Ball Don't Lie: List 1

by Matt de la Peña
Sticky hopes that his basketball skills will help him build a better life for himself.

This list covers “Dreadlock Man” to "Sometimes I Think."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
30 words 653 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. swagger
    walk with a lofty proud gait
    Sticky’s at the free-throw line working out his routine, while all the regulars come swaggering in.
  2. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    Watches Dreadlock Man rise into the air with his awful form—calves tightening, dreads scattering, eyes poised on the goal—and let go of a sorry-looking line drive.
  3. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    When the ball ricochets off the side of the backboard, entirely missing the rim, he says what any man would say: Hey, yo, Stick, let me get one more.
  4. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    Other dudes come strutting into the gym.
  5. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    Dante struts off the court with hip-hop rhythm, brushes past a businessman (who’s stopped in to watch these black guys play: arms folded, subtle smile) and lies down near the bleachers to stretch his thirty-seven-year-old back.
  6. accommodate
    provide with something desired or needed
    The article talked about how one court houses the homeless and the other accommodates the fearless.
  7. groove
    a long narrow furrow cut by a natural process or a tool
    Middle finger in the groove of his rock, thumb between the felt-penned 7 and F. Shot’s up and it rips through the bottom of the net.
  8. promenade
    a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
    Sticky scrounged up all that cash this past week at the Third Street Promenade, after extended sessions of hardcore hoop.
  9. panhandle
    beg for money from people on the street
    He panhandled with a bowl like back when he was a kid.
  10. consistently
    in a systematic or steady manner
    It’s like this: if you tryin to get with some little lady, but you ain’t sure, flowers are cool. Candy. But if you hangin with her consistently, you gotta step up big.
  11. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    This is it, dude, he said, running his fingers along the glass set up to keep grubby hands away.
  12. jockey
    compete or struggle for an advantage or a position
    After midday games, all the guys jockey for the water fountain like a group of camels looking for a two-week fix.
  13. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    The blazing sunlight sneaks in through the slightly propped door. About seven or eight feet of warped rectangle glare that the team shooting at the south bucket has to deal with all game.
  14. decrepit
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    Somebody get that decrepit, cryin-ass bum off the court.
  15. graze
    scrape gently
    Another shot went through but grazed iron.
  16. sanity
    normal or sound powers of mind
    Please, for the sake of my sanity, leave the goddamn change alone.
  17. sift
    check and sort carefully
    Anh-thu puts her chopsticks back in her bowl, sifts around for a piece of broccoli.
  18. flashy
    (used especially of clothes) marked by conspicuous display
    He put the flashy shirt back up on the rack.
  19. generic
    not protected by trademark
    All the residents shoveled spoonfuls of cereal into their mouths. Warehouse-size sacks lying between them, generic flakes spilling onto the table.
  20. aerial
    existing, living, growing, or operating in the air
    Aerial shots, crankshots, simple bank shots off either wall, snake shots where a heavy spin shoots the colorful ball out like a rainbow across the blue face of the game.
  21. fluster
    cause to be nervous or upset
    And maybe Maria had it right, maybe he was obsessed with playing a dumb game, but when he beat somebody good, got them all flustered and defeated, the blood ran through his veins all smooth like melted butter.
  22. obsess
    be preoccupied with something
    The whole time giving Sticky this new game to fixate on. To obsess about. To do over and over and over until he got good.
  23. purist
    someone who insists on great precision and correctness
    Back and forth handling the ball, knees bent, his eyes in Rob’s eyes. Piss off the old purists who cry for a return to fundamentals.
  24. contested
    disputed or made the object of contention or competition
    Dante rises up uncontested and flushes in a two-hand jam.
  25. size up
    look at closely in order to form an opinion about
    He sizes up Dante, jab-steps at him.
  26. altercation
    a noisy, angry argument or fight between people
    These guys show up to see one of two things: a nasty dunk or a big-time altercation. And with Rob in Carlos’s face and Slim pulling Trey away from Dallas, with everybody yelling stuff out at the same time, they have their altercation.
  27. stratification
    the condition of being arranged in social levels
    How a dark gym like Lincoln Rec is a different world. Full of theft and dunk, smooth jumpers and fragile egos. Full of its own funky politics and stratification.
  28. potpourri
    a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
    And everybody shows up for a different reason. A potpourri of ballers...
  29. prestigious
    having an excellent reputation; respected
    Before falling asleep each night, Baby would tell Sticky stories about his dad. And every night he was a different person. An actor. A construction worker. The head of some prestigious company overseas.
  30. intangible
    assets that are saleable though not material or physical
    They said I got the intangibles. Old-man Perkins says if he was startin up a squad from scratch he’d be lookin for a point guard just like me. Someone who could score points and get assists.
Created on Mon Sep 21 11:59:04 EDT 2020 (updated Tue Sep 22 11:12:54 EDT 2020)

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