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The Hazel Wood: Chapters 25–31

After her mother goes missing, Alice journeys to a dark fairytale world in the hopes of finding her.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–18, Chapters 19–24, Chapters 25–31
40 words 9 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. subterfuge
    something intended to misrepresent the nature of an activity
    Janet was better at subterfuge than her girlfriend.
  2. dodgy
    of uncertain outcome; especially fraught with risk
    People come here from your world—my world, once—by various means, sometimes accidental but more often on purpose. I’ve made it my job to welcome them, warn them, and keep track of them. The numbers get a bit dodgy, of course, what with all the things you can fall into or get eaten by.
  3. ostensibly
    from appearances alone
    “That’s the real problem with the Hinterland,” Janet said, ostensibly to me.
  4. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    “A large coincidence, that is. I’m sure you hate having the excuse to talk about her.” But Ingrid said it without rancor, moving to stand behind Janet and rest her hands on her shoulders.
  5. bastion
    a stronghold for shelter during a battle
    “Sense,” she said. “The last bastion of the struggling refugee.”
  6. prodigal
    a recklessly extravagant person
    “My god. You’re not anybody’s granddaughter, you’re the prodigal returned. No wonder she pushed you back through!”
  7. genuflect
    bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
    Her shoulders were hunched respectfully; I was worried she might try to genuflect in my direction.
  8. sternum
    the breastbone
    When I pressed two fingers gently to my sternum it made my heart feel like it had brain freeze.
  9. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    When I blinked, I could see faces in the bark—funny ones, wizened ones, lovely ones.
  10. dashiki
    a loose and brightly colored African shirt
    The bartender was a massive man wearing a dashiki and an impressive brown beard.
  11. ply
    keep offering or supplying something desirable to someone
    He plied me with free cups of a buttery yellow beer that tasted exactly like kiwis, and I sang rustily for his recorder—“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Landslide,” “Billie Jean.”
  12. stasis
    inactivity resulting from a balance between opposing forces
    “Look at yourself—at your hands. It’ll reach your mind soon, you know. It’ll reach your heart. They’ve been waiting a very long time for you to come back—the queen, the king. And stasis is worse than stories, they say.”
  13. eaves
    the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
    We rode past a house that hung too close over the road, as if it had outgrown its lot. Three women moved like mist around its eaves, reaching up to tap their fingernails against its windows.
  14. metronome
    clicking pendulum indicating the tempo of a piece of music
    A sudden metronome beat rose from the swirl of trees and night. It filled my chest like a heartbeat and threw off the rhythm of my breath.
  15. chasten
    censure severely
    I fell back, chastened.
  16. outcropping
    part of a rock formation that juts above surrounding land
    It was a rambling thicket of turrets and dull windows and decorative outcroppings.
  17. resonance
    the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds
    Her final words had an extra resonance to them, a blur. Like they wore a mask to hide their true intentions.
  18. beguiling
    highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
    She gave me a smile that should’ve been beguiling but made my shoulders rise protectively.
  19. condescension
    showing arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
    The condescension in her voice almost made me buckle.
  20. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    We entered a hall so high and vast it felt like a gym, its gilded corners softened by mossy masses that had to be birds’ nests.
  21. rictus
    a gaping grimace
    Seventeen years. Seventeen years in this rictus. Finally I was grateful time worked differently here. Maybe it felt faster to them, like time passing in a dream.
  22. circumscribe
    restrict or confine
    “Nobody can fix a broken machine if they don’t have the parts,” she said, and led me into a passageway whose floor prickled with rushes. Here and there they rustled with tiny things moving in circumscribed paths.
  23. pendulous
    hanging loosely or bending downward
    The dark was vast and pendulous.
  24. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
    But that word plucked at something else in my rapt, nascent baby brain.
  25. nascent
    being born or beginning
    But that word plucked at something else in my rapt, nascent baby brain.
  26. contingent
    a gathering of persons representative of some larger group
    By then I knew the king wasn’t really my father—a contingent of men had spent a few weeks at the palace some months before I was born.
  27. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
    When my eligibility was announced, I knew I could be frivolous. A princess can set rules for her suitors, even a blackhearted girl like me.
  28. truss
    secure with or as if with ropes
    I was frozen, trussed, on my way to a life of servitude, but the follower—that was what filled me with fear.
  29. doggedly
    with obstinate determination
    I saw a rusty blue Buick, the Hula-Hoop I’d been spinning doggedly over my hips when he pulled up beside me.
  30. winch
    pull or lift up with or as if with a lifting device
    I winched my eyes open and saw the raw threads being snipped and stitched back into place by invisible fingers.
  31. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
    I held on to that tenacious spike of fear and rage.
  32. keen
    express grief verbally
    The brother thumped hard to the earth, keening as the wind was knocked out of him.
  33. incite
    give an incentive for action
    “Every ex-Story I spoke to says the stories broke one of two ways: they were wound down by the Spinner, or picked apart by an inciting incident. And that inciting incident always had to do with a refugee wandering in at the wrong time. From there we extrapolated—” She stopped short, looking at me and Finch.
  34. extrapolate
    draw from specific cases for more general cases
    “Every ex-Story I spoke to says the stories broke one of two ways: they were wound down by the Spinner, or picked apart by an inciting incident. And that inciting incident always had to do with a refugee wandering in at the wrong time. From there we extrapolated—” She stopped short, looking at me and Finch.
  35. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    The sky was a mottled blue, the sunlight strange.
  36. dun
    of a dull greyish brown to brownish grey color
    The sand was glittering white, then dun, then grassy, then just grass.
  37. glean
    gather, as of natural products
    I tried to glean clues about how much time had passed from the make of the cars, without luck.
  38. circumspect
    careful to consider potential consequences and avoid risk
    I was slower to anger now, more circumspect.
  39. singular
    unusual or striking
    The psychic wasn’t in—she didn’t start work till noon, and it was ten a.m. on a Sunday—but the room was half-filled with people who had singular faces. Cruel features, or lovely ones, delicately drawn.
  40. grievance
    a complaint about a wrong that causes resentment
    Every week, the Hinterland’s refugees gathered in the psychic’s parlor to talk. Drink coffee. Settle grievances.
Created on Wed Aug 14 13:03:14 EDT 2019 (updated Wed Aug 21 16:29:41 EDT 2019)

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