Swing: Prologue–Part 1

by Kwame Alexander
Best friends Noah and Walt bond over their shared love of baseball and appreciation for jazz. With the help of some vintage love letters (and some intervention from Walt), Noah tries to express his true feelings for his long-time crush, Sam. But as Walt and Noah attempt to "find cool," division and prejudice within their community cause their lives to take an unexpected turn.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5–Epilogue

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kwame Alexander: The Crossover, Booked, Solo, Rebound
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. copacetic
    completely satisfactory
    Everything was copacetic, Walt liked to say.
  2. accost
    approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently
    I’m listening
    to Benny Goodman,
    and getting accosted
    by Walt
    and his after-coffee breath.
  3. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
    But cool has eluded us
    since we met
    on the losing-est
    third grade baseball team
    in the history
    of earth.
  4. incarnate
    possessing or existing in bodily form
    His brother, Moses,
    is Satchel Paige incarnate,
    a baseball phenom
    in our town
  5. callow
    young and inexperienced
    The podcast that is our ticket out of the desert of callowness.
  6. hypothesis
    a tentative insight that is not yet verified or tested
    ...he’s so confident sharing
    every idea, tidbit, factoid,

    hypothesis, positive mantra
    that floats around

    in his big ole brain.
  7. mantra
    a commonly repeated word or phrase
    ...he’s so confident sharing
    every idea, tidbit, factoid,

    hypothesis, positive mantra
    that floats around

    in his big ole brain.
  8. deface
    mar or spoil the appearance of
    Libraries consider defacing a book vandalism and mutilation. It’s a threat to intellectual property.
  9. concur
    be in agreement
    I concur.
  10. delicate
    difficult to handle; requiring great tact
    She’s my best friend. It's delicate. When I'm ready, I'll do it!
  11. unhinged
    affected or as if affected with madness or insanity
    At worst, she’s unhappy. At best, she’s unhinged.
  12. guru
    a recognized leader in some field or of some movement
    He’s my romance guru. He counsels me on my love life.
  13. dervish
    a Muslim monk of an order noted for fast ceremonial dancing
    I get to see her
    spin
    like a whirling dervish.
  14. testy
    easily irritated or annoyed
    Testy, testy! I’m just trying to help.
  15. scrimmage
    practice play between two teams
    Cruz has a scrimmage today.
  16. status quo
    the existing state of affairs
    You either uphold the status quo, or you see what's wrong and try to change it.
  17. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
    Samantha “Sam” Worthington
    is a dancing, swaying, prowling contradiction.
    She is tough and kind.
  18. muddle
    mix up or confuse
    Are you even aware of how ridiculously muddled that decision was?
  19. trivial
    of little substance or significance
    Seriously, I just got home, and I haven't eaten yet. And, Ms. Miller gave me until midnight to turn my paper in.

    Trivial details.
  20. mogul
    a very wealthy or powerful businessperson
    What’s the point of having hotel moguls as parents if you can’t floss?
    They manage three hotels—they’re not moguls.
  21. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    I sit and wait, until
    my gangly best friend
    walks up in a muscle shirt
    with no muscles
  22. crag
    a steep rugged rock or cliff
    The heart of a woman beats like a raindrop on a crag.
  23. manifestation
    an appearance in bodily form
    Okay, look, this is how you need to see her. Like she’s a living, breathing, walking manifestation of art.
  24. eccentric
    conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
    He’s eccentric.
    He's confusing.
  25. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    You want profound, listen to the podcast tonight. Mind-blowing stuff Noah. Mind-blowing.
  26. jalopy
    a car that is old and unreliable
    First of all,
    it’s not sporty,
    and if this jalopy
    is the truck
    that is supposed to look like
    my kind of car,
    I’m in trouble
    with life.
  27. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    You don’t really hang with us like that anymore, Walt says to her, nonchalantly.
  28. brash
    offensively bold
    Let’s be honest, being a Woohoo Woman in today’s world takes nerve. Sometimes it takes brashness.
  29. manifesto
    a public declaration of intentions
    Check us out at WoohooWoman.com for more podcasts, and to read our manifesto on what we stand for.
  30. feign
    give a false appearance of
    Yeah, I’ve seen that. Why don't you try it! I say, feigning encouragement.
  31. haunch
    the upper thigh and back of the hip in human beings
    Hey you, stop staring at my girl's haunches.

    Haunches? Really, Cruz, Sam says.
  32. interject
    speak abruptly, especially as an interruption
    May 5, 1821. Napoleon died from stomach cancer caused by ulcers, Walt interjects. Got way too stressed out from being a traitor and whatnot, and BAM!
  33. ambrosia
    the food and drink of the gods
    Divya’s a charming name, ambrosial even. What does it mean?
  34. miser
    a stingy hoarder of money and possessions
    He starts handling the shirts and old hats and gloves like a miser.
  35. stipulation
    a restriction insisted upon as a condition for an agreement
    Not just yet; there’s stipulations. You got a piece of paper I can borrow? He’ll need to sign something.
  36. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    It smells
    like must
    and nostalgia,
    so I dust it out,
    clean it gently
    with a damp rag.
  37. finagle
    achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
    i have busied myself with ur portrait, which i hope to finish by summer, as i have finagled my way into a summer teaching gig at lincoln.
  38. whimsy
    the trait of acting unpredictably and more from whim or caprice
    the bad is that i’ll have less time to ponder, less time to paint at will & whimsy, but regardless of what i’m doing, or where i stand, i see you—everywhere.
  39. devoid
    completely wanting or lacking
    She smiles
    when I give her
    the bag,
    devoid of dust
    and letters
  40. melange
    a varied mixture or assortment of things
    ...and a penciled mélange
    of self-portrait styles
    so I can carry you near my heart, she says, crying like
    I imagine
    all moms do.
Created on Tue Nov 06 14:10:21 EST 2018 (updated Wed May 01 11:23:00 EDT 2019)

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