Dress Coded: List 1

by Carrie Firestone
Eighth-grader Molly is fed up with her school's unfair dress code policy, so she starts a podcast to protest it, sparking a rebellion.

This list covers "Dress Coded: A Podcast, Episode One"–"A Cairn Is a Pile of Stones."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 205 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ample
    more than enough in size or scope or capacity
    Recently, however, a student violated the dress code and after we gave her ample opportunity to comply, she refused.
  2. policy
    a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group
    In an effort to provide a safe, distraction-free learning environment, we encourage your children to continue following the policy stated in our FMS handbook.
  3. complement
    make perfect or supply what is wanting
    I picked out really cute shorts and a purple tank top, and Liza got the same shorts with a green tank top, to complement her eyes (we didn’t want to be too matchy).
  4. orthopedic
    of or relating to the treatment of bones or joints
    Some people believe Fingertip is a robot with a bob haircut, orthopedic shoes, and a grubby old burgundy sweater she sometimes makes people wear if they can’t change their clothes in a timely manner, and that Dr. Couchman programmed her to say seven things...
  5. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    Some people believe Fingertip is a robot with a bob haircut, orthopedic shoes, and a grubby old burgundy sweater she sometimes makes people wear if they can’t change their clothes in a timely manner, and that Dr. Couchman programmed her to say seven things...
  6. confined
    not free to move about
    She can be difficult when she’s mad and in a confined space.
  7. incriminating
    charging or suggestive of guilt or blame
    Holding incriminating information over Danny has given me a lot of power.
  8. fume
    be mad, angry, or furious
    Olivia gets another big group hug before everyone goes home to wash dirty lacrosse clothes or eat ice cream or study for math or fume about the dress code. I’m fuming at myself for letting a camping trip cloud my judgment.
  9. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    Her parents don’t let her watch TV, much less own a phone. I understand there are a lot of scary things out there, but sheltering a kid that much is going to end up backfiring.
  10. vat
    a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids
    I’m pretty confident she would rather suffocate slowly in a vat of peanut butter than stain her pants in school.
  11. incentive
    a positive motivational influence
    “Don’t you think it’s a little ridiculous that they canceled the trip after one dress-code incident?” I say.
    “Well, it was kind of an incentive thing. I see what they were trying to do, and as the principal said, rules are rules.”
  12. lenient
    inclined to be permissive or indulgent
    And besides, in a few weeks you’ll be on your way to high school. I’ve heard they’re much more lenient about dress coding there. Maybe too lenient.
  13. renowned
    widely known and esteemed
    Today, I welcome Bea M., renowned local artist, to tell us what happened to her last year in seventh grade.
  14. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    I was skeptical.
    “You’re just going to mess up the tree house and leave all this stuff here for me to clean up,” I said to Will.
  15. embedded
    enclosed firmly in a surrounding mass
    One time, Ashley thought it would be fun to wear press-on nails, since we were modeling our hands. The nails fell off and ended up embedded in the slime.
  16. pelt
    cast, hurl, or throw repeatedly with some missile
    My fountain brother protects me when a bunch of boys his age pelt me with ice balls behind the library.
  17. ironically
    in a manner characterized by incongruity or unexpectedness
    I didn’t even know a 217-person group chat was possible until yesterday, when Scott Kleinman (ironically) started a Camping Trip Anyway group chat: My parents and Jessie Lahey’s parents say they’ll chaperone if we want to do our own trip to Strawberry Hill.
  18. traumatic
    of or relating to a physical injury or wound to the body
    I’m at the usual lunch table, with Bea, Ashley, Navya, and a kid named Tom who has a traumatic brain injury from a skiing accident and is kind of confused a lot of the time.
  19. interim
    serving during an intermediate interval of time
    You can send it to the superintendent, or the interim superintendent, I guess they’re calling him.
  20. pang
    a mental pain or distress
    She gives me a look that says I’m proud of you, and I get a pang of guilt in my stomach for hiding Danny’s stuff.
  21. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    Mom ran up the street screaming, and Will’s dad chased him with his truck and cut him off, and Danny hit the side of the truck. Everyone was okay, but Mom hyperventilated on Mary Kate’s front lawn.
  22. attire
    clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
    Reminder: Moving Up Day attire is white dresses for girls and dress pants, dress shirts, and ties for boys.
  23. spectacle
    something or someone seen, especially a notable sight
    I don’t want to run into them, because they’ll make fun of my greasy hair and because Ashley kind of flirts with all of them and it’s a disgusting spectacle.
  24. ravishing
    stunningly beautiful
    She comes out looking ravishing, like seriously she could get married in this dress if it weren’t short and she weren’t thirteen.
  25. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    Mrs. Tucker’s pile of kindness rocks is a cairn, a makeshift memorial to the death of childhood.
Created on Tue Aug 30 11:31:23 EDT 2022 (updated Tue Oct 04 13:18:34 EDT 2022)

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