there, and smooth the fragrant oil gently over her friend’s claws while Atal’s trunk lifted and straightened her hair.
  9. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    She felt dizzy, self-conscious, bemused, but she did as she had to and stepped up beside the old zalif.
  10. dogged
    stubbornly unyielding
    She also felt a strange flattery: the idea of herself as swift and darting and birdlike was new and pleasant, because she had always thought of herself as dogged and plodding.
  11. daunt
    cause to lose courage
    She put the alethiometer away and wandered back to Will, with Pantalaimon as large as he could make himself and lion-shaped, in the hope of daunting the Gallivespians.
  12. tethered
    confined or restricted with or as if with a rope or chain
    The dragonflies were still asleep, tethered with cobweb-thin cord, their wings damp with dew.
  13. indignantly
    in a manner showing anger at something unjust or wrong
    “Can’t we be private?” Lyra said indignantly. “We don’t want you listening to what we say!”
  14. amends
    something done or paid to make up for a wrong
    And while I was asleep I dreamed of him and I thought maybe I could make amends if I went where he’s gone and said I was sorry.
  15. filmy
    so thin as to transmit light
    They had to perch the dragonflies on the children’s hands, and even then it was like pulling them against a pressure in the air; their filmy wings bent and twisted, and the little riders had to stroke their mounts’ heads and whisper to calm their fears.
  16. clutch
    take hold of; grab
    His eyes were so wide that the white showed all around the iris, and he was clutching the edge of the table with a trembling hand.
  17. numbness
    partial or total lack of sensation in a part of the body
    The numbness was beginning to wear off, and he could feel the pity of his state.
  18. skim
    move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of
    The dragonflies darted out of the door and skimmed over the ground and then shot up high, faster than birds.
  19. eerie
    suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
    Not long before he had found the window in Oxford and stepped through into the other world of Cittàgazze, there had been an eclipse of the sun, and like millions of others Will had stood outside at midday and watched as the bright daylight faded and dimmed until a sort of eerie twilight covered the houses, the trees, the park.
  20. disconsolate
    sad beyond comforting; incapable of being soothed
    Others in the group looked at the mother with sympathy or annoyance, but there was nothing they could do to help, and they all walked on disconsolately through the fading landscape as the child’s thin cries went on, and on, and on.
  21. squalid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
    The ghosts walked straight into the squalid confusion of the town, as if they knew exactly where they were going, and Lyra and Will were about to follow them; but then they were stopped.
  22. sluggish
    moving slowly
    The dragonflies were flying sluggishly now, and Tialys explained that they needed to rest; so they perched on Will’s rucksack, and Lyra let the spies sit on her shoulders.
  23. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    It was very much like the main town: shabby little huts, repaired a dozen times, patched with scraps of plastic or corrugated iron, leaning crazily against each other over muddy alleyways.
  24. malice
    the quality of threatening evil
    Their smoky glow flickered redly over the scraps and tatters of building material, as if they were the last remaining flames of a great conflagration, staying alive out of pure malice.
  25. impolite
    not showing regard for others in manners, speech, or conduct
    I’m sorry for asking, if it’s rude, but where we come from it’s very unusual, and we never saw anyone like them before. If I’m being impolite I do beg your pardon.
  26. jaunty
    having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
    There was an iron stove against one wall, with a clotheshorse in front of it, where some dingy shirts were steaming, and on a dressing table there was a shrine of plastic flowers, seashells, colored scent bottles, and other gaudy bits and pieces, all surrounding the picture of a jaunty skeleton with a top hat and dark glasses.
  27. nonplussed
    filled with bewilderment
    And all of them felt as nonplussed as the man had been when he’d first seen them.
  28. travail
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    It might happen when you’re sick with a fever, or when you choke on a piece of dry bread, or when you fall off a high building; in the middle of your pain and travail, your death comes to you kindly...
  29. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    Lyra turned around, knowing what she’d see and dreading it despite her bravado.
  30. conciliate
    gain the good will of or cause to be more favorably inclined
    Lyra knew that this was a time to conciliate, and she was happy to do that, having gotten her way.
  31. buttress
    a support usually of stone or brick
    Then she tied them both securely to a massive buttress of one of the roots, as thick around as her own hips.
  32. whinny
    the characteristic sounds made by a horse
    Atal was especially relieved, and touched her nervously all over with her trunk, uttering gentle whinnies of pleasure to find her safe, and carrying her swiftly down to the settlement along with a dozen or so others.
  33. dismally
    in a cheerless manner
    It was more like dusk than daylight, and wraiths and streamers of the fog rose dismally from puddles in the road, or clung like forlorn lovers to the anbaric cables overhead.
  34. filthy
    disgustingly dirty
    Even a filthy stagnant pool might be better than being dead.
  35. stagnant
    not circulating or flowing
    She looked all around, at the lake, at the jetty, at the rough path, the stagnant puddles, the dead and sodden bushes...
  36. wretched
    of very poor quality or condition
    Her passionate sobs didn’t echo, because the mist muffled them, but all along the shore in innumerable ponds and shallows, in wretched broken tree stumps, the damaged creatures that lurked there heard her full-hearted cry and drew themselves a little closer to the ground, afraid of such passion.
  37. disengage
    release from something that holds fast or entangles
    Lyra was doing the cruelest thing she had ever done, hating herself, hating the deed, suffering for Pan and with Pan and because of Pan; trying to put him down on the cold path, disengaging his cat claws from her clothes, weeping, weeping.
  38. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    Her matted, filthy black hair hung down to her shoulders; her jagged claws gripped the stone fiercely; her powerful dark wings were folded along her back; and a drift of putrescent stink wafted from her every time she moved.
  39. mock
    treat with contempt
    “But you are alive!” the harpy said, her harsh voice mocking them.
  40. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    The jeering, hate-filled sound reminded Will of the merciless cruelty of children in a playground, but there were no teachers here to regulate things, no one to appeal to, nowhere to hide.
  41. swerve
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    No-Name swerved out of reach just in time, and Will hustled Lyra over toward the door, because she was numb with shock and half-blinded by the blood running down her face.
  42. listless
    marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm
    At least, most of them were standing, though some were sitting and some lying down listless or asleep.
  43. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    In a moment the space around the children was empty, and then they heard why: screams, cries, shrieks came from the air above, and then the harpies were on them, with gusts of rotten stink, battering wings, and those raucous screams, jeering, mocking, cackling, deriding.
  44. deride
    treat or speak of with contempt
    In a moment the space around the children was empty, and then they heard why: screams, cries, shrieks came from the air above, and then the harpies were on them, with gusts of rotten stink, battering wings, and those raucous screams, jeering, mocking, cackling, deriding.
  45. somberly
    in a serious and solemn manner
    “No response,” he said somberly.
  46. wan
    pale, as of a person's complexion
    In among the press of all the ghosts, there he was, his familiar features wan but his expression as full of delight as a ghost could be.
  47. defile
    spot, stain, or pollute
    We shall hurt and defile and tear and rend every ghost that comes through, and we shall send them mad with fear and remorse and self-hatred.
  48. diligently
    in a hard-working manner
    We had a task under the old dispensation. We had a place and a duty. We fulfilled the Authority’s commands diligently, and for that we were honored. Hated and feared, but honored, too.
  49. languish
    lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
    The good come here as well as the wicked, and all of us languish in this gloom forever, with no hope of freedom, or joy, or sleep, or rest, or peace.
  50. paradise
    any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
    But the Almighty has granted us this blessed place for all eternity, this paradise, which to the fallen soul seems bleak and barren, but which the eyes of faith see as it is, overflowing with milk and honey and resounding with the sweet hymns of the angels.
Created on Thu Sep 07 13:09:21 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Sep 27 09:33:44 EDT 2017)

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