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The Brooklyn Nine: Fifth Inning–Sixth Inning

This novel traces a family's deep connection to the sport of baseball through nine generations.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: First Inning, Second Inning, Third Inning–Fourth Inning, Fifth Inning–Sixth Inning, Seventh Inning–Ninth Inning
35 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. racket
    an illegal enterprise carried on for profit
    Numbers rackets were illegal—just like blind pigs and speakeasies—but Pop and most of the other cops looked the other way.
  2. esteemed
    having an illustrious reputation; respected
    “Sorry. You’re sitting on Press Row, so I assumed you were with one of New York’s esteemed periodicals.”
  3. contradict
    be in opposition to
    “Do I contradict myself?” he said like it meant something. “Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.”
  4. wager
    stake on the outcome of an issue
    “Ah. Yes. Very honest work indeed. And do you wager some of your honest pay on those numbers once in a while?”
    “Chuh. No. The numbers game is a sucker’s bet.”
  5. inconvenient
    not suited to your comfort, purpose or needs
    Well, yes, occasionally there are some inconvenient facts that have to be worked in. Although with the Brooklyn Robins I can say they lost, and I’m not often wrong.
  6. consistency
    uniformity or stability in arrangement, behavior, or quality
    And Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Babe Ruth—they hit a great many home runs and win a great many ball games, if you like that sort of thing. But a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
  7. capricious
    changeable
    I much prefer the capricious Brooklyn Robins. You never know what’s going to happen next.
  8. subjective
    taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias
    I greatly prefer to write my story in advance, and then sit back and enjoy the sum total of the afternoon. Besides, the truth is subjective.
  9. reconcile
    bring into consonance or accord
    So might we consider Burleigh Grimes ‘luckier’ than Jesse Barnes? If they are, in fact, comparable pitchers in terms of base runners allowed, how else can we reconcile the differences in their earned run averages?
  10. digest
    arrange and integrate in the mind
    After digesting all the box scores on the page, Frankie flipped to the Belmont take to see if any of her players had hit the numbers.
  11. doily
    a small round piece of decorative linen or paper
    There were little white doilies all over everything too—the tables, the chairs, even the mantel.
  12. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “How many times have you won in the last year?”
    “Well, none,” she conceded. “But you have only to win once, yes?”
  13. concourse
    a wide hallway in a building where people can walk
    Kieran sometimes didn’t arrive until the first or second inning was under way, but she was too nervous to wait, and ran back down to the main concourse.
  14. prim
    exaggeratedly proper
    Frankie was cursing Kieran's name when she caught a glimpse of his long prim face and white fedora hat.
  15. fitful
    intermittently stopping and starting
    Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough, and by morning Frankie was tired from a fitful night’s sleep.
  16. lanky
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    A lanky blond girl lacing up her spikes eyeballed Kat and shook her head.
  17. pleat
    a fold in a garment or piece of fabric
    The skirt had no pleat to it, and Kat felt like she was wearing a parachute.
  18. dungaree
    a coarse durable cotton fabric used to make jeans
    Ever since the war had started, girls everywhere had been wearing pants and dungarees.
  19. warble
    sing or play with trills
    She ran to the last place on the end of one of the letter’s arms just as the band began to warble “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
  20. crafty
    marked by skill in deception
    Luckily she didn’t have to, and the Daisies pitcher wasn’t nearly so crafty. When Kat came up to bat in the third the pitcher laid a fat one right across the plate that Kat laced to right for a hit.
  21. shindig
    a large and noisy party of people
    The Fort Wayne catcher lived in her own place beside a graveyard, and that was where she threw shindigs when visiting players came to town.
  22. croon
    sing softly
    Someone had brought a portable phonograph player, and Frank Sinatra was crooning “Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)” with a backup chorus of Daisies bobbysoxers.
  23. ogle
    stare or look at, especially with amorous intentions
    Kat ogled the cemetery and the broad, bright sky full of stars.
  24. phonograph
    a machine that plays records
    There was an argument over what would be played next on the phonograph. Eventually the Bing Crosby fans won out and the graveyard was serenaded by “Swinging on a Star.”
  25. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    Pepper beckoned for Kat to follow her, and they walked alone to a quiet part of the cemetery.
  26. gauntlet
    a severe or trying experience
    “You gotta run the gauntlet,” she told Kat. Was this some new initiation? A girl pointed Kat toward the first base line, where Kat saw Grand Rapids fans beckoning to her. Still not sure what she was in for, she ran over and found that every one of them wanted to shake her hand or clap her on the back.
  27. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Kat stuck with Connie, and together they sat mesmerized for a moment by the passing streetlights outside their window.
  28. sinister
    wicked, evil, or dishonorable
    “You’re too young for that sort of thing. Looks like I’m gonna have to stick to you like glue, kid. Keep you away from Grand Rapids’ more sinister element.”
  29. scrimp
    be very thrifty or frugal
    She wanted her father to come home safe, wanted the Allies to beat Hitler, wanted her family to stop scrimping and saving and eating nothing but potatoes and carrots from their victory garden.
  30. fraternize
    be on friendly terms with someone, as if with a brother
    “Always wear a skirt and look your best. Don’t get your hair cut short, and never wear Oxfords or masculine-looking shoes. And the biggie: No fraternizing with opposing players.”
    “No what?”
    “You’re not supposed to be chummy with the girls on the other teams,” Connie translated.
  31. benefactor
    a person who helps people or institutions
    “Local Coca-Cola fella says he wants to donate a few cases to the team!” the driver announced. The girls hooted and hollered, and some of them leaned out the window to thank their benefactor and blow him kisses as he unloaded more from his trunk.
  32. toil
    work hard
    “And long have we toiled under Meyer, who God knows ain’t no Moses.”
  33. pelt
    cast, hurl, or throw repeatedly with some missile
    The girls pelted Ziegler with their caps, and she very un-preacherly shot one of them back at a girl.
  34. tenet
    a basic principle or belief that is accepted as true
    “Do you accept the central tenets of our faith—the run, the hit, and the error?” she said, then quieter, “But not so much the error.”
  35. revel
    celebrate noisily or engage in uproarious festivities
    The lady behind him gave Kat a bear hug, and little children ran among the revelers waving American flags and flying little toy airplanes.
Created on Fri Jul 30 11:53:34 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Aug 03 09:51:03 EDT 2021)

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