Elijah of Buxton: Chapters 17-24

by Christopher Paul Curtis
Born in a Canadian settlement for runaway slaves, naive and well-meaning Elijah is forced to confront the realities of slavery when he attempts to recover stolen money that would help free a friend's enslaved family.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-10, Chapters 11-16, Chapters 17-24

Here are links to our lists for other books by Christopher Paul Curtis: Bud, Not Buddy, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, The Journey of Little Charlie
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ferry
    a boat transporting people or vehicles over a body of water
    Soon as we get on the ferry to Michigan, Zephariah start in acting peculiar. First thing he done is take that old pistol he showed y’all out of his waistcoat and ax me if I wanted to hold on to it.
  2. gospel
    an unquestionable truth
    I knowed right then all them stories ’bout him killing them white twins waren’t gossip atall, it was gospel!
  3. plod
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    We just plod on up the road to this little logging village.
  4. fumble
    feel about uncertainly or blindly
    Mr. Highgate fumbled in the top pocket of his jacket.
  5. carouse
    celebrate or enjoy something in a noisy or wild way
    Mr. Alston say word was that Zeph be drinking and carousing and gambling.
  6. tarry
    leave slowly and hesitantly
    “It took me and Mr. Leroy near ’bouts a hour to ride it, but we waren’t tarrying atall. We were probably riding the horse too hard.”
  7. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    ’Stead of cleaving me like firewood he said, “Now get up!”
  8. frail
    physically weak
    Cooter’s grandma was near ’bout fifty years old and frail and ailing and Mrs. Bixby was afeared of leaving her for even a minute.
  9. posse
    a temporary police force
    I didn’t know if they were gonna put a search party together for Mr. Leroy or if they were gonna even try to get a posse up that would go to America and try to run the Preacher down.
  10. dunce
    a stupid person
    “That’s fine, Elijah, but don’t be counting on Cooter to go with you. Schoolteacher Travis just come by and said the boy’s acting the dunce at school again.”
  11. fawn
    a young deer
    I did what every fawn in the woods does whenever it gets come up on by surprise, I froze right where I was at.
  12. tussle
    fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters
    I didn’t want to drag things out none by tussling.
  13. examination
    a set of questions or exercises evaluating knowledge
    By that time we’ll be back. Won’t we? We caint be back no later than Saturday, sir. I got a big examination on Latin verbs Monday and I ain’t done the proper ’mount of studying yet.
  14. provisions
    a stock or supply of foods
    Waren’t gonna be no way to get no food nor provisions for this trip with Ma and Pa waiting on me.
  15. ease
    lessen the intensity of or calm
    After the longest time, I could smell water and Mr. Leroy eased up some on Jingle Boy.
  16. lame
    disabled in the feet or legs
    Sir, it ain’t no use to run Jingle Boy this hard. If he dies or pulls up lame it’s gonna take us twice as long to get up to that village and three times as long to get back to Buxton.
  17. tavern
    a building with a bar licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
    The man said, “That be old Benji. It’s on down the road a bit, but you ain’t gunn find him there. He most likely out back of the tavern this time of night.”
  18. squat
    sit on one's heels
    We walked ’round back of the tavern and came up on a bunch of men squatting down and talking loud.
  19. scowl
    a facial expression of dislike or displeasure
    A bunch of grumbling and scowls came over all the men once they saw that gun.
  20. kin
    group of people related by blood or marriage
    He said, “Son, he pass. Y’all kin?”
  21. pauper
    a person who is very poor
    Mr. Alston said, "We gonna have to get the sheriff boy. Tell your aunty she need to come claim him else they gonna put him in the paupers’ field.”
  22. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    I heard a chain sing from getting pulled taut and the bear-fighting dog’s paws hit me square in the side so strong that the last two chunking stones flewed out of my hand.
  23. suffocate
    deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
    I closed my eyes and waited to get suffocated or tored limb from limb.
  24. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    I opened my eyes and saw the dog was out cold, his head was lolling up ’gainst my side.
  25. akin
    similar in quality or character
    Or like a mule had et something bad and was ailing and leaking sickness, but it was kind of akin to that.
  26. bellows
    a mechanical device that blows a strong current of air
    I eased air back into me like a bellows being pulled open slow and easy.
  27. squawk
    make a harsh, abrupt noise
    I ain’t never gonna know if it was ’cause of the slow way air was sliding back into me or if it was ’cause my eyes finally could make out what they were seeing, but my head got light and afore I could do anything my senses took off squawking and flapping away like a flock of pheasants in a field.
  28. rickety
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    I felt my legs getting unsolid and rickety all over again.
  29. vane
    mechanical device attached to an elevated structure
    The mystery pistol was shaking and sliding back and forth in my hand same as a weather vane in a January storm.
  30. gouge
    force with the thumb
    “But I got this knife! Maybe I can gouge those chains out of the wood they’re mounted in.”
  31. agitate
    be an advocate for
    Chile, you need to quit your agitating ’fore you ends up shackled too.
  32. cradle
    hold gently and carefully
    She pulled me up and cradled my head in her arm.
  33. brook
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    “You heard the man, get on outta here. Don’t no one want to be hearing none of the mess you talking. We ain’t ’bout to brook your nonsense.
  34. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    I knowed this waren’t nothing but my conscience talking to me ’cause I was gonna have to break my promise to Mrs. Chloe.
  35. disappointment
    dissatisfaction when expectations are not realized
    If I was gonna think this through, I knowed I was gonna have to quit worrying ’bout the disappointment and put all my thoughts on the growned-up language Mrs. Chloe used on me.
  36. cipher
    convert ordinary language into code
    I know it had something to do with her lying ’bout her baby loving me so much, something that both of us knowed waren’t true, but I still couldn’t cipher what it meant.
  37. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    His tail was twixt his legs and he was staggering ’round and whining and looking like he waren’t seeing too good.
  38. mope
    be apathetic, gloomy, or dazed
    I said, “She’s always moping and even terrorfying folks by wandering ’round in the woods at night and saying she’d give anything for one more look, that my sister went too fast, that Ma didn’t have the chance to tell her no proper good-bye.”
  39. conjugate
    add inflections showing person, number, gender, or tense
    Mrs. Chloe’s eyes looked just like Mr. Travis’s did if you got all the way through conjugating your Latin verbs without no mistakes.
  40. prideful
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    It got me thinking ’bout Mr. Frederick Douglass, and it might sound like I’m being prideful again, but I knowed that once I got this little girl back to Buxton safe, I was pretty doggone sure waren’t no one gonna remember what happened twixt him and me ever again.
Created on Wed Dec 13 15:26:49 EST 2017 (updated Thu Oct 18 17:10:45 EDT 2018)

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