Eight Nights of Flirting: Chapters 5–8

by Hannah Reynolds
During a Hanukkah vacation on the island of Nantucket, sixteen-year-old Shira Barbanel makes a deal with Tyler Nelson to give her flirting lessons in exchange for an introduction to her media executive great-uncle.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapters 18–23
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    When I looked at Tyler, he watched me, bemused.
  2. sobriquet
    a familiar name for a person
    “Oh, I don’t know. The first line of a lot of the prayers is the same—blessed are you, lord god, ruler of the universe, et cetera, et cetera.”
    “Quite the sobriquet.”
    “Have you heard what they used to call the Pharaohs? People lived for these names back in the day.”
  3. haphazardly
    in a random manner
    We pointed our phones inward, their two beams of light haphazardly piercing the darkness.
  4. titillate
    stimulate or excite
    I woke from unsettling, titillating dreams I couldn’t remember.
  5. indolent
    disinclined to work or exertion
    “What an indolent life you live.”
    “Please,” I said, slightly insulted. “I have a job.”
  6. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    "Smart and ambitious and driven,” he mulled. "Are those the most important traits someone can have? What about funny? A good listener? Kind?”
  7. impasse
    a situation in which no progress can be made
    “I don’t see what’s the big deal about committing to someone while we’re young. We’re not going to meet our soul mates right now, so why not have a good time?”
    “Some might call being in a relationship a good time.”
    “Fine. We’re at an impasse.”
  8. balmy
    mild and pleasant
    After temperatures in the low teens yesterday, twenty-seven really did feel practically balmy.
  9. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
    A slow, insidious idea began to work its way into my thoughts as we climbed back down and headed inside, then pulled off our coats and boots and hats.
  10. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    “Please.” I turned imploring.
  11. inane
    devoid of intelligence
    He studied me, and I thought he was considering this bizarre, inane idea of mine.
  12. induce
    cause to arise
    “You might not believe this about me, but I try to live my life as stress-free as possible, and dealing with Noah is stress- inducing.”
  13. tangible
    having physical substance and intrinsic monetary value
    Still, I’d hoped Tyler would ask for something less tangible, more along the lines of him teaching me to flirt—a little silly, a little entertaining, but not a real-world monetary asset.
  14. goad
    provoke as by constant criticism
    I narrowed my eyes, aware he was goading me.
  15. spry
    moving quickly and lightly
    Grandma wasn’t much younger but still seemed spry and spoke crisply.
  16. prude
    a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum
    Their marriage had never been filled with PDA, which I’d always assumed was because they were old and prudish.
  17. ubiquitous
    being present everywhere at once
    He was the only Barbanel to alter our ubiquitous glossy brown curls and currently had them dyed dark violet.
  18. pantomime
    act out without words but with gestures and bodily movements
    He pantomimed zipping his lips shut.
  19. rivulet
    a small stream
    Noah and Abby grated potatoes and squeezed water from the shreds—my least favorite task, given how the starchy liquid ran in rivulets over your hands and dried out your skin.
  20. wrest
    obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
    Personally, I was freaked over the idea that Grandma might be mad enough at Grandpa she’d help wrest control of his company away from him.
  21. regimen
    a systematic plan for therapy
    In one corner, she had a table of carefully tended orchids, which all seemed to thrive at her touch and her careful regimen of sunlamps and water.
  22. settee
    a small sofa
    I perched on a green settee and watched Grandma sort through her flowers.
  23. staple
    a necessary commodity for which demand is constant
    Blue hydrangeas, the flower a staple of Nantucket.
  24. chignon
    a roll of hair worn at the nape of the neck
    She twisted her hair in a chignon, wore necklaces and earrings every day, and drank an inch of Grand Marnier after dinner without fail.
  25. allude
    make an indirect reference to
    She’d clearly been alluding to how Grandpa used to be in love with Abby’s grandmother, which had all come out last summer.
  26. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    I smiled tentatively.
  27. profusion
    the property of being extremely abundant
    So we had three generations around before photography really took off: Marcus and his sister, Shoshana and her sisters, and potentially Rebecca and her profusion of siblings and cousins.
  28. stately
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    The formal dining room had enough stately chairs around the mahogany table to seat a dozen adults.
  29. precedence
    status established in order of importance or urgency
    I’d fight the boys tooth and nail to light the menorah first, and Miriam would always give me precedence, but Mom and Grandma would 100 percent expect me to give this to Abby, a guest.
  30. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    After dinner, everyone traipsed back into the great room.
  31. sweeping
    taking in or moving over a wide area
    Situated on the second story, it had a sweeping view of the lawn and gardens and sea.
  32. coveted
    greatly desired
    I squeezed onto one couch alongside Miriam and David, while Ethan—second oldest, just shy of eighteen—claimed one of the coveted recliners.
  33. in earnest
    in a serious manner
    “What’s up, triple threats?” he asked.
    Iris nodded as though Ethan’s question had been in earnest.
  34. beleaguer
    annoy persistently
    I had the vague feeling she showed up in paintings and looked beleaguered.
  35. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    David took his script, looking resigned.
  36. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Miriam clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle laughter.
  37. sate
    fill to contentment
    I closed my eyes, feeling warm and cozy and sated by the presence of so much family, like I’d been wrapped in a blanket.
  38. decadent
    relating to indulgence in something pleasurable
    The scent of chocolate perfumed the air, rich and decadent, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon and cherry.
  39. vista
    the visual percept of a region
    How different Nantucket was in the off-season, and I loved it. I loved the space, the cold, the uncrowded vistas.
  40. revel
    take delight in
    Whenever I’d even slightly mentioned messing up, people seemed too amused, too pleased, which made me shrink into myself and swear to never own up to being less than perfect. Olivia, on the other hand, reveled in my messiness and shared her own disasters.
Created on Mon May 15 10:52:44 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Jun 02 10:08:08 EDT 2023)

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