Mary Poppins: Chapters 8–9

by P. L. Travers
In this beloved novel, a magical nanny arrives at the Banks's home to care for two children, Jane and Michael.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–5, Chapters 6–7, Chapters 8–9, Chapters 10–12
35 words 75 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. parcel
    a wrapped package
    He pushed the parcel across the chopping-block.
  2. flounce
    walk in an emphatic or exaggerated way
    “Speak for yourself,” she said crossly, and flounced to the door, pushing the perambulator so fiercely that it bumped into a bag of oysters.
  3. afterthought
    an addition that was not included in the original plan
    “If you don’t get lost,” she added as an afterthought.
  4. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    She moved onwards, pushing John and Barbara. Jane and Michael knew that she had relented, and followed wondering what a Twink was.
  5. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    Jane and Michael, stopping abruptly behind it, found themselves outside the most curious shop they had ever seen. It was very small and very dingy.
  6. shabby
    showing signs of wear and tear
    Faded loops of coloured paper hung in the windows, and on the shelves were shabby little boxes of Sherbet, old Liquorice Sticks, and very withered, very hard Apples-on-a-stick.
  7. withered
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    Faded loops of coloured paper hung in the windows, and on the shelves were shabby little boxes of Sherbet, old Liquorice Sticks, and very withered, very hard Apples-on-a-stick.
  8. rheumatism
    any painful disorder of the joints or muscles
    “Fannie’s my name,” said one of them. “My rheumatism is about the same; thank you for asking.”
  9. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    They seemed frightened and ill at ease, and somehow Jane and Michael realised that the two huge sisters were wishing that they were much smaller and less conspicuous.
  10. wispy
    thin and weak
    She was as small as her voice and as crackly, and to the children she seemed to be older than anything in the world, with her wispy hair and her stick-like legs and her wizened, wrinkled little face.
  11. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    She was as small as her voice and as crackly, and to the children she seemed to be older than anything in the world, with her wispy hair and her stick-like legs and her wizened, wrinkled little face.
  12. knotty
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    “Look at her! Just look at her! Cowardy-custard! Crybaby!” she shrieked, pointing her knotty finger at her daughter.
  13. shrill
    having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
    “Hooray, hooray, splendid, hooray!” she cried in her shrill little voice.
  14. standstill
    an interruption of normal activity
    Then she came to a standstill and her face grew serious.
  15. expectation
    the feeling that something is about to happen
    “Come along. Stick ’em on!” repeated Mrs. Corry, rubbing her hands with pleasant expectation.
  16. inquisitive
    showing curiosity
    Mrs. Corry drew closer to them, with a curious, important, inquisitive look on her face.
  17. earnestly
    in a sincere and serious manner
    From down below—in the garden, it seemed—they could hear several voices whispering together, very earnestly and excitedly.
  18. galumph
    move around heavily and clumsily
    “Silence!” said Mrs. Corry fiercely, and Jane and Michael distinctly heard her whisper something about “great galumphing giraffes,” and they knew she was referring to her unfortunate daughters.
  19. gape
    look with amazement
    “What on earth are they going to do?” said Michael, gaping.
  20. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    Then they came down from the ladders and the procession started down the hill again, Miss Fannie shouldering the ladders, Miss Annie jangling her empty pail of glue.
  21. sidle
    move sideways
    He sidled along it until he came to the head of the cot.
  22. rebuke
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
    “Thank you!” said Mary Poppins, meaningly, but the Starling was too busy eating to notice the rebuke.
  23. frill
    ornamental objects of no great value
    “Eh—what? Oh, get along, girl, get along. I’ve no time for such frills and furbelows.”
  24. complacently
    in a self-satisfied manner
    “She liked my trick, too,” said Barbara complacently.
  25. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    The Starling jeered.
  26. impertinence
    the trait of being rude and inclined to take liberties
    “Here, you impertinence!” said Mary Poppins crossly, making a dart at him and flicking her apron in his direction.
  27. sensible
    showing reason or sound judgment
    “Well, it can’t be helped. It’s how things happen,” said Mary Poppins sensibly.
  28. croon
    sing softly
    “Yes—yes. There—there. Mother knows—Mother understands. It will be all right when the teeth come through,” crooned Mrs. Banks tenderly.
  29. doleful
    filled with or evoking sadness
    So, to show that he forgave her, he turned over on his back, and very dolefully, sniffing back his tears, he picked up his right foot in both hands and ran his toes along his open mouth.
  30. speckle
    mark with small spots
    And with another loud peal of laughter he spread his speckled wings and flew out of the window...
  31. cheeky
    offensively bold
    “Well, how’s the girl?” he enquired cheekily of Mary Poppins, cocking his little head on one side and regarding her with bright, amused, twinkling eyes.
  32. alight
    settle or come to rest
    Then with a darting movement the Starling flew over to John's cot and alighted on the rail.
  33. dejected
    affected or marked by low spirits
    The Starling gazed dejectedly for a moment at the Twins.
  34. vigorously
    in an energetic manner
    He remained silent for a little while, staring into the cots. Then he shook himself vigorously.
  35. perky
    characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness
    He darted up to the window-pane, brushed down his breast-feathers with his beak and then, “Cheerio!” he said perkily, and spread his wings and was gone.
Created on Thu May 17 19:47:48 EDT 2018 (updated Mon May 21 17:01:07 EDT 2018)

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