The Ice Cream Machine: Story IV

by Adam Rubin
In this collection, all six stories feature an ice cream machine with different characters and situations, from a five-armed robot to an alien space lab.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Story I, Story II, Story III, Story IV, Story V, Story VI
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. blare
    make a loud noise
    Then he would cackle like a maniac and speed away with “Pop Goes the Weasel” blaring at full volume from the rusty speakers mounted on top of his truck.
  2. cul de sac
    a street with only one way in or out
    There were 347 houses arranged in rings of branching cul-de-sacs (which is a fancy French word for dead-end streets shaped like circles).
  3. tycoon
    a very wealthy or powerful businessperson
    Way back when, before they’d built any of the houses, the neighborhood had been farmland owned by Thaddeus Vandersnoot, the railroad tycoon.
  4. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    Peering down from above, with his pointy nose pressed against the window, Cromulous always thought the Dells resembled a snowflake—an intricate pattern of circles surrounding circles, connecting with other circles.
  5. fractal
    a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale
    The faintly fractal form reminded him how much he missed winter.
  6. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    “You sound worse than a pig in a blender!” he said. “I could hear that racket from ten blocks away!"
  7. vial
    a small bottle that contains liquid medicine
    Tiffany began to wail like an ambulance siren. Cromulous pressed the vial to her cheek, and tears dripped into the tube.
  8. mongrel
    an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
    Fomo growled.
    “Beat it, you mongrel.”
  9. scoundrel
    someone who does evil deliberately
    Free ice cream. It was almost good enough to put up with that sinister scoundrel Cromulous Blotch.
  10. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “Nice hat, baldy,” scoffed Cromulous as his truck ground to a halt with an ear-piercing squeal.
  11. befuddled
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    Tiffany already had her mouth full and a befuddled look on her face.
  12. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    He popped the cork and inhaled deeply, wafting the salty aroma toward his nostrils with his free hand.
  13. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    When the dump trucks showed up each day to drop off their loads, he strapped on his galoshes and his goggles and went traipsing through the piles with a pitchfork.
  14. buoyancy
    the tendency to float in water or other liquid
    The students were studying buoyancy. The assignment was to search through the junkyard to find heavy things that might float.
  15. knickknack
    a small, inexpensive decorative object
    The shelves were lined with knickknacks and doodads of all shapes and sizes.
  16. abstract
    not representing or imitating external reality
    The walls were covered with a wide variety of paintings: antique, abstract, modern.
  17. hodgepodge
    a motley assortment of things
    Everything in the little house was a hodgepodge, a mix of styles that shouldn’t fit together, and yet somehow they made a cozy combination.
  18. galosh
    a waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow
    He pulled on his galoshes and led the kids out into the junkyard, past a broken-down school bus that was missing its roof and some sort of satellite with Chinese characters on the side.
  19. gross
    twelve dozen
    They ordered a ten-pound box of powdered mix and 144 cones—it was called a gross (which doesn’t make any sense, because ice cream cones are delicious).
  20. incessantly
    without interruption
    For most people, abstract jazz sounded like noises that had been made by accident. But that’s why Cromulous enjoyed it so very much. It made him feel sophisticated, unlike that juvenile tune that jangled incessantly from his truck.
  21. interlude
    an intervening period or episode
    After Cromulous had eaten and enjoyed a nonmusical interlude, he thought about new and exciting ways to make ice cream as unpleasant as possible.
  22. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Barney tentatively pressed the control toggle and watched the car move forward, as if he were sitting in the driver’s seat.
  23. throttle
    a valve that regulates the supply of fuel to the engine
    Then he set the engine to full throttle, and the car peeled out down the road.
  24. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
    The posters featured a caricature of a sweaty man in a hat and cape.
  25. feign
    give a false appearance of
    “Oh my, I didn’t realize!” Cromulous feigned dismay.
  26. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    Cromulous feigned dismay. “Why, certainly, you are right. I must have been confused.”
  27. accentuate
    put stress on
    He accentuated each syllable of “children” in that snotty way adults tend to do when they want the word to sound like an insult.
  28. impartial
    showing lack of favoritism
    He had agreed to act as an impartial judge.
  29. crest
    reach a high point
    The truck crested the hill on Sycamore Street, stopped, and revved its wheezing engine.
  30. sinister
    wicked, evil, or dishonorable
    At the wheel, Cromulous hunched forward with a sinister grin.
  31. fleck
    a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
    There were orange flecks of sweet potato stuck in his teeth.
  32. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    But as he strutted back to his truck, the Zippity-Flipper whizzed past and swept his legs out from under him.
  33. crusty
    blunt and ill-tempered
    The Lickety-Split gang was two steps ahead of the crusty old ice cream jerk.
  34. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    Yolanda stood at the top of the stairs and watched with awe as the napkin parachute neatly unfurled.
  35. sully
    make dirty or spotty
    Cromulous shook the snot from his hand and threw the sullied vial to the grass.
  36. meddlesome
    intrusive in an offensive manner
    Cromulous turned around and craned his neck to see the wreckage of the meddlesome toy crushed beneath his wheels.
  37. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    The wheels of the truck kept spinning, and black smoke billowed from the engine as Cromulous lay on the ground, discombobulated and groaning.
  38. discombobulated
    having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion
    The wheels of the truck kept spinning, and black smoke billowed from the engine as Cromulous lay on the ground, discombobulated and groaning.
  39. sonorous
    full and loud and deep
    The Lickety-Split team gave Gorby all the money they had earned from deliveries, and he used it to fix up an antique van with a sonorous set of sleigh bells.
  40. hypnotic
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    At first, the dancing flames were a sweet relief—beautiful and hypnotic.
Created on Tue Nov 28 16:04:18 EST 2023 (updated Wed Nov 29 15:27:06 EST 2023)

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