The Cricket in Times Square: Chapters 1–5

by George Selden
Chester Cricket makes an unexpected journey from the fields of Connecticut to bustling New York City, where he meets several new friends but misses his rural home.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abandoned
    forsaken by owner or inhabitants
    The mouse’s name was Tucker, and he was sitting in the opening of an abandoned drain pipe in the subway station at Times Square.
  2. tend
    manage or run
    Every Saturday night now for almost a year he had watched Mario tending his father’s newsstand.
  3. murmur
    speak softly or indistinctly
    “The poor kid might as well go home,” murmured Tucker Mouse to himself.
  4. subside
    wear off or die down
    The bustle of the day had long since subsided, and even the nighttime crowds, returning from the theaters and movies, had vanished.
  5. lurch
    abrupt up-and-down motion
    With a lurch the train moved off, its lights glimmering away through the darkness.
  6. niche
    a small concavity
    But it was late now: time to crawl back to his comfortable niche in the wall and go to sleep.
  7. babble
    gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby
    And he had heard the babble of voices when the station was full of human beings, and the barking of the dogs that some of them had on leashes.
  8. thicket
    a dense growth of bushes
    If a leaf in a green forest far from New York had fallen at midnight through the darkness into a thicket, it might have sounded like that.
  9. inspect
    look over carefully
    One by one he inspected them and laid them to one side.
  10. refuse
    food that is discarded, as from a kitchen
    And wedged in a crack under all the refuse, he found what he’d been looking for.
  11. sheen
    the visual property of something that shines
    His true color was still black, but now it had a bright, glossy sheen.
  12. stout
    fairly large
    Mama was a short woman—a little stouter than she liked to admit—who wheezed and got a red face when she had to climb steps.
  13. intelligent
    having the capacity for thought and reason to a high degree
    “You count the number of chirps in a minute, divide by four, and add forty. They’re very intelligent.”
  14. expert
    a person with special knowledge who performs skillfully
    “Then give it to the expert Jimmy Lebovski,” said Mama.
  15. peculiar
    beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
    At the first sign of the cricketer friends, or if we come down with peculiar diseases—out he goes!
  16. scuffle
    walk by dragging one's feet
    From the shelf above came a scuffling, like little feet feeling their way to the edge.
  17. peer
    look searchingly
    A black head, with two shiny black eyes, peered down at him.
  18. eavesdrop
    listen without the speaker's knowledge
    It was almost as much fun as eavesdropping—if the story was true.
  19. logical
    based on known statements or events or conditions
    “Very logical,” said Tucker Mouse, munching with his cheeks full.
  20. blame
    harass with constant criticism
    “Why mind? Plenty for all. Who could blame you?”
  21. fate
    your overall circumstances or condition in life
    “Trapped under roast beef sandwiches! Well, there are worse fates.”
  22. manage
    be successful; achieve a goal
    But every now and then the train would give a lurch and I managed to free myself a little.
  23. furious
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    Anyway I worked furiously to get loose.
  24. frantic
    excessively agitated; distraught with violent emotion
    The cricket began to make frantic signs that the mouse should look up and see what was looming over him.
  25. acquaintance
    a relationship less intimate than friendship
    “I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance,” said Harry Cat in a silky voice.
  26. prefer
    like better; value more highly
    “These wings aren’t much good for flying, but I prefer music anyhow.”
  27. gloomy
    depressingly dark
    The future did not seem nearly as gloomy as it had over in the pile of dirt in the corner.
  28. refined
    cultivated and genteel
    “A long-hair is an extra-refined person,” he said.
  29. leery
    openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
    “I guess so,” said Chester, although he was really a little leery of venturing out into New York City.
  30. stutter
    speak haltingly
    “Well—it’s—it’s quite something,” Chester stuttered.
  31. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    Every Saturday during the winter, when the opera was broadcast, they would sit clustered around the radio in the newsstand, straining to hear the music above the din of the subway station.
  32. enchant
    attract; cause to be enamored
    “What an enchanting little creature.”
  33. timid
    showing fear and lack of courage
    “I was stung by a bee when I was eight years old, and since then I’ve been a little timid about insects.”
  34. instinct
    inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to stimuli
    He’s already been taught by the greatest teacher of all, Mario—Nature herself. She gave him his wings to rub together and the instinct to make such lovely sounds.
  35. prophesy
    predict or reveal, as if through divine inspiration
    I prophesy great things for a creature of such ability, Mario.
Created on Thu Dec 18 19:35:26 EST 2014 (updated Wed Sep 05 14:41:55 EDT 2018)

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