The Egypt Game: Chapters 19-23

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
40 words 286 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fad
    an interest followed with exaggerated zeal
    The girls were in the midst of a jump-rope fad, so the parallel bars were pretty much deserted.
  2. exaggerated
    enlarged to an abnormal degree
    When April and Melanie wandered over—and registered exaggerated surprise to find him there—he got right to the point.
  3. flourish
    a showy gesture
    Everything was going smoothly until April took down the question and with a dramatic flourish got ready to pretend to read.
  4. hesitant
    unable to act or decide quickly or firmly
    Toby read it out loud very slowly and hesitantly, as if he didn’t really believe what he was saying; and while everyone else was still standing as if paralyzed, Marshall went into the temple, and lifted up the piece of old bedspread that covered the egg-crate altar of Set.
  5. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    But after that they went right back to being incredulous.
  6. gloat
    dwell on with satisfaction
    But, as time went by, and no one burst in on them to gloat about the successful trick, that seemed less and less likely.
  7. fume
    be mad, angry, or furious
    April sat there fuming for a few minutes, getting madder and madder at Ken.
  8. loom
    come into view indistinctly, often threateningly
    It was very quiet and very dark in the alley and familiar things loomed up suddenly, huge and out of shape.
  9. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    The flashlight beam, none too steady in April’s hand, made trash bins crouch and garbage pails lurk, and a length of hose slither against a wall.
  10. steadfast
    marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
    Especially a four-year-old who could march steadfastly by a garbage can that had suddenly developed a hunchback and great lopsided eyes, without even seeming to notice.
  11. lopsided
    having one side lower or smaller or lighter than the other
    Especially a four-year-old who could march steadfastly by a garbage can that had suddenly developed a hunchback and great lopsided eyes, without even seeming to notice.
  12. drone
    an unchanging intonation
    There was something—a faint and faraway click and then a dragging shuffle—so soft as to be almost entirely lost in the distant drone of traffic and the beating of a racing heart.
  13. gag
    tie a restraint around someone's mouth
    For a fraction of a second April’s eyes, above the hand that gagged her mouth, caught a glimpse of Marshall, still standing just inside the fence holding the flashlight and looking back over his shoulder at the wall behind him.
  14. rasp
    speak in a harsh, grating voice
    “Help!” the strange voice rasped.
  15. hazy
    indistinct in outline
    Afterwards, getting to the police station and the first things that happened there were always hazy in April’s mind.
  16. prompt
    urge, encourage, or motivate someone to act
    April looked at Inspector Grant. “Ask about his race,” the policeman prompted.
  17. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    Just then there was a commotion at the door and Inspector Grant stood up.
  18. muss
    make messy or untidy
    His hair was mussed, his face moved nervously, and the dead calm was gone from his eyes.
  19. alibi
    proof that someone accused of a crime could not have done it
    Living right there in the neighborhood, and he couldn’t give us an alibi for the nights when the Other—for the other times. And then tonight, with it happening right in his backyard and all.
  20. bewildered
    extremely confused and uncertain what to do
    April remembered that when she had seen him in the store, he had seemed quiet and shy, and in the lineup he looked bewildered, as if he didn’t understand what had happened.
  21. whereabouts
    the general location of someone or something
    But when the redheaded man confessed, and told all about things he couldn’t have known unless he was guilty, Mr. Schmitt decided that he hadn’t been positive of his cousin’s whereabouts at the times of the crimes.
  22. scarcely
    almost not
    Things had scarcely had time to quiet down after April’s narrow escape when Christmas vacation arrived.
  23. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    The consensus of opinion was pretty much, “That’s that!”
  24. seclusion
    the quality of being removed from the presence of others
    It had been a place to get away to—a private lair—a secret seclusion meant to be shared with best friends only—a life unknown to grown-ups and lived by kids alone.
  25. publicity
    the quality of being open to general view
    Poor Dr. Huddleston’s almost worn himself out taking care of them. Of course, some of them are just curious, because of all the publicity and everything in the papers. But a lot of them are neighborhood people who are feeling ashamed about suspecting him when he was innocent.
  26. alabaster
    a fine-textured white gypsum used for carving
    “Ohhh,” April said. “That’s alabaster, isn’t it?”
    “Very good,” the Professor said. “You’re quite an Egyptologist. And the other is a bit of marble facing from the wall of a tomb.”
  27. keepsake
    something of sentimental value
    Toby, in particular, hated to lose Thoth—he was a sort of keepsake.
  28. speculate
    talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way
    They speculated about what the Professor had in mind, and had just about agreed that he was probably bringing back all their stuff, when he arrived—apparently empty-handed.
  29. extravagant
    unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
    April and Melanie looked at each other and their eyes made extravagant comments.
  30. anthropology
    science of the origins and social relationships of humans
    Anne was not particularly interested in anthropology, but she enrolled in a class I was teaching on primitive and ancient peoples because of her interest in primitive art.
  31. primitive
    characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
    Anne was not particularly interested in anthropology, but she enrolled in a class I was teaching on primitive and ancient peoples because of her interest in primitive art.
  32. optimistic
    hopeful that the best will happen in the future
    She was at ease with everyone—lighthearted, fun-loving, enthusiastic and optimistic. There was a hopefulness about her—Well, after we were married I began to see life in a new way.
  33. handicraft
    a work produced by manual labor
    Her plan was to make it an outlet for some of the native handicrafts from areas where we had worked.
  34. province
    the territory in an administrative district of a nation
    There had been some unrest in the next province, but we thought—Well, there was an uprising, a small local rebellion.
  35. uprising
    organized opposition to authority
    There had been some unrest in the next province, but we thought—Well, there was an uprising, a small local rebellion.
  36. mission
    an organization in a foreign land to carry on religious work
    The mission was attacked and Anne was killed—by the very people she was trying to help.
  37. sheepish
    showing a sense of shame
    The Egyptians exchanged sheepish glances, and Ken hit himself on the forehead in an agony of embarrassment.
  38. curio
    something unusual, maybe worthy of collecting
    “I seem to have gotten myself involved in being a real storekeeper. I’m going to try to do some importing again, handicrafts and curios. I’ll be doing quite a bit of traveling for a while until I get my stock lined up. But perhaps, once in a while when I’m home, you’ll invite me to a special occasion.”
  39. chime in
    break into a conversation
    “Sure,” Toby said, “that’ll be great. And thanks again for the great present. I sure wish we had something for you.”
    “Yes,” some of the others chimed in.
  40. digest
    arrange and integrate in the mind
    They just lay there for a while, dreaming and digesting, and then Melanie suddenly sat up.
Created on Wed Jan 17 20:14:47 EST 2018 (updated Tue Jan 23 09:05:25 EST 2018)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.