The Egypt Game: Chapters 5-8

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
When Melanie, April, and Marshall discover an abandoned yard, they think it's the perfect place to play games based on their shared love of ancient Egypt. But the children aren't prepared to deal with a creepy antiques dealer, mysterious oracles, and a shocking murder.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-13, Chapters 14-18, Chapters 19-23
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    A roof of corrugated tin was supported in the front by a few wooden posts, and on the other three sides walls were formed by the tall boards of the fence.
  2. obliged
    having a moral duty to do something
    But Melanie seemed to feel that April’s short talk with the old man had made her an authority on the subject, so she was more or less obliged to come up with an opinion.
  3. accord
    concurrence of opinion
    With one accord the girls moved warily towards the window. Closer and closer until their noses were only inches from the dirty panes.
  4. chant
    recite with musical intonation
    Throwing up her arms, she chanted, “Almighty Set has promised his servants, the crocodile gods of the Nile, the bloody heart of the young Pharaoh, Marsh—uh, Marshamosis!”
  5. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    His funny little baby-round chin was sticking out defiantly and his black eyes glared.
  6. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    His funny little baby-round chin was sticking out defiantly and his black eyes glared.
  7. soberly
    in a serious or subdued manner
    Marshall nodded soberly. “I’ll play,” he said.
  8. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
    Feeling triumphant and treacherous at the same time, Melanie took the eyelashes home and hid them in her closet.
  9. resort
    have recourse to
    At last, they had to resort to making a Set themselves, from some clayey mud from the Casa Rosada’s dead flower garden.
  10. laughable
    inviting ridicule and derision; absurd
    Except for his glowing eyes, which were made of glass buttons of a deep fiery red, he didn’t turn out particularly well. In fact, at first he seemed rather laughable.
  11. leer
    a facial expression of contempt or scorn
    But as time passed and the game progressed, Set’s face hardened and cracked into a wicked leer, and it became clear that his strange, sunken, formless body was the very shape of evil.
  12. brood
    be in a huff; be silent or sullen
    Dark and deep as the mud of the Nile, Set brooded lumpily through a mist of sandalwood incense—ninety-nine cents at Schmitt’s—over all kinds of mystic ceremonies, weird rites and wicked plots.
  13. incense
    a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned
    Dark and deep as the mud of the Nile, Set brooded lumpily through a mist of sandalwood incense—ninety-nine cents at Schmitt’s—over all kinds of mystic ceremonies, weird rites and wicked plots.
  14. rite
    any customary observance or practice
    Dark and deep as the mud of the Nile, Set brooded lumpily through a mist of sandalwood incense—ninety-nine cents at Schmitt’s—over all kinds of mystic ceremonies, weird rites and wicked plots.
  15. compose
    make up plans or basic details for
    Right at first April and Melanie got terribly involved in composing and practicing rites and ceremonies for the two gods.
  16. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    The rituals were very complicated and the correct order of processions, chants, prostrations, sprinklings with holy water and sacrificial offerings had to be carefully written down so that they wouldn’t be forgotten.
  17. sacrificial
    related to the act of killing to satisfy a deity
    The rituals were very complicated and the correct order of processions, chants, prostrations, sprinklings with holy water and sacrificial offerings had to be carefully written down so that they wouldn’t be forgotten.
  18. papyrus
    paper made from a plant by cutting it and pressing it flat
    Each page was glued on two pieces of pole so it could be rolled and unrolled like a papyrus scroll.
  19. scroll
    a document that can be rolled up (as for storage)
    Each page was glued on two pieces of pole so it could be rolled and unrolled like a papyrus scroll.
  20. canopy
    a covering (usually of cloth) that shelters an area
    One day Melanie brought her poster paints and they painted stars and birds and flowers on the fence in back of the altar; and another day they made a canopy to hang above Nefertiti’s head.
  21. sinister
    wicked, evil, or dishonorable
    April had gone to the trouble of tricking an unfriendly dog out of the bone because it was so large and sinister looking; and it had just the right effect hanging there over the evil god, twisting and turning in the wind.
  22. bulge
    swell or protrude outwards
    It was lying in the middle of a sidewalk, where a stone had no reason to be; but even more mysterious, when you held it at just the right angle it looked exactly like a pair of long pointed jaws with a bulging snout and jagged teeth.
  23. jagged
    having a sharply uneven surface or outline
    It was lying in the middle of a sidewalk, where a stone had no reason to be; but even more mysterious, when you held it at just the right angle it looked exactly like a pair of long pointed jaws with a bulging snout and jagged teeth.
  24. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    Dad says the reason Marshall needs Security is that he had such a hard time being a baby. Dad says being a baby offended Marshall’s dignity.
  25. ambush
    hunt by stalking and attacking by surprise
    April was ambushed by a quick pang of sympathy, remembering how it was—missing someone and having to face a new classroom.
  26. pang
    a sudden sharp feeling
    April was ambushed by a quick pang of sympathy, remembering how it was—missing someone and having to face a new classroom.
  27. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “Well, of course, it will have to be up to you and Melanie to decide,” Caroline said calmly, but as she turned to leave the room April was sure she heard a rather exasperated sigh.
  28. dutiful
    willingly obedient out of a sense of respect
    The next morning April and Melanie went dutifully down the little dark basement hallway and knocked on the door of the Chungs’ apartment.
  29. enchanted
    influenced as by charms or incantations
    And there was something about the carved perfection of her face that made her smile seem like magic—an enchanted ivory princess warming suddenly to life.
  30. ferocious
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    And a couple of boys who were saying, “Hey, look at the new girl!” and, “Ugh! A girl!” and other typically fourth-grade remarks were suddenly silenced when they met April’s ferocious glare.
  31. touchy
    difficult to handle; requiring great tact
    But it was a touchy sort of thing to bring up, not knowing for sure how the other one felt about it.
  32. languish
    lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
    Elizabeth and Marshall were languishing in the dungeon, tied hand and foot, victims of the priests of Set.
  33. clamor
    make loud demands
    Even though they all clamored to know what was the matter, she only shook her head and said, “There’s been some trouble in the neighborhood. April, you and Elizabeth come up to our apartment until your folks get home.”
  34. remedial
    tending or intended to rectify or improve
    It occurred to all of them, though, that the rumors had been frightening enough to make Mrs. Ross cancel her after-school remedial reading class—which she almost never did—and come home early.
  35. medley
    a musical composition consisting of a series of songs
    Afternoons and weekends, which usually rang with a medley of shouts and laughter and pounding feet, dragged by in a strange, uneasy silence broken only by the dull hum of traffic.
  36. sophisticated
    having worldly knowledge and refinement
    She’d noticed before that April, in spite of her sophisticated ways, really didn’t know much at all about certain kinds of things.
  37. persistent
    stubbornly unyielding
    There was one rumor that was particularly persistent and particularly troublesome to the members of the Egypt Game.
  38. predictable
    capable of being foretold
    There were other people in the neighborhood who were noted for their bad tempers or downright meanness, but their actions were predictable.
  39. splendor
    a quality that outshines the usual
    But probably it was only that carpets and couches and curtains just didn’t make the right atmosphere for a game about hidden splendors and giant mysteries, in a land of mud and sand.
  40. tunic
    loose fitting cloak or blouse extending to the hips or knees
    The sheer robes were to be worn over short tunics made of pillowcases.
Created on Wed Jan 17 19:54:05 EST 2018 (updated Mon Jan 22 16:58:44 EST 2018)

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