Cold Cereal: Chapters 30–40

by Adam Rex
In this first book of the Cold Cereal Saga, eleven-year-old gifted students Scott Doe and Emily and Erno Utz discover that the Goode and Harmliss Toasted Cereal Company is not as sweet as its products.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapters 30–40
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stately
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    She was right: at three compass points the rooms were appointed with tall, stately double doors. The fourth door was plain, unpolished, designed as though meant only for servants or inferiors.
  2. discreet
    not easily noticeable
    Buildings this old all had coal chutes. Might be more discreet than just trying to walk out the front door.
  3. girder
    a beam used as a main support in a structure
    Floor to ceiling it was blackened concrete and stone, vaulted with a rib cage of dark metal girders.
  4. retrofit
    substitute new or modernized parts for older ones
    “They must have retrofit it for natural gas,'' Emily said. “They should have fixed all five up that way. Coal is really—"
  5. quibble
    argue over petty things
    The same hunter they'd seen quibbling over custody of Biggs back in the surgery.
  6. self-possessed
    calm, composed, and fully in control of oneself
    He walked slowly toward them, in no hurry at all. Or rather, thought Erno, like someone trying to come off as unhurried and self-possessed even as his blood raced inside him.
  7. adjourn
    close at the end of a session
    The dreary age of man adjourns.
  8. sage
    having wisdom that comes with experience
    “That blue fire!"
    “It's a gas fire," Scott said sagely. The Doe family had a gas stove.
  9. rafter
    one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
    Two new backdrops descended from the rafters.
  10. brash
    offensively bold
    Where are the knights, once brash and bold
    whom dragons fought in days of old?
  11. cusp
    the point of transition when something happens or changes
    “Did yeh hear that?" said Mick, speaking over the cusp of Scott's question.
  12. disquieting
    causing mental discomfort
    The leprechaun and unicorn were back and dancing—apparently delighted to have had all of their magic sucked out of them—and here, too, were a host of other elves, goblins, a “giant” on stilts, and a disquieting number of leotards.
  13. ethereal
    of heaven or the spirit
    “The children, stuffed with cereal
    and magic most ethereal,
    rise up and give themselves
    as sacrifices to the elves!”
  14. liberal
    having political views favoring reform and progress
    The first page was a list of names and occupations. Wallace Spears, the liberal Democrat member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed, for example. Gordon Maris, jockey. Branson Murdoch, owner of NewsCast.
  15. flourish
    a showy gesture
    Then there was a hot flourish of blue like a flaming sword in the darkness.
  16. stalwart
    a person who is loyal to their allegiance
    Many Freemen had fled and continued to flee to the exits, but some stalwarts had stayed.
  17. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    Finchbriton flapped atop Mick's head like some preposterous hat.
  18. throng
    a large gathering of people
    At this the throng of Freemen fell upon them.
  19. contend
    be engaged in a fight
    But they looked confident now with only a pair of sixth graders to contend with.
  20. pinion
    restrain or bind
    Fourteen more men were sitting on the prostrate Biggs, pinioning every foot of his arms, legs, and torso.
  21. alight
    come down
    “Dad?” he said, not too loudly, but breathlessly, as the dark rescuer alighted and turned.
  22. cadre
    a nucleus of military personnel capable of expansion
    Merle poked at his watch some more; and the van backed up abruptly, sent another cadre of policemen flying, and shot forward again and around the temple and out of sight.
  23. quarry
    a person who is the aim of an attack by a hostile influence
    The police were clearly confused and hadn't yet figured out that their quarry had just driven in a big circle.
  24. nonchalance
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    But while Scott would never have admitted this to Erno or Polly or even to himself, he had made a great study of John Doe. John Doe was his life's work. He'd watched, with fake nonchalance, every movie, every music video, every online interview.
  25. gusto
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    Behind him Erno and Emily protected each other; Biggs threw crewmen and queens around with gusto, knocking over studio lights and a snack table covered with Danishes.
  26. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
    “YOU!” shouted Merle.
    “YOU?” said one of the Micks.
    "You!" Erno said out of camaraderie, though he wasn't really all that surprised.
  27. careworn
    showing the effects of overwork or suffering
    To Erno and Emily, who had seen her most recently, she looked careworn and tired.
  28. thrall
    the state of being under the control of another person
    I'll admit my magic is not what it once was, but I've done some poking around and discovered each of your True Names—does no one learn to keep the old secrets in this world?—and with these I have barely to lift a finger to keep you all in my thrall.
  29. apt
    mentally quick and resourceful
    “What a class of apt pupils. Let's have a history lesson, shall we?”
  30. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    My own people thought it was some black magic conjured forth when father and son murdered each other on the battlefield.
  31. disposal
    the power to use something or someone
    I needed more, much more magic than I'd currently had at my disposal if I wanted to open this door.
  32. shrew
    a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
    The punishment of shrews and wantons was falling out of favor. It was I who pointed out that the women he tortured had lovely smiles, when they smiled at all.
  33. vanity
    feelings of excessive pride
    It was I who saw that the devices were straightening their teeth, I who saw that parents would pay good money to have their children tortured for vanity.
  34. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    Twelve years after their orthodontic ordeal I learned I had made some lasting impression on them after all: they both dreamed regularly of the Great Pink Dragon, they both craved dominion over all the peoples of the Earth, and they both had rather strong opinions about breakfast food.
  35. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    Merle turned a valve, and gallons upon gallons of the pink stuff came down in a torrent and started painting the floor.
  36. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    Its tawny, hungry-looking body ended sharply with a raptor's head and keen eyes that were undimmed by whatever disgraces it had endured here.
  37. leonine
    of or characteristic of or resembling a lion
    It stretched back on its leonine haunches and spread its piebald wings and glared.
  38. pyrotechnic
    suggestive of fireworks
    The griffin shared quarters with a dozen luminous owls and crackling pyrotechnic birds, all of them hemmed in by chicken wire.
  39. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    Scott traipsed around the tall house, up and down stairs, just getting the feel of the place.
  40. unseemly
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    When she finally turned her head, she looked so serious, adult. It was an unseemly sort of look for a seven-year-old.
Created on Wed Dec 14 11:45:16 EST 2022 (updated Fri Oct 06 13:21:17 EDT 2023)

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