Little House in the Big Woods: List 1

by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The first book of the Little House series introduces the Ingalls family, pioneers living in Wisconsin in 1871.

This list covers "Little House in the Big Woods"–"The Long Rifle."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 751 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. venison
    meat from a deer used as food
    That day Pa and Ma and Laura and Mary had fresh venison for dinner.
  2. soundly
    deeply
    The bears would be hidden away in their dens where they slept soundly all winter long.
  3. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    Instead of burning quickly, the green chips smoldered and filled the hollow log with thick, choking smoke.
  4. haste
    overly eager speed and possible carelessness
    The bear was reaching into the pen to grab the pig, and the pig was running and squealing. Pa saw this in the starlight and he fired quickly. But the light was dim and in his haste he missed the bear.
  5. scald
    burn with a hot liquid or steam
    As soon as the hog was dead Pa and Uncle Henry lifted it up and down in the boiling water till it was well scalded. Then they laid it on a board and scraped it with their knives, and all the bristles came off.
  6. bristle
    a stiff hair
    As soon as the hog was dead Pa and Uncle Henry lifted it up and down in the boiling water till it was well scalded. Then they laid it on a board and scraped it with their knives, and all the bristles came off.
  7. brine
    a strong solution of salt and water used for pickling
    The hams and the shoulders were put to pickle in brine, for they would be smoked, like the venison, in the hollow log.
  8. hearth
    a built-in space in a wall where a fire can be built
    Ma opened the front of the cookstove and raked hot coals out into the iron hearth.
  9. lard
    soft white semisolid fat obtained from pigs
    All that day and the next, Ma was trying out the lard in big iron pots on the cookstove.
  10. simmer
    boil slowly at low temperature
    The big pots simmered and boiled, but they must not smoke.
  11. skim
    remove from the surface
    From time to time Ma skimmed out the brown cracklings.
  12. thaw
    become or cause to become soft or liquid
    The days and the nights were so cold that the pork in a box and the bear meat hanging in the little shed outside the back door were solidly frozen and did not thaw.
  13. churn
    stir cream vigorously in order to make butter
    Laura liked the churning and the baking days best of all the week.
  14. crockery
    ceramic dishes used for serving food
    After she had put the cream in the tall crockery churn and set it near the stove to warm, she washed and scraped a long orange-colored carrot.
  15. scramble
    rushing about hastily in an undignified way
    But as Pa came nearer Laura screamed, and with a wild leap and a scramble she went over the wood-box, dragging Mary with her.
  16. yoke
    a pair of draft animals joined together
    And there he saw some great big guns,
    Big as a log of maple,
    And every time they turned ’em round,
    It took two yoke of cattle.
  17. sleek
    having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
    Then Pa put a clean, greased rag on the ramrod, and while the gun barrel was still hot he greased it well on the inside. With another clean, greased cloth he rubbed it all over, outside, until every bit of it was oiled and sleek.
  18. muzzle
    the open circular discharging end of a gun
    Pa laid one of these bits of greasy cloth over the muzzle of the gun, put one of the shiny new bullets on it, and with the ramrod he pushed the bullet and the cloth down the gun barrel.
  19. whittle
    cut small bits or pare shavings from
    Pa had whittled the hooks out of a green stick with his knife, and had driven their straight ends deep into holes in the log.
  20. scurry
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    There were red squirrels in the trees, chipmunks scurrying through the leaves, and little rabbits playing games together in the open places.
  21. stalk
    go through (an area) in search of prey
    I began to play I was a mighty hunter, stalking the wild animals...
  22. ravine
    a deep narrow steep-sided valley
    I climbed up hills, looking for them and calling, and I went down into dark ravines, calling and looking.
  23. rustling
    a light noise, like leaves blowing in the wind
    I stopped and listened for the cowbells and there was not a sound but the rustling of leaves.
  24. stout
    having rugged physical strength
    “Well,” Pa said, “then your Grandpa went out into the yard and cut a stout switch..."
  25. thrash
    give a beating to
    "...And he came back into the house and gave me a good thrashing, so that I would remember to mind him after that...."
Created on Mon Dec 02 19:36:48 EST 2019 (updated Fri Dec 06 15:35:36 EST 2019)

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