Katt Loves Dogg: Chapters 26–42

by James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein
In this sequel to Katt vs. Dogg, Molly and Oscar, former enemies turned best friends, work together to find their missing cousins and unite different species.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–12, Chapters 13–25, Chapters 26–42, Chapter 43–Epilogue
40 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. in earnest
    in a serious manner
    And then the shelling began again in earnest. An army of angry squirrels hurled all sorts of hard-shelled projectiles. Nuts came cascading out of the trees.
  2. contend
    come to terms with
    They also had to contend with running over a rolling sea of slippery shells. It was like trying to jog across a shallow pit filled with wet ping-pong balls.
  3. noxious
    injurious to physical or mental health
    Then his nose twitched. Something foul and noxious was tickling it. Something extremely oily and stinky.
  4. putrid
    in an advanced state of decomposition and having a foul odor
    The skunk hopped up, spun around, flipped up its tail, and let loose with a misty blast of freshly putrid skunk stench.
  5. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    “And I want to watch a movie,” said Oscar, savoring the buttered popcorn aroma wafting on the breeze.
  6. snag
    catch or cause to catch on something sharp that is sticking out
    “Look. Snagged on that shrub.”
  7. spangle
    adornment consisting of a small piece of shiny material
    Molly sprang closer to the bush to examine the spangly ornament glued to a gummy leaf.
    “This is a sequin from Cousin Violet’s necklace!” gushed Molly.
  8. forge
    move ahead steadily
    We should forge on. We’re on a mission.
  9. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    “Wonder whatever happened to her?” Bob said with a wistful sigh. “Probably grew up, like we all do, and learned the sad, sad truth. In the real world, it’s every beast for themselves.”
  10. frolic
    play boisterously
    Oooh, I bet they’re going to love hearing about you two, a dogg and a katt, sworn enemies for life, frolicking together through the forest.
  11. jut
    extend out or project in space
    “Oh, they’re a very famous romantic landmark. Just about a half a mile north of here. On the coast. They jut out into the ocean like a staircase of stepping-stones.”
  12. jurisdiction
    the territory within which power can be exercised
    The ocean is a total zoo. Very fluid boundary lines. Fortunately, it’s not my jurisdiction, so it’s not my problem.
  13. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    “Now, where exactly should—”
    “But then,” said the bear, still oblivious, “others say that the giants weren’t in love. Nope. They were fighting each other. They built the stone walkway so they could fight, face-to-face.”
  14. miffed
    aroused to impatience or anger
    “Is that the end of your legends?” asked Molly, sounding slightly miffed.
  15. burly
    muscular and heavily built
    And then the burly bear dug out his phone again.
  16. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    “This is an exclusive,” Theodosia said conspiratorially.
  17. thrum
    make or cause to make a low, continuous sound
    The ferret’s phone started to buzz and thrum.
  18. shifty
    characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive
    “Uh, yeah,” said the ferret, sounding even shiftier than usual.
  19. despondent
    without or almost without hope
    Violet wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Despondent, Romaldo dropped his coded love poem, which he had hoped to slip through the window to Violet.
  20. plunder
    steal goods; take as spoils
    When Molly and Oscar were lost together (the first time), Molly was plucked out of the back of a weaselboar’s truck barreling down a mountain (it’s a long story) by a katt- plundering eagle.
  21. officious
    intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner
    “You have illegally entered the bird zone, trespasser!” bellowed the very officious-sounding eagle.
  22. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “Seriously?” Molly scoffed at her tormentor. “That’s all you’ve got? You whistle like a wheezing rodent. Where’s your squawk and squeal?”
  23. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    “Are you two attempting to mob me?” sputtered the eagle, sounding a little less valiant and heroic.
  24. feign
    give a false appearance of
    Bernice soared in, feigning an attack.
  25. lurch
    move abruptly
    He was plummeting so fast, dragging Molly along for the ride, that her stomach lurched up into her throat while her cheeks fluttered in the breeze.
  26. bluff
    a high steep bank
    The flat gray plane of stone, leading to a jagged bluff, was deserted.
  27. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    The clouds overhead turned angry and dark. They billowed up into swollen thunderheads and blocked out the sun.
  28. default
    an option that is selected automatically
    Molly was about to scream No! when her phone started chirping (she had a birdsong ringtone) and Oscar’s started barking (apparently, he stuck with the default dogg ringtone).
  29. torrential
    relating to or resulting from the action of a downpour
    Now all she had to do was scamper down the staircase of giant stone steps, grab Violet, and haul her back through all those different zones in a torrential downpour while hopefully avoiding eagles, skunks, and nut-chucking squirrels.
  30. pavilion
    a large and often sumptuous tent
    Meanwhile, in the dogg zone, the Montahugh family gathered for shelter from the storm inside the covered picnic pavilion.
  31. hankering
    a yearning for something or to do something
    Reckon Romaldo had a hankering for clams or somethin’. Wandered off to get himself a mess of shellfish.
  32. waiver
    a formal written statement of relinquishment
    “Francine here is with me. On semiofficial business. Means she has a waiver and can enter zones where, otherwise, she would not be authorized to so enter.”
  33. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    “Well,” said Molly with a resigned sigh, “let’s climb down and tell them it’s time to head home.”
  34. recede
    pull back or move away or backward
    “Right now,” sputtered Molly, when the wave receded and she was spitting out seaweed, “I just don’t want to fall into the ocean.”
  35. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    Violet and Romaldo gazed into each other’s eyes and nodded, solemnly.
  36. murky
    cloudy, dirty, and difficult to see through
    The katts and doggs were swept under into the strangely silent and murky saltwater darkness.
  37. unrelenting
    never-ceasing
    The RV rocked in the unrelenting gusts of wind.
  38. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    “It’s that filthy ferret,” he muttered out of the side of his snout. “And that even grubbier bear.”
  39. orchestrate
    plan and direct (a complex undertaking)
    Phineas Fatt might be there for the big TV game show but the only proposal would be the one the ferret orchestrated between Romaldo the dogg and Violet the katt.
  40. barnacle
    marine crustacean with feathery food-catching appendages
    The billowy sleeves had become snagged on a barnacle-encrusted chunk of coral.
Created on Wed Mar 08 09:53:16 EST 2023 (updated Wed Jul 12 14:33:31 EDT 2023)

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