Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story: Chapters 1–5

by Mary Downing Hahn
Named after a long line of men in his family, twelve-year-old Andrew Joseph Tyler visits his ancestral home in Missouri and gets transported back in time.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–24
40 words 106 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Whenever I dropped a ball, fumbled, or struck out, Martin was there, sneering and jeering.
  2. rut
    a groove or furrow
    Shifting to first gear, Dad steered around ruts and potholes, missing some, hitting others.
  3. suspension
    a mechanical system of springs or shock absorbers
    While he muttered about the car’s suspension system, Mom and I bounced around like Mexican jumping beans.
  4. slate
    thin layers of rock used for roofing
    Paint peeled, loose shutters banged in the wind, slates from the roof littered the overgrown lawn.
  5. bound
    move forward by leaping
    Flinging the front door open, she came bounding down the steps.
  6. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
    “Oh, Ward, he’s more cantankerous than ever.”
  7. codger
    an eccentric elderly man
    “I hope he realizes how lucky he is to have you. Not many daughters would come back home to take care of an old codger like him.’’
  8. pelt
    rain heavily
    Raindrops as cold and hard as marbles pelted my head and back, soaking my shirt in seconds.
  9. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    “That’s why we nicknamed you Drew,” Mom added. “We wanted to call you Andrew, but we shortened it to mollify your great-grandfather.”
  10. snit
    a state of irritation or annoyance
    “We never saw him after your christening. He came back here in a snit. Never even sent you a birthday card.”
  11. reminisce
    recall the past
    While the others reminisced about Great-grandfather’s legendary temper, I studied the A. Catching Aunt Blythe’s eye, I asked her if she knew which Andrew had carved it.
  12. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    Tears shone in her eyes as she pulled away from me, but she didn’t relent.
  13. inarticulate
    without or deprived of the use of speech or words
    Great-grandfather made an inarticulate noise and shook his head.
  14. prompt
    serve as the inciting cause of
    As soon as the door closed behind us, he said, “What on earth prompted you to bother Grandfather?”
  15. quaver
    give off unsteady sounds
    I tried to keep my voice from shaking but it quavered anyway. Great-grandfather had frightened me half to death.
  16. contrite
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    Contrite, I leaned against her side. “I’m sorry I upset him.”
  17. rustle
    make a dry crackling sound
    On the walls, ivy rustled as if the house were telling itself secrets.
  18. ominously
    in a manner suggesting something bad will happen
    A tall, carved headboard leaned ominously over the bed I was supposed to sleep in.
  19. bureau
    furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
    Bureau, rocking chair, desk, bookcase—everything in the room had been owned by other people.
  20. eddy
    flow in a circular current, of liquids
    Bushes tapped on the windows, an icy draft eddied around my ankles, the house continued to murmur and groan.
  21. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    By the time my aunt returned, her spaghetti sauce had congealed in a cold puddle.
  22. calico
    coarse cloth with a bright print
    Almost finished, the quilt spread across her lap and fell to the floor in a heap of bright calico.
  23. mantel
    a shelf that projects from the wall above a fireplace
    While I spoke, I looked around the room, finding faded photographs on the mantel, a pair of china dolls sharing a child-sized rocking chair, shelves of old books.
  24. fanciful
    indulging in or influenced by the imagination
    Don’t listen to me, Drew. I’m just being fanciful. I’ve never seen a ghost in this house.
  25. draft
    a current of air
    While I hesitated, a draft fluttered the curtains at the window on the landing.
  26. filmy
    so thin as to transmit light
    They moved as silently as ghosts, I thought, pale and filmy, almost transparent.
  27. musty
    covered with or smelling of mold
    Even in the daytime the attic was spooky. I didn’t like its musty smell or the sound of the wind and rain on the roof.
  28. gilt
    having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
    A glimpse of my reflection in a huge gilt mirror startled me.
  29. feisty
    showing spirit and courage
    “I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to hear she’s still alive and just as feisty as ever.”
  30. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Shuffling the pictures, Aunt Blythe found another one of Hannah sitting in a porch swing beside a younger boy. A man and woman stood behind them. All four looked solemn.
  31. perceptive
    having the ability to understand
    “Let me guess,” I said. “Great-grandfather didn’t like them either.”
    “What a perceptive boy you are.”
  32. likeness
    picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing
    While Aunt Blythe was talking, I noticed a photograph lying on the floor. I bent to pick it up and found I was staring at a faded likeness of my own face—my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my hair, even my glum expression. Only the boy’s clothes were different.
  33. patter
    rain gently
    In the silence, rain pattered against the windows and dripped through holes in the roof.
  34. rafter
    one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
    The wind crept in through cracks and stirred the folds of a long white dress hanging from the rafters.
  35. curlicue
    a short twisting line or flourish
    The ink was faded, the handwriting old-fashioned and full of curlicues, but the message was clear:
    WARNING
    These marbles belong to
    
ANDREW JOSEPH TYLER
    
If you take them you will be sorry.
    7 June 1910
  36. fleck
    a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
    Without looking at my aunt, I picked at a fleck of peeling paint on the bannister.
  37. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    The door was opening, pushing the rocking chair ahead of it.
    On the threshold, a boy appeared.
  38. notion
    an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
    I don’t know who your aunt is or where she got such a fantastical notion. I’m not dead, as you can plainly see.
  39. insubstantial
    lacking material form
    Ghosts were transparent, insubstantial, they didn’t cast shadows, they didn’t have beating hearts.
  40. muddle
    mix up or confuse
    My thoughts were muddled too, but I knew one thing for sure.
Created on Fri May 12 12:44:59 EDT 2023 (updated Sat May 13 12:16:10 EDT 2023)

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