The Red Pony: Part IV

by John Steinbeck
This novella links four episodes in the life of Jody Tiflin, a young boy growing up on a California ranch during the early 20th century.

Here are links to our lists for the novella: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

Here are links to our lists for other works by John Steinbeck: Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl, Travels with Charley
30 words 271 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. barbed
    having or covered with protective points, spines, or thorns
    Arriving at the used-up haystack, the boy leaned against the barbed wire fence.
  2. arrogant
    having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance
    Those plump, sleek, arrogant mice were doomed.
  3. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    They had grown smug in their security, overbearing and fat.
  4. overbearing
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    They had grown smug in their security, overbearing and fat.
  5. ominously
    in a manner suggesting something bad will happen
    As Billy went back to his work he said ominously, “You’d better ask him anyway. You know how he is.”
  6. profanity
    vulgar or irreverent speech or action
    “Well, I hope it don’t rain until after I kill those damn mice.” He looked over his shoulder to see whether Billy had noticed the mature profanity.
  7. cleft
    a long narrow opening
    Suddenly, while Jody watched, the black dog stiffened, and backed out of the hole and looked up the hill toward the cleft in the ridge where the road came through.
  8. earnest
    not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal
    He paddled for a while and then paused to kick bursts of dirt out between his hind legs, and he dug with an earnestness which belied the knowledge he must have had that no dog had ever caught a squirrel by digging in a hole.
  9. belie
    be in contradiction with
    He paddled for a while and then paused to kick bursts of dirt out between his hind legs, and he dug with an earnestness which belied the knowledge he must have had that no dog had ever caught a squirrel by digging in a hole.
  10. judicious
    marked by the exercise of common sense in practical matters
    Her lips pursed judiciously. Jody saw her eyes snap back and forth over the lines.
  11. elaborate
    developed or executed with care and in minute detail
    Jody went miserably out the back door and closed the screen with elaborate quietness.
  12. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    Jody peered cautiously at her to see whether any rancor toward him remained.
  13. plod
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Jody plodded on up the hill toward the ridge top.
  14. wane
    decrease in phase
    He could see the white town of Salinas far out in the flat and the flash of its windows under the waning sun.
  15. unseemly
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    The boy dropped from his unseemly running and approached at a dignified walk.
  16. pith
    spongelike central cylinder of the stems of flowering plants
    Grandfather’s rich throaty voice said, “Maybe you’re getting too much water and turning to pith and stalk. Wait until you head out, and then we’ll see.”
  17. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    He had been shaving in mid-week, for Billy held Grandfather in reverence, and Grandfather said that Billy was one of the few men of the new generation who had not gone soft.
  18. rig
    a vehicle with wheels drawn by one or more horses
    “I’ll put up your horse,” said Billy, and he led the rig away.
  19. draft
    the act of moving a load by drawing or pulling
    I’ve heard of parties that just ate up their draft cattle. Started from the middle and worked toward the ends. Finally they’d eat the lead pair, and then the wheelers.
  20. callus
    a skin area that is thick or hard from continual pressure
    Carl picked at a callus on his thumb and Billy Buck watched a spider crawling up the wall.
  21. dirge
    a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person
    The story droned on, speeded up for the attack, grew sad over the wounds, struck a dirge at the burials on the great plains.
  22. staunch
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
    A race of giants had lived then, fearless men, men of a staunchness unknown in this day.
  23. marshal
    place in proper rank
    He thought of Grandfather on a huge white horse, marshaling the people.
  24. piteous
    deserving or inciting a feeling of sympathy and sorrow
    They had been hunting gophers in the dark, and although the four cats were full of gopher meat, they sat in a semi-circle at the back door and mewed piteously for milk.
  25. flail
    an implement with a handle and a free swinging stick
    He selected an old broom handle and a short piece of inch-square scrap wood. From his pocket he took a shoelace and tied the ends of the sticks loosely together to make a flail.
  26. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    He whistled his new weapon through the air and struck the ground experimentally while the dogs leaped aside and whined with apprehension.
  27. philosophical
    meeting trouble with level-headed detachment
    “No, nor you either," Billy remarked philosophically, “nor me, nor anyone."
  28. retract
    formally reject or disavow
    It was a terrible thing to him to retract a word, but to retract it in shame was infinitely worse.
  29. disconsolate
    sad beyond comforting; incapable of being soothed
    Jody turned disconsolately away, and walked down toward the old haystack.
  30. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    The dogs coaxed and whined about him, but he could not go.
Created on Wed Oct 03 13:06:15 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 09 16:50:51 EDT 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.