Spin: List 2

by Lamar Giles
When a popular DJ is murdered, her friends Kya and Fuse must team up to solve the crime.

This list covers pages 57-112 in the 2019 Scholastic edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5

Here is a link to our lists for The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles.
40 words 17 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    The thought didn’t seem as naive last week as it did now.
  2. penance
    voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for something
    Since she died, it became part of my daily apparel. Wedged between my skin and the world. Penance.
  3. venue
    the scene of any event or action
    A few yards from the pair of girls, behind more animated fans who waved signs, or volleyed for attention from whoever actually had access to the venue, was a featureless face.
  4. contour
    any spatial attributes, especially as defined by outline
    Smooth, white. No eyes, nose, or mouth, though the contours for all that were there.
  5. curt
    speaking in a terse, rude, or abrupt way
    Miss Elsie nodded curtly, seemed to take in the room. Could she be feeling the same anxiety about all of this that I was?
  6. reflexive
    without volition or conscious control
    Miss Elsie still held my hand, the reflexive squeeze cracked my knuckles.
  7. lilt
    a jaunty rhythm in music or speech
    Winston Bell’s dreadlocks swayed as he walked me into the theater, the beads on the ends of select strands colliding, creating a cabasas-like clacking that his voice harmonized to naturally, giving his words a lyrical lilt.
  8. aficionado
    a serious devotee of some activity, genre, or performer
    "When I was your age, people actually read about the music,” he’d said. “Real words by real aficionados. Slick glossy covers with dope photos and art. Not all this comments-section, typo-ridden blog stuff. MIXX magazine’s managed to hang on, though. Grateful for that.”
  9. recess
    an enclosure that is set back or indented
    Sidestepping, I dipped into the shadowy recess between a tall fern and trio of men, as Paula caught sight of my ticket into this joint.
  10. jockey
    compete or struggle for an advantage or a position
    Half of this lobby was old-old, jockeying for Paula’s spot on the Iron and Fiber Throne.
  11. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    ...I did know these people. At least some of them. All the leeches, and publicity hounds, and scandal creators. All the people ParSec expressed open disdain for, here to see her on her back. Forever.
  12. misogyny
    hatred of women
    He proudly represented the worst, most exaggerated perceptions of hip-hop. The misogyny and stupid-dumb excess, from the gaudy chain on his neck, to the precious metal grill crammed in his mouth.
  13. gaudy
    tastelessly showy
    He proudly represented the worst, most exaggerated perceptions of hip-hop. The misogyny and stupid-dumb excess, from the gaudy chain on his neck, to the precious metal grill crammed in his mouth.
  14. entourage
    the group following and attending to some important person
    Knowing how he rolled—ejecting people from his oversized entourage anytime they displeased him in the slightest—she’d probably need a ride home after this.
  15. bulbous
    rounded and bulging
    He tipped his too-big bulbous head forward so he peered over the rims of his Gucci shades.
  16. miscreant
    a person without moral scruples
    Hors d’oeuvres was a big word for this miscreant, and him commenting on my employment situation rubbed me all kinds of raw.
  17. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    Turning to escape, I found that option had been taken from me. A large dude in a white mask blocked my path.
    An opaque sack slipped over my head.
  18. dais
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    And a Boomerang, looping the moment a bunch of partygoers tipped the DJ and all his equipment off the dais into a swimming pool glowing with purple lighting.
  19. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    “I got what we need, ParSec. Seems like I should probably go. I’ll email you about the schedule over the weekend. When things are less volatile.”
  20. pallbearer
    one of the mourners carrying the coffin at a funeral
    We endured. The sermon from a Catholic priest named Father Cullen. Another selection, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” by the boy band that then doubled as pallbearers, carrying Paris’s sealed coffin to a waiting hearse.
  21. preemptive
    designed to prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence
    I sent a preemptive text.
  22. blatant
    without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious
    It wasn't a direct answer, so it couldn’t be a blatant lie.
  23. facade
    a showy misrepresentation to conceal something unpleasant
    Were they watching me? Maybe. I couldn’t see their eyes, so they could’ve been sleeping behind the facade.
  24. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
    Maybe someone was close by, someone who’d find a nondescript black van creepy-strange, and human screaming even more so.
  25. scathing
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    Ask the music blogger in San Diego who ended up in a marina tied to a boat’s mast because she’d written a scathing diss of ParSec’s entire catalog.
  26. futile
    producing no result or effect
    All masks angled toward my futile gyrations.
  27. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    One of the male masks passed her a tablet. She woke it, turning her white mask a spectral blue in the glare, and tapped the screen.
  28. aback
    by surprise
    Cartoon Shoes was taken aback.
  29. confer
    have a meeting in order to talk something over
    The masks turned from one to another in some form of silent communication I couldn’t decipher. Like birds perched on a lamppost, conferring on bird matters.
  30. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    “Our...arms? What kind of body-shaming crap is that?” Fuse was indignant.
  31. reconnaissance
    the act of scouting, especially to gain information
    Elmyra Fudd kept going. “This little parlay was always meant to be reconnaissance to feel you two out, see if you were up for the assignment.”
  32. slough
    cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers
    All of the aggression between Fuse and me had sloughed away.
  33. accoutrement
    accessory or supplementary item of clothing
    As for how she recorded that fuse-blowing sound, and most of the other odd accoutrements she dressed her music in?
  34. garner
    acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
    She is trending on Twitter and Instagram right now. She’s very pretty. Green eyes, strawberry-blond hair. In the last twenty-four hours, she’s garnered roughly fourteen million more internet impressions than DJ ParSec, despite the best efforts of the Nation.
  35. disclosure
    the act of making something evident
    “Full disclosure: I created ParSec Nation. Those loonies back in the van aren’t it. Kidnapping us was their first move, Kya. Do you want to know their second? I don’t. Unless you have some genius plan I haven’t considered, I imagine you’re thinking the same thing I am.”
  36. catty
    deliberately and often slyly spiteful or cruel
    “Until we have a better move, it’s our only move. We put all that catty online beef aside for now. Plus...”
  37. a cappella
    without musical accompaniment
    He finished his work a cappella. His speed, and cadence, and message ramping up to a hard-hitting crescendo, ending on a gut-punch line.
  38. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    He finished his work a cappella. His speed, and cadence, and message ramping up to a hard-hitting crescendo, ending on a gut-punch line.
  39. crescendo
    a gradual increase in loudness
    He finished his work a cappella. His speed, and cadence, and message ramping up to a hard-hitting crescendo, ending on a gut-punch line.
  40. taper
    give a point to
    Then I returned to the most interesting thing in the room. Shameik, tall, with wide shoulders and a tapered waist, looking like the letter V, leaned into my laptop, skimming titles of upcoming tracks.
Created on Tue Apr 23 09:32:38 EDT 2019 (updated Tue Apr 23 09:54:52 EDT 2019)

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