Ruby Holler: Chapters 46–66

by Sharon Creech
Twins Dallas and Florida have been in and out of foster homes their entire lives—will they be able to trust their unconventional new guardians and find a home in Ruby Holler?

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–17, Chapters 18–25, Chapters 26–45, Chapters 46–66

Here are links to our lists for other works by Sharon Creech: Walk Two Moons, The Unfinished Angel
35 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grove
    a small growth of trees without underbrush
    Earlier, he’d collected flat stones from the creek and piled them carefully near a birch grove.
  2. sheen
    the visual property of something that shines
    The counters were polished to a high sheen, and inside the display cases, shiny bright mirrors reflected gold and silver and sparkly gems.
  3. deftly
    in an agile manner
    The man slipped his hand into his pocket, removed a ring of keys, and deftly unlocked the case, sliding out a mirrored base on which the necklace rested.
  4. decisive
    characterized by resoluteness and firmness
    Mr. Trepid had decided to be firm and decisive. “I’m looking for a watch. There—something like that.” He pointed to the display case.
  5. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    Mr. Trepid tried to look forlorn. “Absolutely,” he said. “One doesn’t like to lose such a fine watch.”
  6. strut
    brace consisting of a bar or rod used to resist compression
    The boat was upside down, and Tiller was beneath it, trying to cling to one of the struts as the boat hurtled through the water.
  7. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    The boat was upside down, and Tiller was beneath it, trying to cling to one of the struts as the boat hurtled through the water.
  8. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    They scrambled down the path to the stream at its bottom, frantically trying to get their bearings, but they had no idea which direction to turn.
  9. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    They headed off along the bank, clambering over roots and rocks, weaving through thickets.
  10. reckon
    take account of
    What Trepid hadn’t reckoned on was that Z had known Tiller and Sairy most of his life, and that Z’s cabin was over the far side of the holler, which made Z their nearest neighbor.
  11. forge
    make a copy of with the intent to deceive
    He’d tell them that he was the one who’d gotten Dallas’s passport. He hadn’t seen any harm in doing that job for Trepid, except that he couldn’t locate a birth certificate so he’d had a friend forge one.
  12. rabid
    infected by an acute viral disease of the nervous system
    An idea took hold in his brain and raced around like a rabid dog. Those twins could be my twins. They could be my kids.
  13. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    Her next lunge to the surface brought her forehead smack against a wide log, floating free in the water. She grabbed for it, pulling herself across it, hanging on as it careened wildly down the river.
  14. churn
    be agitated
    Ahead the river churned toward the next bend.
  15. bellow
    make a loud noise, as of an animal
    She didn’t recognize her own call, so loud and urgent, like a bellowing bull.
  16. dunce
    a stupid person
    Sairy halted, smacking her hand against her forehead. “I am such a dunce sometimes.”
  17. yak
    talk profusely
    “Hey! Look—we’ve been yakking and not paying any attention, and I think we’ve found a farm. See? Way over there?”
  18. gauge
    judge tentatively or form an estimate of
    “What do you think, Z?” Sairy said. “How are we going to gauge where they might be on that river?”
  19. stifled
    held in check or kept back with difficulty
    A little sound, like a stifled sob, came from her mouth. “That’s so...so...sweet,” she said.
  20. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    He knew she was as worried as he was about Tiller and Florida, because of the way she was wringing that yellow scarf in her hands and staring intently at the road ahead, as if staring would get them there faster.
  21. malaria
    a disease caused by parasites transmitted by mosquito bite
    Z slapped at the dashboard. “He got eaten nearly alive by mosquitoes! Came home with malaria.”
  22. billow
    rise up as if in waves
    Tiller’s jacket billowed up again, and she lunged, snagging the jacket and pulling it toward her.
  23. perspiration
    salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
    She wished she’d paid more attention in health class, when that nurse had come in with a rubber dummy and showed how to do that artificial perspiration stuff.
  24. probe
    examine physically
    Florida rolled him onto his side and probed her finger in his mouth to see if anything was stuck in there.
  25. nettle
    plant having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation
    “We’ve got mousetraps and lizards and worms and thumbtacks and nettles and—”
    Florida jumped in. “—and poison ivy and mashed blackberries and a dead mouse. Found the dead putrid mouse by the barn.”
  26. trowel
    a small hand tool with a handle and metal blade
    Leaning against the table was a shovel, and on the table was a trowel and a sturdy empty sack.
  27. rowdy
    disturbing the public peace; loud and rough
    “What am I supposed to do with all those kids once they get back from Sunday School? You know Morgan’s off this morning. I can’t manage all these rowdy kids by myself.”
  28. recollection
    something recalled to the mind
    “Oh, probably nothing important. You know what he asked me? If I remembered what year his wife left! I told him I hadn’t the foggiest recollection. Now take a nap while we wait for the doctor to set you free. You need to rest up. Buddy and Lucy are arriving on Monday.”
  29. conniving
    acting together in secret toward a fraudulent or illegal end
    Those conniving people, he thought. They have purposely put this stuff here to mislead anyone who might come looking. He studied the map.
  30. appraisal
    an expert estimation of the quality of something
    To his wife, Mr. Trepid said, “I’ll be taking these in for appraisal.”
  31. bawl
    cry loudly
    He didn’t know what to think. Part of him was relieved, and part of him wanted to bawl his head off.
  32. consult
    get or ask advice from
    The salesman stared at the stones and cleared his throat. “Perhaps you would like to leave them with me,” he said. “I will need to...to consult my manager.”
  33. recuperate
    restore to good health or strength
    “You can’t possibly keep them here now,” Lucy said. “What with Dad recuperating and—”
    “Shh,” Sairy said. “Lower your voice, please.”
  34. reassure
    cause to feel confident
    She wanted to wake Tiller, so that he could reassure her.
  35. bureau
    an administrative unit of government
    “Yeah. I’ll leave it on the bureau. I’m leaving that carving, too.”
Created on Tue Apr 16 13:32:32 EDT 2019 (updated Thu Jul 11 10:52:34 EDT 2019)

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