Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket: Chapters 9–20

by Chris Grabenstein
In this fifth book of the series Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, middle schoolers compete for admission into the Ohioan billionaire game inventor's top-secret new building, which holds four tickets to a competition for a grand prize.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 8, Chapters 9–20, Chapters 21–38, Chapters 39–58
40 words 4 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. monotonous
    tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
    “Factory work can be monotonous,” Mr. Mitchell explained over the din of the machines and the music’s pulsing beat.
  2. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    “Factory work can be monotonous,” Mr. Mitchell explained over the din of the machines and the music’s pulsing beat.
  3. silo
    a cylindrical tower used for storing grain
    He pointed toward the fifty-foot-high ceiling, where two workers strapped into hover packs floated near a white silo and fed pellets of plastic into a hopper at the top.
  4. hopper
    funnel-shaped receptacle
    He pointed toward the fifty-foot-high ceiling, where two workers strapped into hover packs floated near a white silo and fed pellets of plastic into a hopper at the top.
  5. efficient
    being effective without wasting time, effort, or expense
    Since heat rises, wouldn’t it be more energy efficient if the heating tube were horizontal instead of vertical? If it were horizontal, both ends would be the same temperature and you’d get even melting.
  6. doff
    remove
    Mr. Lemoncello doffed his top hat and tossed it to the floor, where it landed with a loud, metallic clunk.
  7. blather
    talk foolishly
    Now then, what was I blathering about?
  8. herculean
    extremely difficult; requiring great strength
    Mr. Lemoncello bent down, grunted, and with a herculean effort hoisted his heavy metal top hat off the floor.
  9. frumpy
    drab, old-fashioned, and unattractive
    Mr. Raymo, who was dressed in his frumpy white lab coat, tried his best to keep up with her.
  10. trivial
    of little substance or significance
    “This is not a library. However, it has been no trivial pursuit, either. This is the most technologically advanced building Mr. Lemoncello has ever created. He hopes it will, one day, become his legacy!”
  11. legacy
    a gift of personal property by will
    “It’s too early for Mr. Lemoncello to be thinking about legacies,” said Dr. Zinchenko.
  12. atrium
    the central area in a building, open to the sky
    Pathways led out of the atrium to what could best be described as an indoor amusement park filled with fun and games.
  13. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
    “It’s for the future, Dr. Zinchenko,” he said, rather ruefully.
  14. expedite
    speed up the progress of; facilitate
    We should use this swirly slide to expedite our exit.
  15. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
    You ask me, we should beef up security. Eliminate some of the more frivolous activities that could provide cover for uninvited intruders.
  16. shenanigan
    the use of tricks to deceive someone
    YOU ARE HEREBY AND FORTHWITH
 (NOT TO MENTION FIFTHWITH) 
INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GAMES
 AND GENERAL SHENANIGANS AT MY
 TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
 GAMEWORKS COMPANY PICNIC.
  17. affair
    a vaguely specified social event
    The company picnic is always an all-day affair. They’ll have lots of food.
  18. pavilion
    a large and often sumptuous tent
    As he got closer, Simon could see a crowd already starting to assemble near a sea of colorful tents and popup pavilions.
  19. virtually
    slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
    Now, if you’ll kindly clear a space, I need to land this hot-air balloon before I run out of hot air, which, according to anyone who has ever heard me speak in public, is virtually impossible.
  20. extract
    remove, usually with some force or effort
    They took turns carefully extracting rubbery planks and then putting each piece on the top layer, making sure it was facing the opposite direction to the ones below.
  21. delicate
    marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique
    Soraiya delicately plucked a piece from the side of the tower and placed it on top.
  22. deftly
    in an agile manner
    He deftly extracted the wobbler with another delicate push and pluck.
  23. vector
    a quantity that has magnitude and direction
    “The wobbler jiggles elastically,” she said aloud, even though it sounded like she was talking to herself. Then she mumbled a bunch of stuff about “angular velocity vectors” and “the precision of wobble” being different to “the line of nodes rotation.”
  24. elite
    selected as the best
    You and about a billion other players from all over the world are the fourth knight auditioning to join the king’s elite three-member guard squad. You have to battle all the other players and some dragons and ogres to prove you’re worthy.
  25. sheepishly
    in a manner showing embarrassment or shame
    “Um, I didn’t bring any money,” Simon said sheepishly.
  26. martial
    suggesting war or military life
    A loop of martial music blared as rotating images of knights of all shapes, sizes, and genders (all of them with bulging superhero muscles) danced in place like they were riding invisible bucking broncos in a rodeo.
  27. buck
    jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched
    A loop of martial music blared as rotating images of knights of all shapes, sizes, and genders (all of them with bulging superhero muscles) danced in place like they were riding invisible bucking broncos in a rodeo.
  28. lance
    a long pointed rod used as a weapon
    Some knights carried lances and swords—but they were laser-guided lances and Wiffle swords with holes in the sides so they whistled when you swung them.
  29. fluke
    a stroke of luck
    They had to be flukes, Jack told himself. No way is the village idiot better than me at anything!
  30. aerial
    existing, living, growing, or operating in the air
    “Hear ye, hear ye, knights and knaves,” said Mrs. Coffin as the giant screen on the raised platform dissolved into an aerial view of a green medieval landscape that, strangely, also had skyscrapers and fast-food drive-throughs for knights on horseback (that’s where you could pick up bonus life points if you ordered a salad instead of a cheeseburger).
  31. knoll
    a small natural mound
    He knew how to aim his avatar just so to land on a warhorse that would carry him off to the pile of weapons in the town dump just over the first knoll faster than any other mode of transportation.
  32. citadel
    a stronghold for shelter during a battle
    Soraiya thundered toward the Citadel of Sand on her charging rhino, doing a triumphant saddle dance.
  33. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    The wave pool started undulating.
  34. tintinnabulation
    the sound of a bell ringing
    “Oh, how I love the tintinnabulation of those bells, bells, bells,” said Mr. Lemoncello, sailing his sub back to its docking slot.
  35. peal
    a deep prolonged sound
    “Those peals are so appealing,” said Mr. Lemoncello.
  36. yield
    end resistance, as under pressure or force
    Each squeak lowered the life force of Soraiya’s avatar.
    “Yield!” shouted Jack.
  37. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    “Oooh,” said a bunch of the vanquished players who knew more about Fourth Knight than Simon ever would.
  38. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    He was glaring at Simon.
  39. proposition
    a statement that affirms or denies and is true or false
    It meant “a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.”
  40. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
    He knew the answer was “pair of docs,” or “paradox.”
Created on Thu Mar 09 17:02:52 EST 2023 (updated Wed Mar 15 09:27:46 EDT 2023)

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