Johnny Tremain: Chapters 1–2

by Esther Forbes
The year is 1773, and fourteen-year-old Johnny is an apprentice silversmith in Boston. When a terrible accident threatens his future, Johnny must quickly adapt — just as the American colonists join forces to break free from British rule.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–9, Chapters 10–12
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hovel
    small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    Cats in malt houses, granaries, ship holds, mansions, and hovels caught a last mouse, settled down to wash their fur and sleep.
  2. flaccid
    out of condition
    Whatever a ‘pig-of-a-louse’ was, it did describe the whitish, flaccid, parasitic Dove.
  3. autocratic
    offensively self-assured or exercising unwarranted power
    He worshiped Johnny and did not like Dove, but he and Dove were bound together by their common servitude to Johnny’s autocratic rule.
  4. brackish
    slightly salty
    The Laphams were on the edge of the sea. Their well was brackish.
  5. anneal
    bring to a desired consistency by heating and cooling
    Fetching water, sweeping, helping in the kitchen, tending the annealing furnace in the shop were the unskilled work the boys did.
  6. revel
    take delight in
    He knew his power and reveled in it.
  7. formidable
    inspiring fear or dread
    In the kitchen he could see his formidable mistress bent double over the hearth.
  8. ethereal
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    She wore her clothes so tight (hoping to look ethereal), she looked apoplectic.
  9. apoplectic
    pertaining to a sudden loss of consciousness
    She wore her clothes so tight (hoping to look ethereal), she looked apoplectic.
  10. crucible
    a vessel used for high temperature chemical reactions
    ‘So get out a crucible. ’Soon as Dusty’s got the furnace going, you melt it down and try again.’
  11. venerable
    impressive by reason of age
    Mr. Lapham, as befitted his venerable years and his dignity as master of the house, sat in an armchair at the head of the table.
  12. pious
    having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
    He was a deacon at the Cockerel Church and very pious.
  13. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    Mrs. Lapham was a great manager, but she cared nothing for genteel manners and was the first to laugh at Dorcas’s ‘If it please you, Mother—just a touch more maple syrup for me.’
  14. sluggard
    an idle slothful person
    Mr. Lapham’s selections for his boys were sometimes designed to point out some fault in a member of his household, especially in the reader. Dove was always being asked to read about sluggards and going to ants.
  15. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.’
  16. expound
    add details to clarify an idea
    Stand up and expound to us all the meaning of God’s Word.
  17. trencher
    a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved
    Mrs. Lapham was already scraping the trenchers clean, getting on with her work.
  18. patron
    a regular customer
    If a patron ordered a sauceboat, he would get a fine one—perhaps a month after it had been promised.
    A patron can also be "someone who supports or champions something." This definition does not apply here, but it can be seen in the following example sentence: "Isannah, very good and quiet, was snuggled close to her, her hand in that of her patroness." Miss Lyte becomes Isannah's patron when she takes the little beauty from the Laphams with the intention of supporting her training as an actress.
  19. cheeky
    offensively bold
    Mrs. Lapham herself had told Johnny he must always be on hand and write down exactly what the order was. This was necessary, but it did seem cheeky to see the fourteen-year-old boy standing there, telling his master what he was supposed to do.
  20. reverie
    absentminded dreaming while awake
    ‘Johnny!’ It was Madge’s voice that pulled him out of his reverie.
  21. affluence
    abundant wealth
    He was the richest man in New England. Such a wealthy patron might lift the Laphams from poverty to affluence.
  22. unobtrusive
    not undesirably noticeable
    Unobtrusively Johnny got his notebook and pencil.
  23. protuberant
    curving, jutting, or bulging outward
    At last Mr. Lapham raised his protuberant eyes.
  24. august
    profoundly honored
    ‘Certainly, sir. I’m humbly grateful for your august patronage.’
  25. mince
    walk daintily
    Little Jehu came mincing in, a glitter of bright colors.
  26. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    So at last he saw Mr. Revere, a stocky, ruddy man, with fine, dark eyes, shutting his shop, taking out his key preparing to lock up.
  27. solder
    join or fuse with an alloy
    Now, no matter how long it took him (and if all went well it should not be too long), he must get his handles cast, cleaned, and soldered to the basin itself which Mr. Lapham had made.
  28. tyranny
    dominance through threat of punishment and violence
    Perhaps Johnny’s tyranny during the week had irritated the old gentleman—who never believed it made the least difference to anyone when anything was finished.
    Compare this to the description of church bells tolling "with bronze rage at tyranny," where "tyranny" means "government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator." Old Mr. Lapham is irritated by Johnny's tyranny over him and the other apprentices (to do their work), but he is not concerned about the tyranny of King George III because "English rule ain’t always perfect, but it’s good enough for me."
  29. skulk
    avoid responsibilities and duties
    Come Lord’s day and I have a spare moment, I’m going to give you such a hiding for your infernal low-down skulking tricks, you’ll be...
  30. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    Johnny was so anxious to be on with the work—tediously delayed by Dove’s tricks—he hardly listened.
  31. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    And, boy, don’t you go get all fretted up over what’s after all nothing but an order for silver. It’s sinful to let yourself go so over mundane things. Now I want you to set quietly and memorize them verses I had you read about pride.
  32. eloquence
    powerful and effective language
    Johnny sat and told his story. He was beyond his customary abusive eloquence.
  33. insufferable
    extremely unpleasant or annoying
    Both he and Dove thought it would just about serve Johnny Tremain right—after the insufferable way he had been bossing everybody—if the crucible gave way and the hot silver did spill all over the top of the furnace.
  34. ingot
    a piece of metal cast in the shape of a block
    Johnny took the cracked crucible in his trusting hands, put in it silver ingots, set it on top of the furnace.
  35. poultice
    a medical dressing spread on a cloth and applied to the skin
    Mrs. Lapham had plunged the burned hand into a panful of flour and was yelling at Madge to hurry with her bread poultice.
  36. reprove
    reprimand, scold, or express dissatisfaction with
    No one reproved him because he had disobeyed Mrs. Lapham.
  37. idly
    in a lazy, casual, or aimless way
    He idly watched porters rolling barrels of molasses out of its hold.
  38. mete out
    distribute or bestow
    When Mr. Lapham had discovered the evil that had gone on in his absence and the terrible punishment God had meted out to Johnny Tremain, he had ordered the whole thing melted down and he himself had gone over to Mr. Hancock, returned the cream pitcher, and merely said he had found it impossible to make a sugar basin.
  39. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    The old man had never once berated him for Sabbath-breaking, never reminded him how often he had pointed out that pride goeth before a fall.
  40. extravagance
    excessive spending
    Not exactly, but she does think it is an extravagance for a poor household to keep a boy just for chores.
Created on Thu Jan 14 13:43:59 EST 2016 (updated Thu Aug 11 11:47:05 EDT 2022)

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