Thieves' Gambit: Chapters 7–15

by Kayvion Lewis
Born into a legendary family of thieves, seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Quest tries to escape the criminal life by applying to college programs outside of the Bahamas, but when her mom disappears, she realizes that the best chance to save her would be winning a competition of international heists.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–15, Chapters 16–23, Chapters 24–34, Chapters 35–47
40 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. settee
    a small sofa
    The walls and ceiling were lined in black velvet—same as the plush settee I was lying on.
  2. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    “Ten? Is that how many jobs I beat you to this last year?” At this, her grin faltered.
  3. rendezvous
    a place where people meet
    Noelia Boschert had been a recurring cockroach that kept crawling into the corners of my life ever since. Catching glimpses of her on miscellaneous jobs, her sending the police my way at common rendezvous points or spreading slander about me to some client so they’d request I didn’t join my mom on a job.
  4. culminate
    end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
    It all culminated when I received a rather threatening email in the black box telling me to back off.
  5. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    “I guess even the dingiest broken clocks are right twice a day,” Noelia murmured.
  6. casual
    not showing effort or strain
    Unstrapped suspenders swung over his pant legs. It was a casual look. Maybe he was trying to appear casual. Casual people are more approachable.
  7. expendable
    suitable to be used up
    If I knew her, she was already prowling for her newest expendable but useful best friend.
  8. complementary
    serving to fill out, enhance, or supply what is lacking
    She had a gold-trimmed-and-embroidered jacket, which was a meld between what I assumed was traditional Indian style and Western high fashion, with complementary leggings, slippers, and a scarf.
  9. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    I’d call this new girl naïve for falling for it, but that’d make me a hypocrite. Once upon a time, I fell for it too, when a much younger Noelia started gushing over my barrettes.
  10. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    I mentally chided myself. Ross Quest was not going to be that girl who started swooning over the hot guy after five minutes.
  11. lithe
    moving and bending with ease
    She pointed at the lithe dancer girl from the plane.
  12. fanfare
    a gaudy outward display
    Everyone was watching me, but it wasn’t all warm attention. Noelia in particular looked furious that my last name had gotten more fanfare than hers.
  13. concierge
    a caretaker in an apartment complex or hotel
    If hell had a concierge, this woman worked at the front desk.
  14. oscillate
    move or swing from side to side regularly
    Schematics of a building oscillated on the screen.
  15. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    A series of objects blinked quickly across the screen. A miniature portrait of a well-made-up French aristocrat, a gilded music box, a sculpture of a Roman emperor in full regalia.
  16. regalia
    paraphernalia indicative of royalty or other high office
    A series of objects blinked quickly across the screen. A miniature portrait of a well-made-up French aristocrat, a gilded music box, a sculpture of a Roman emperor in full regalia.
  17. ingenuity
    the property of showing inventiveness and skill
    Consider the lack of your belongings a test of your ingenuity.
  18. versed
    thoroughly acquainted through study or experience
    “Was that supposed to sound like another proverb?”
    “Guess I’m not as well- versed as the rest of you all,” he answered.
  19. jimmy
    move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
    “But come on, when has a quote ever helped someone jimmy a safe, ya know?”
  20. brooch
    a decorative pin
    Two steps out, I collided with a white woman wearing an obnoxiously large ladybug brooch.
  21. bask
    expose oneself to warmth and light, as for relaxation
    In the center of the gallery, basking under a downpour of sun from a skylight, was the first item from Count’s list.
  22. plaque
    a tablet that commemorates a person or achievement
    Without a month to plan, there was no way I was carrying a fifty-foot-wide oil painting out of here, or the commemorative plaque that was drilled into the lobby floor.
  23. dapper
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    The couple glided out of the cozy gallery hand in hand, and a familiar dapper figure replaced them.
  24. debonair
    having a sophisticated charm
    Devroe flashed me a flawlessly debonair smile.
  25. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    He really was infuriating. I pushed past him, not because I felt myself flushing again or anything, and settled back in front of the case with Count’s target inside.
  26. skulk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    “I saw Mylo and Lucus skulking by here at least twice. Not to mention that girl Yeriel.”
  27. dainty
    delicately beautiful
    Something dainty and pink poked out of the corner of the bag.
  28. don
    put on clothes
    She’d donned her jean jacket once again.
  29. antebellum
    belonging to a period before a war
    I tugged her behind one of the mannequins with a wide antebellum skirt, barely managing to hide us both under the fabric before a gaggle of guards passed through.
  30. vehemently
    in a forceful manner
    She shook her head vehemently.
  31. reiterate
    say, state, or perform again
    I sent Yeriel down first, reiterating how important it was that she somehow get out of the elevator so I could call it back up.
  32. throttle
    kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air
    Devroe continued to hesitate. I wanted to throttle him.
  33. assortment
    a collection containing a variety of kinds of things
    An assortment of sweet and savory scents swirled around me.
  34. altercation
    a noisy, angry argument or fight between people
    She’d gained a silky white scarf since I last saw her, probably to cover any wear and tear from our altercation at the museum.
  35. petty
    preoccupied with unimportant matters in a spiteful way
    “Don’t be petty because she was better prepared than you.”
  36. swindle
    deprive of by deceit
    Of course, if I had a partner, she’d assume I swindled them.
  37. fluke
    a stroke of luck
    That’s what everyone does eventually. Yeriel was a fluke.
  38. inflect
    vary the pitch of one's speech
    I laughed. Partially because it was funny, and also because of how close we were, and the way he knew just how to inflect his voice to make it feel like everything he was saying was a whispered, dirty little secret just for us.
  39. rapport
    a relationship of mutual understanding between people
    This time, there was a laugh on his lips, and it was hard for me not to smile with him. But if I did that, then we’d be laughing together, and then it would be a moment and we’d have a rapport with each other and then I’d be trying not to think about said moment in the elevator the next time I saw him.
  40. astute
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    Maybe, maybe, some tiny bit of me wanted to. And maybe he was astute enough to tell.
Created on Mon Feb 05 16:10:53 EST 2024 (updated Tue Feb 06 15:52:33 EST 2024)

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