Beyond the Bright Sea: Chapters 10–16

by Lauren Wolk
As a baby, Crow was discovered in a boat adrift at sea and raised on an isolated island off of Cape Cod. When twelve-year-old Crow spots a fire on a nearby island, once the home of a leper colony, she begins to investigate her own past.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–9, Chapters 10–16, Chapters 17–28, Chapters 29–40
35 words 130 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. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    He was a big man, bigger even than Osh, with a square head and a flat, ruddy face.
  2. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    “Come see here,” he said, beckoning.
  3. carrion
    the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food
    “The man carries a shovel,” Osh said. “He’s digging for something.”
    “Or burying,” Miss Maggie said. “Maybe carrion. So the buzzards don’t come.”
  4. muse
    reflect deeply on a subject
    “Hmm,” Miss Maggie mused. “He didn’t strike me as a fool on a lark.”
  5. lark
    any carefree episode
    “Hmm,” Miss Maggie mused. “He didn’t strike me as a fool on a lark.”
  6. oddity
    eccentricity that is not easily explained
    Maybe Osh was right: Even if I proved I wasn’t from Penikese, the other islanders might still treat me like I was a frightening oddity—for any number of reasons.
  7. brisk
    quick and energetic
    When he came down to the dock to collect the daily mail from the ferry, he said, with a brisk nod, “I will see it gets to you straightaway when it comes, and no delay whatsoever.”
  8. brine
    a strong solution of salt and water used for pickling
    As if he’d read my mind, Osh called, “Bring the mussels up in plenty of brine, and pull some spring onions, too.”
  9. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    I clambered over the rocks to where I could see her and she me.
  10. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    “Your letter,” she said, holding it aloft.
  11. profound
    of the greatest intensity; complete
    I could never understand why they had not come for me when the labor began or why they buried the baby so quickly, without a minister even. But grief has its own reasons. And theirs was profound.
  12. assuage
    satisfy, as thirst
    Perhaps, she said, there is something else she can tell you to assuage your curiosity.
  13. inclined
    having a preference, disposition, or tendency
    If you feel inclined to share that information, please write again.
  14. flourish
    an ornamental embellishment in writing
    And here he signed his name with a great flourish, and the 8th of June, 1925, and Carville, Louisiana.
  15. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    If I wanted to, I could climb to the top of Lookout Hill or into the pulpit at Sunday service or up onto the roof of the highest house and yell the news to anyone who would listen.
  16. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    Miss Maggie gave me a rueful smile.
  17. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    He looked at me intently.
  18. cue
    a stimulus that provides information about what to do
    And then, taking my cue from Dr. Eastman, I signed the letter:
    I remain, Crow.
  19. mantelpiece
    a shelf that projects from a wall above a fireplace
    Above her mantelpiece was a meadow full of sheep.
  20. cistern
    an artificial reservoir for storing liquids
    I spent a moment at Miss Maggie’s cistern, dusting myself off and sluicing rainwater over my head, before I met her at her door.
  21. sluice
    pour as if from a conduit that carries a rapid flow of water
    I spent a moment at Miss Maggie’s cistern, dusting myself off and sluicing rainwater over my head, before I met her at her door.
  22. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    “This may be the shortest letter I’ve ever read,” she said. “And the most cryptic.”
  23. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    “As if a morsel of vegetable would kill you,” she muttered.
  24. decent
    socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
    “Now that’s not fair, Maggie,” he said, “when I’ve never been anything but decent to you.”
  25. mortar
    a vessel in which substances can be ground with a pestle
    Osh added a bit of water to the mortar and worked the mash some more.
  26. pestle
    a hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar
    Nothing for a while but the muted tock of the pestle in the mortar and Mouse’s purring.
  27. elusive
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    Again, that small, elusive moment rose through everything that had happened since then, like a bubble in a pot on its way to the boil.
  28. forage
    collect or look around for, as food
    “We could make it a proper foraging trip,” I said.
  29. tether
    tie with a rope
    Osh turned into the wind at each float so the skiff went into irons, its sails limp and luffing, and then tethered us to the buoy and hauled the pot up, hand over hand, and into the boat so I could reach in and grab the lobster while it clacked its claws and arched its back, flapping its tail madly.
  30. poach
    hunt illegally
    “No one poaches,” he said. “Not here. If a float has my mark, the trap below has my lobster. And no funny business.”
  31. livelihood
    the financial means whereby one supports oneself
    I liked the idea that no one would steal another person’s livelihood, even though they could do it in the dark of night, unseen.
  32. gale
    a strong wind moving 34–40 knots
    It did rain that afternoon and all night into morning, too. Not a gale. Just a long, gray rain that fell straight and soft on a flat sea.
  33. frail
    physically weak
    She was talking about the littlest of the lambs, still small and frail while the others had grown to be sturdy young sheep, full of play.
  34. kerchief
    a square scarf folded into a triangle and worn over the head
    His mouth was stuffed full of rag tied in place with a kerchief so all he could do was growl and moan.
  35. wharf
    a platform from the shore that provides access to ships
    “Last time I sailed to New Bedford for supplies a man at the wharf asked for a lift to Cuttyhunk. Said he was a pilot coming over for work. And I thought nothing of it. Didn’t mind the extra mile to drop him there before coming home. Thought I’d stop at the inn for a meal and some company.”
Created on Sun Jan 27 21:05:00 EST 2019 (updated Wed Jan 30 14:47:11 EST 2019)

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.