Homeless Bird: Chapters 4–6

by Gloria Whelan
Growing up in a traditional Indian village, Koly expects to enter into an arranged marriage at a young age. But Koly's husband and his family are not what they seemed, and she must forge a new path to independence.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapter 1, Chapters 2–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapters 9–11
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    “We are going into the village,” she said, but she would not tell me why. She hurried us past the outskirts of the village, where the untouchables had homes made of bits of metal and old crates.
  2. propel
    cause to move forward with force
    “What is there to explain?” I whispered. Sass only gave my arm a yank and propelled me into the office.
  3. coarse
    rough to the touch
    “Koly, the spices you ground for the masalas are too coarse!”
  4. badger
    annoy persistently
    That is what my sass was doing to me, worrying and badgering me with her never-ending orders and scoldings.
  5. scald
    subject to harsh criticism
    Only then, as the cool water washed over me, could I forget Sass’s scalding words and the fiery sun.
  6. modesty
    formality and propriety of manner
    We would put on fresh, dry clothes, making sure all the while that no parts of our bodies showed, so as to preserve our modesty.
  7. winnow
    separate the chaff from by using air currents
    Along the road I saw women winnowing baskets of threshed grain in the wind, the clouds of chaff flying off in the breeze.
  8. thresh
    beat the seeds out of a grain
    Along the road I saw women winnowing baskets of threshed grain in the wind, the clouds of chaff flying off in the breeze.
  9. chaff
    material consisting of seed coverings and pieces of stem
    Along the road I saw women winnowing baskets of threshed grain in the wind, the clouds of chaff flying off in the breeze.
  10. monsoon
    rainy season in southern Asia
    Now that the monsoon had come, everything was damp.
  11. mildew
    a fungus that produces a superficial white growth
    The quilts on our beds and the clothes in our chest were limp and smelled of mildew.
  12. wilt
    become limp
    Overnight the wilting wheat and millet fields turned green.
  13. gruel
    a thin porridge
    One day she accused me of putting too much water in the rice, so that it was like gruel.
  14. impudent
    improperly forward or bold
    If I answered back, I was impudent. If I kept silent, I was sullen. I saw that no matter how hard I worked, I could never please her.
  15. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    There was a man who rode a bicycle on a tightrope and a snake charmer whose cobra was so old and lazy, it could not be coaxed from its basket and had to be tumbled out.
  16. mischievous
    naughtily or annoyingly playful
    In my books I had read that as a child, Krishna was very mischievous.
  17. spiteful
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    I had heard about families that had murdered the widows of their sons to get rid of them. Though I knew Sass would never do such a thing, I believed she would surely kill my spirit with her spitefulness if I didn’t fight back.
  18. confide
    reveal in private
    Chandra began to wear a secret smile. One night she confided to me, “The gataka has found me a husband.”
  19. bazaar
    a street of small shops, especially in the Middle East
    I hoped Chandra was right, but I could not help remembering a stall in the bazaar where Chandra and I had sorted through a heap of mismatched earrings.
  20. idle
    exist in a changeless situation
    In a harsh voice she said, “You do not know the meaning of work. You idle about with your daydreams and your foolish books and your stitching. I will see to it that from now on you do indeed earn your keep.”
  21. pension
    regular payment to allow a person to subsist without working
    “She is not a bad girl,” Sassur said in a weary voice. “Think of what her life is like with Hari gone. She has nothing to look forward to. Remember that without her dowry we would never have had the money to go to Varanasi, and her widow’s pension these two years has added to Chandra’s dowry.”
  22. privileged
    blessed with special advantages
    I had looked forward to helping prepare Chandra on her wedding day, but Sass sent me away. “It is not proper,” she said. “Only those women who are not widowed and have borne a male child are privileged to help.”
  23. gawky
    awkward and clumsy in movement or posture
    Instead of a frightened gawky girl and a young and doomed bridegroom, there were a handsome young man and a happy and beautiful bride.
  24. chutney
    a spicy relish usually made with fruit, vinegar, and spices
    A tali was brought out piled with boiled ducks’ eggs, crisply fried pooris, dal, rice, curries, chapatis, mango chutney, and many kinds of sweets.
  25. pariah
    a person who is rejected from society or home
    A pariah dog would slink into the courtyard from time to time in search of a morsel of food.
  26. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    A pariah dog would slink into the courtyard from time to time in search of a morsel of food.
  27. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    A pariah dog would slink into the courtyard from time to time in search of a morsel of food.
  28. mangy
    affected with a skin disease causing itching and hair loss
    Its dirty yellow fur was mangy.
  29. lame
    disabled in the feet or legs
    There were sores on its back, and one foot was lame.
  30. wary
    marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    Soon it was following me to the river where I washed the clothes. I would bathe its sores and pet it until it lost its wary look.
  31. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
    At that moment a gosling waddled close to the dog, who had been cringing in a corner of the courtyard.
  32. veranda
    a porch along the outside of a building
    It crawled out from under the veranda on its belly and crept carefully up to me to take the bit of food I had saved from my meal.
  33. timid
    showing fear and lack of courage
    Twice more when I was in the village, I went to look into the office, and twice more I hurried away, too timid to speak to a man dressed so formally.
  34. shroud
    cover as if with a burial garment
    In the city I would be seen as the poor country girl I was, shrouded in a widow’s sari and with no proper schooling.
  35. stingy
    unwilling to spend
    As Sassur ate less, Sass became more stingy.
Created on Thu Jul 11 20:47:32 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Jul 19 10:52:05 EDT 2019)

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