Angela's Ashes: Chapters 11–14

by Frank McCourt
After the death of their daughter, Frank McCourt's impoverished immigrant parents decide to return to Ireland. With humor and tenderness, this Putlizer Prize-winning memoir tells the story of his early life there.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–14, Chapters 15–19
15 words 390 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. arrears
    an unpaid overdue debt
    Mam comes back up to Italy and sits by the fire wondering where in God’s name she’ll get the money for a week’s rent never mind the arrears.
  2. wrest
    obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
    He talks about American history, If the American farmer, with flintlock and musket, could wrest from the English a continent, surely we, warriors ever, can recover our island.
  3. lament
    a mournful poem
    He says that this seems to be a poem about England but it is a lament for the poet’s native land, our own native land, Ireland.
  4. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    In arguing, too, the parson owned his skill,
    For, even though vanquished, he could argue still.
  5. resplendent
    having great beauty
    Stock your minds and you can move through the world resplendent.
  6. pithy
    concise and full of meaning
    Pithy, Clarke, but adequate.
  7. hew
    strike with an axe; cut down, strike
    Mr. O’Halloran tells the class it’s a disgrace that boys like McCourt, Clarke, Kennedy, have to hew wood and draw water.
  8. foist
    force onto another
    He is disgusted by this free and independent Ireland that keeps a class system foisted on us by the English, that we are throwing our talented children on the dungheap.
  9. succumb
    give in or consent reluctantly
    He wants you with him in hell and know this, that every time you interfere with yourself, every time you succumb to the vile sin of self-abuse you not only nail Christ to the cross you take another step closer to hell itself.
  10. repentance
    remorse for your past conduct
    I go to confession and they hiss that I’m not in a proper spirit of repentance, that if I were I’d give up this hideous sin.
  11. absolution
    the act of being formally forgiven
    Sometimes he falls asleep and I don’t have the heart to wake him up so I go to Communion the next day without penance or absolution.
  12. obituary
    a notice of someone's death
    I lick the obituaries and the sad memorial poems, the sports pages, the market prices of eggs butter and bacon.
  13. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    They sailed around for awhile and traipsed through various countries till they stopped in Cologne where the chief of the Huns asked Ursula to marry him.
  14. canonize
    declare (a dead person) to be a saint
    She always looks worried when I’m at the dictionary so I tell her I’m looking for canonize or beatific or any class of a religious word.
  15. beatific
    experiencing or displaying extreme joy or bliss
    She always looks worried when I’m at the dictionary so I tell her I’m looking for canonize or beatific or any class of a religious word.
Created on Wed Mar 20 23:39:12 EDT 2013 (updated Wed Jul 16 15:51:12 EDT 2025)

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