Simon Sort of Says: Chapters 11–16

by Erin Bow
Twelve-year-old Simon O'Keeffe tries to forget that he survived a tragedy when his family moves to the National Quiet Zone in Nebraska, where radio signals are banned to prevent interference with astronomers' search of outer space.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–22, Chapters 23–29
35 words 13 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bleat
    cry plaintively like a sheep or goat
    It is bleating. Baa-ing?
  2. spare
    give up what is not strictly needed
    “We can spare Agate for half an hour,” says Pearl.
  3. antiquity
    the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe
    Vega is the fifth-brightest star in the sky. It’s been described since antiquity and its name is Arabic for ‘falling vulture.’
  4. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    We cross the field, clamber over the fencing, and head into the trees.
  5. shingle
    building material used as siding or roofing
    It’s a real teeny house complete with a cedar shingle roof and crazy mismatched windows, plus it has a big porch part with a railing.
  6. implication
    something that is inferred
    “Are you worried about the red-shift implications of general relativity?”
  7. relativity
    the theory that space and time are not absolute concepts
    “Are you worried about the red-shift implications of general relativity?”
  8. remedial
    tending or intended to rectify or improve
    Agate needs remedial whisper training. Her voice carries at least three rows, and a bunch of people turn and look at me.
  9. baffled
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    Kevin turns sideways and is staring at me and Agate, and Agate is still explaining the space message thing, though she’s started way back with pulsars and sledgehammers, and Kevin looks baffled.
  10. taxidermist
    a craftsman who stuffs and mounts animal skins for display
    “If he does, I’m driving him straight to the taxidermist,” says my mother.
  11. avian
    pertaining to or characteristic of birds
    I’m donating him to an avian flu research program. I’m plucking his feathers and using them to fletch arrows.
  12. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    There’s cortisol and adrenaline in fear sweat.
  13. diocese
    a district that is under the jurisdiction of a bishop
    The diocese has authorized urgent repairs to St. Barbara’s.
  14. homily
    a sermon on a moral or religious topic
    Dad told this joke during his homily at Mass today, and even though it’s pretty normal for Catholic homilies to start with humorous anecdotes, this one did not go over well with Mrs. Pellnor and her squirrels-are-blasphemous crowd.
  15. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    Dad told this joke during his homily at Mass today, and even though it’s pretty normal for Catholic homilies to start with humorous anecdotes, this one did not go over well with Mrs. Pellnor and her squirrels-are-blasphemous crowd.
  16. rut
    a groove or furrow
    We walk down the laneway, which is thin and weedy gravel: bike ruts and car ruts and the dry crackle-dirt hollows of puddles.
  17. doily
    a small round piece of decorative linen or paper
    There are those flowers that look like lace doilies and smell like carrots.
  18. rafter
    one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
    There was a tortoise making the world’s slowest break for freedom and the owl that ended up in the rafters with the back half of a cat, and they had to call the fire department to get them down.
  19. theology
    a particular system or school of religious beliefs
    But my dad is saying how things are already awkward because of the Jesus Squirrel, the bishop’s office is even sending someone to spot-check his theology—and now it will look to people like their deacon wasn’t honest with them.
  20. render
    show in, or as in, a picture
    Outside the window it’s the gray time before dawn, when the world looks like a video game that hasn’t finished rendering, like if you went outside they wouldn’t have the end of the street created yet.
  21. bereaved
    sorrowful through loss or deprivation
    Whoever it is can’t be a bereaved relative, because she doesn’t deploy her Soothing Professional Manner.
  22. coroner
    an official who investigates death not due to natural causes
    Mr. Greenway is the county district attorney, which for some only-in-Nebraska reason also makes him the county coroner, and therefore someone my mom talks to all the time, because it’s his job to decide if dead bodies have to be autopsied or if they can just be buried or cremated or whatever.
  23. upholstery
    covering on a piece of furniture
    There are several long claw slashes on the upholstery and tiny turquoise feathers stuck in the dashboard vent.
  24. morbid
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    My mom just has her morbid T-shirt, but as I watch she reaches out and grabs an emu by the neck and then clamps it between her knees, and I figure she’s probably okay.
  25. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    An emu careens into the wire fence right in front of us and rebounds with a cartoony sproinggg noise.
  26. placid
    calm and free from disturbance
    Over in the corner, the newly shorn Angora goats are gathered in a sleepy mass, bleating and chewing hay with placid sideways shifts of their jaws.
  27. gait
    an animal's manner of moving
    They have, maybe without noticing, adopted an emulike gait to do this, swaying with their hips and bobbing as if tango music is playing in their heads.
  28. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    Its head is black and bald except for a few comb-over wisps.
  29. astride
    with one leg on each side
    She is sit-walking astride an emu as if it’s a hobby horse, holding on to its neck and steering it with her knees.
  30. breach
    an opening, especially a gap in a dike or fortification
    “Okay. Once more unto the breach.” She dives back in.
  31. piercing
    having or emitting a high-pitched tone or tones
    She puts two fingers to her mouth and whistles. It’s so loud and piercing that I’ve got my hands halfway to my ears before I realize it’s coming from her.
  32. hopper
    funnel-shaped receptacle
    There’s a latch clunk, a hinge squeak, and then a rattle that’s probably emu food being poured into a hopper.
  33. igneous
    produced under conditions involving intense heat
    I figure we’ve learned everything there is to know about igneous versus metamorphic rock—something I hear comes up a lot in life—and I’ll be able to grab some time with Kevin under the cover of whatever nonsense Ms. Maddox has scheduled.
  34. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    Hercules susses out the situation instantly: He heaves a huge sigh and sprawls out flat on the linoleum, melting across it.
  35. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    Doc Matapang is a big man, but he moves so delicately, like he’s never hurt anyone in his life, and never could.
Created on Thu Oct 19 09:24:52 EDT 2023 (updated Thu Oct 19 17:43:58 EDT 2023)

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