Song of Solomon: Chapters 3–4

by Toni Morrison
Rich with allusions to the Bible and Greek mythology, Toni Morrison's coming-of-age novel tells the story of Milkman's journey to find his roots.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–15

Here are links to our lists for other works by Toni Morrison: Sula, The Bluest Eye, Beloved
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. contrary
    in an opposing direction
    Contrary to what his father hoped, there was more time to visit the wine house.
  2. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    Feather, a short squat man with sparse but curly hair, looked up at Guitar, then at Milkman, and frowned.
  3. glisten
    be shiny, as if wet
    Silver chains glistened at their necks and they looked faintly amused as they worked chalk into the tips of their cues.
  4. sabbatical
    a leave usually taken every seventh year
    Is he on sabbatical too?
  5. emulate
    strive to equal or match, especially by imitating
    Milkman feared his father, respected him, but knew, because of the leg, that he could never emulate him.
  6. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    Inside all that grief she felt when the doctor died, there had been a bit of pique too, as though he had chosen a more interesting subject than life—a more provocative companion than she was—and had deliberately followed death when it beckoned.
  7. acolyte
    a devoted follower or assistant
    She looked up, saw the wafer and the acolyte holding a little silver tray under it.
  8. sacrament
    a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace
    “Well, the sacraments of the Church are reserved for—” Just then old Mrs. Djvorak interrupted him.
  9. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    Corinthians listened analytically, expectantly—wondering how her mother would develop this anecdote into a situation in which Macon would either lash out at her verbally or hit her.
  10. impregnable
    incapable of being attacked or tampered with
    He had come to believe, after years of creating respect and fear wherever he put his foot down, after years of being the tallest man in every gathering, that he was impregnable.
  11. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
    Just as the father brimmed with contradictory feelings as he crept along the wall—humiliation, anger, and a grudging feeling of pride in his son—so the son felt his own contradictions.
  12. foist
    force onto another
    He’d foisted her off with “How would that look?
  13. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    But he was not any happier to see his father looming there in the hall.
  14. frailty
    the state of being weak in health or body
    Macon stopped, as though the mention of illness reminded him of his own frailty, and pulled a large white handkerchief out of his pocket.
  15. vex
    disturb the peace of mind of
    It vexed me some, but I do respect the dead.
  16. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    The door of his face had opened; his skin looked iridescent.
  17. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    Porter, Guitar, Freddie the janitor, and three or four other men were exploding, shouting angry epithets all over the room.
  18. litany
    a prayer consisting of a series of invocations by the priest with responses from the congregation
    A litany of personal humiliation, outrage, and anger turned sicklelike back to themselves as humor.
  19. agility
    the gracefulness of a quick and nimble person or animal
    It wasn’t going anywhere and it was keeping him lazy, like a pampered honey bear who had only to stick out his paw for another scoop, and so had lost the agility of the tree-climbers, the bee-fighters, but not the recollection of how thrilling the search had been.
  20. snood
    an ornamental net that confines a woman's hair
    Things quite out of place in her household: a navy-blue satin bathrobe (this for a woman who lived in a house that had no bathroom); a chubby; a snood with a velvet bow; a rhinestone bracelet with earrings to match; patent leather pumps; White Shoulders cologne.
  21. lurch
    move suddenly or as if unable to control one's movements
    He lurched a little, looked down at the blood on his clothes and up at Pilate, and licking his lips, backed all the way to the side of the house under Pilate’s gaze.
  22. flounder
    have difficulties; behave awkwardly
    Milkman floundered for a word to describe the nagging he thought he was a victim of.
  23. hospitality
    kindness in welcoming guests or strangers
    They believed firmly that members of their own race killed one another for good reasons: violation of another’s turf (a man is found with somebody else’s wife); refusal to observe the laws of hospitality (a man reaches into his friend’s pot of mustards and snatches out the meat)
  24. impugn
    attack as false or wrong
    or verbal insults impugning their virility, honesty, humanity, and mental health.
  25. begrudge
    allow unwillingly or reluctantly
    “I don’t begrudge you a thing.”
Created on Wed Oct 23 17:07:25 EDT 2013 (updated Mon Aug 06 16:33:36 EDT 2018)

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