One of Us Is Lying: Chapters 1–4

by Karen M. McManus
Simon Kelleher publishes gossip about his classmates online. When he unexpectedly dies during detention, the four students who were in the room with him become prime suspects in his murder.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–25, Chapter 26–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
    The cute Mathlete—less of an oxymoron than you might think—seems to only ever show up when I can’t.
  2. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    We push through green metal doors to the back stairwell, a dividing line between the dinginess of the original Bayview High and its bright, airy new wing.
  3. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    Every year more wealthy families get priced out of San Diego and come fifteen miles east to Bayview, expecting that their tax dollars will buy them a nicer school experience than popcorn ceilings and scarred linoleum.
  4. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    “Mr. Avery, that wasn’t my phone you found. I don’t know how it got into my bag. This is mine,” I say, brandishing my iPhone in its melon-striped case.
  5. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    He and Addy exchange surprised looks, and I wonder how this is news to them when they’re part of the same clique.
  6. beckon
    signal with the hands or nod
    Mr. Avery’s snowy mustache twitches in annoyance, and he extends his hand with a beckoning motion.
  7. disparaging
    expressive of low opinion
    I lean against the ledge to look outside, and Simon comes up beside me with a disparaging laugh as he surveys the scene below.
  8. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
    Two cars, an old red one and a nondescript gray one, are smashed into each other at a right angle.
  9. anticlimax
    a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one
    We stay at the window, watching the scene below, but before Mr. Avery or another teacher appears outside, both cars start their engines and drive out of the parking lot.
    “Well, that was anticlimactic,” Simon says.
  10. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    He acts like he’s above caring whether he’s popular, but he was pretty smug when he wound up on the junior prom court last spring.
  11. omniscient
    knowing, seeing, or understanding everything
    “I’m the omniscient narrator,” Simon says.
  12. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Nate dumps the entire contents of Simon’s backpack on the floor and scrabbles through the mess of books, papers, and clothes.
  13. terse
    brief and to the point
    “We can’t find his EpiPen,” Nate says tersely, gesturing to the pile of Simon’s things.
  14. straggle
    go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
    I take the stairs three at a time until I’m on the first floor, and weave through a few straggling students until I get to the nurse’s office.
  15. barnacle
    marine crustacean with feathery food-catching appendages
    My older sister, Ashton, likes to joke that I’m one of those barnacles that would die without its host.
  16. simper
    smile in an insincere, unnatural, or coy way
    And she lets him get away with it. Likes it. “Of course,” she simpers.
  17. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    I’m about to put it back in my pocket when Bronwyn furrows her brow and holds out her hand.
  18. petty
    preoccupied with unimportant matters in a spiteful way
    I know her type. Not a thought in her head except her boyfriend and whatever petty power play’s happening with her friends this week.
  19. halting
    proceeding in a fragmentary, hesitant, or ineffective way
    “You know, I meant to tell you, back when it happened—I was really sorry to hear about your mom,” she says haltingly.
  20. straddle
    sit or stand astride of
    “Where do you live?” I ask, straddling the seat and fitting the key in the ignition.
  21. manic
    affected with or marked by frenzy uncontrolled by reason
    Everyone’s seen the flirting between manic pixie dream girl TC and new rich boy GR, but who knew it might be something more?
  22. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    They flank me as we walk to first-period calculus, like they’re shielding me from intrusive paparazzi.
  23. intrusive
    tending to enter uninvited
    They flank me as we walk to first-period calculus, like they’re shielding me from intrusive paparazzi.
  24. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    Since that’s the only time Evan Neiman has ever texted me, my cynical side decided he was angling for a front-row seat to the most shocking thing that’s ever happened at Bayview.
  25. stickler
    someone who insists on something
    He’s a stickler for punctuality.
  26. amicably
    in a friendly manner
    Mostly I thought Evan and I had potential to be a solid couple until graduation, at which point we’d break up amicably and head to our different colleges.
  27. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    His dark hair is more disheveled than ever, and I’m pretty sure he’s wearing the same T-shirt as yesterday.
  28. rangy
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    Everything from his tall, rangy build to his angular cheekbones and wide-set, dark-fringed eyes is making me lose my train of thought.
  29. tenure
    give life-time employment to
    Yale’s a family tradition—my grandfather was a visiting scholar there and moved his whole family from Colombia to New Haven when he got tenure.
  30. negligent
    characterized by undue lack of attention or concern
    My father says Simon’s parents are pretty connected around town, and the school should be worried about a lawsuit if it turns out they were negligent in any way.
  31. poise
    hold or carry in equilibrium
    “Does anyone remember where Simon got the cup from?” Officer Budapest prompts, poising his pen over a blank notebook in front of him.
  32. regimen
    a systematic plan for therapy
    She pulls back and reaches into her pocket, briefly flashing a cellophane packet and a smile. Red Vines, which are definitely not part of my nutritional regimen, but my favorite candy in the world.
  33. vanity
    low table with a mirror where one sits while dressing
    I should be doing homework before Jake stops by, but instead I’m sitting at the vanity in my bedroom, pressing fingers to the skin at my hairline.
  34. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    She’s so beautiful, all tawny skin and long eyelashes and Angelina Jolie lips.
  35. generic
    relating to or applicable to an entire class or group
    She’s the lead character in a movie and I’m the generic best friend whose name you forget before the credits even start rolling.
  36. splay
    widen or spread apart
    He pulls off his sneakers and flops on my bed with exaggerated exhaustion, arms splayed at his sides.
  37. pallbearer
    one of the mourners carrying the coffin at a funeral
    “She asked if I’d be a pallbearer at the funeral. It’s gonna be Sunday,” Jake says, his shoulders lifting in a shrug.
  38. terrarium
    transparent container in which plants and animals are kept
    When I was nine and into reptiles she surprised me by setting up a terrarium in the living room with a bearded dragon.
  39. commune
    a body of people living together and sharing everything
    She kept talking about this farm commune she’d moved to in Oregon and how great it was, that she’d take me and I could go to school there with all the hippie kids and grow organic berries...
  40. disclosure
    the act of making something evident
    In the interest of full disclosure, I stole baby Jesus, and it was definitely to mess with Bronwyn.
Created on Mon Jul 08 10:00:40 EDT 2019 (updated Thu Jul 11 08:28:26 EDT 2019)

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