Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat: Chapters 15–33

by Johnny Marciano, Emily Chenoweth
In this first book of the series, Lord High Emperor Wyss-Kuzz is exiled from the planet Lyttrboks and ends up in Oregon, where he meets rising sixth grader Raj Banerjee and becomes a pet named Klawde.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 14, Chapters 15–33, Chapter 34–Epilogue
40 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. culprit
    someone or something responsible for harm or wrongdoing
    “But there is one culprit—one vicious predator—that is most to blame.”
  2. domesticated
    accustomed to home life
    “Cats!” Turkey Vulture exclaimed. “Wherever they roam, they hunt and murder songbirds. In fact, the domesticated house cat is the only living creature more destructive than human beings!”
  3. trill
    sing or play alternating with the half note above or below
    Then he hopped off the Speaking Stump and danced around, making a lot of chirping, trilling noises.
  4. nettle
    plant having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation
    Steve did not listen to the part about how to pick and prepare stinging nettles—a lesson he learned painfully—while Cedar called me over to see what she had found under a fallen log.
  5. grub
    a soft thick wormlike larva of certain insects
    “Grubs, beetles, and insect larvae are a vital part of the wilderness diet!”
  6. vital
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    “Grubs, beetles, and insect larvae are a vital part of the wilderness diet!”
  7. tuber
    a fleshy underground stem or root, often used as food
    Cedar just smiled at me as she nibbled on a cattail tuber.
  8. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    “I like your spirit, as well as your forest names. But are scorpions indigenous to our area?”
  9. temperate
    mild or free from extremes
    “No, they’re from the desert!” I called out. “Elba’s more of a temperate rain forest, so scorpions are actually out of place here.”
  10. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    I was so excited I finally knew something. Thank you, fifth-grade ecology unit!
    “Rat, you may not be as ignorant as I assumed,” Turkey Vulture said.
  11. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    “Rat, you may not be as ignorant as I assumed,” Turkey Vulture said.
  12. tabby
    a cat with a gray or tawny coat mixed with black
    I crossed the road and hopped up to the ledge of the Flabby Tabby’s window. Immediately, the cat showed his first signs of life.
  13. meek
    evidencing little spirit or courage
    He arched his back, his fur went up, and he began to hiss.
    Assassin’s Pose!
    It warmed my heart. At least these Earth cats were not all meek morons!
  14. utter
    complete
    “MROW! MROW!”
    Was it possible? Could these Earth felines know only ONE word? A word of utter nonsense, no less?
  15. dismal
    causing dejection
    Thousands of years on this dismal planet must have turned the entire feline race stupid.
  16. appalled
    struck with dread, shock, or dismay
    “Uh, I don’t eat meat,” I said.
    Turkey Vulture looked appalled.
  17. knead
    manually manipulate, for medicinal or relaxation purposes
    He was kneading my head with his paws.
  18. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    “Mrow?” I said, pretending to be an idiot Earth cat.
    The ogre fell for my ruse.
  19. latter
    the second of two or the second mentioned of two
    This “love” was an entirely un-feline concept. Was it an emotion, like pride or aggression, or a type of illness?
    I suspected the latter.
  20. mystify
    be puzzling or bewildering to
    The most mystifying symptom of this affliction was that one ogre would choose to serve another ogre—or animal—that it loved.
  21. affliction
    a condition of suffering or distress due to ill health
    And since he suffered from this love affliction, he would do my bidding without question.
  22. whittle
    cut small bits or pare shavings from
    After that, he had us whittle spears, which was cool until Steve sat on mine and broke it.
  23. inconvenience
    an unwanted discomfort
    “That sounds like the pain I feel. I asked Turkey Vulture for some Band-Aids, but he said that cuts were a minor inconvenience on the way to getting our forest feet.”
  24. incessant
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    I was trapped! Trapped in that locked room with the boy-Human and his incessant, pathetic complaining!
    I would rather have my fur plucked out hair by hair than listen to one more word.
  25. benevolent
    intending or showing kindness
    “I ruled my planet as a kind and benevolent warlord.”
  26. gullible
    naive and easily deceived or tricked
    His puny brain appeared to be processing this information. Could he possibly be gullible enough to buy it?
  27. ambassador
    a diplomat of the highest rank
    I had vaporized ambassadors and kings for lesser insults, but as I needed this Human’s help to get home, I made an exception.
  28. compose
    make calm or quiet
    This time, it took all the strength I possessed not to fling myself at his idiotically happy face. I brushed my whiskers with a paw and composed myself.
  29. synapse
    the junction between two neurons
    The look on the boy-ogre’s face told me that, at last, some of the synapses in his brain were firing.
  30. invincible
    incapable of being overcome or subdued
    But then I thought, YES! Come with me. Imagine! Having a giant at my side to help me reconquer Lyttyrboks. I’d be INVINCIBLE!
  31. prospect
    the possibility of future success
    After all, our mind-meld had told me much about the boy-ogre’s prospects here—and they did not look good.
  32. density
    the spatial property of being crowded together
    “Point 17K states you must make the energetic particle radiation density buffer bypass the aft tactical resonance coil,” Klawde said.
  33. buffer
    a cushion-like device that reduces shock due to an impact
    As I unthreaded the tiny screws from the density buffer—whatever that was—I asked Klawde if he missed his home planet.
  34. aggravation
    an exasperated feeling of annoyance
    “What kind of instant ordering takes two days?”
    The aggravation of this primitive world!
  35. summit
    the top or extreme point of something
    “The main path to the summit takes forever. But there’s a shortcut.”
  36. maintenance
    activity involved in keeping something in good working order
    PATH TO SUMMIT CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE
  37. adequate
    having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
    I could see the boy-ogre would be incapable of helping me unless I helped him first. Perhaps I could turn him into an adequate soldier yet.
  38. haven
    a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary
    “The trees will be your safe haven,” Turkey Vulture said.
  39. critical
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    I also now had the critical parts for my other project—a transuniversal communicator.
  40. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    “Climb, Rat! Climb!” shouted Steve, dodging our counselor, who was now pretending to be a giant tidal wave.
    I began to clamber up, plotting the best route as I went.
Created on Sun Apr 28 10:01:23 EDT 2024 (updated Sun Apr 28 16:12:46 EDT 2024)

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