The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin: Chapters 6–10

by Elinor Teele
For more than one hundred years, his family has been making coffins in the city of Pludgett, but eleven-year-old John Peregrine Coggin does not want to be trapped in a lifeless job, so he runs away with his younger sister.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: "The Beginning"–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–17, Chapters 18–25, Chapter 26–"The End of the Beginning"
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. profuse
    produced or growing in extreme abundance
    “Profuse apologies, Colonel, but I was unavoidably detained.”
  2. blithe
    carefree and happy and lighthearted
    “I’ve brought them to be acrobats,” Boz said, pushing the Coggins forward. “Names of John and Page. They’re blithe and lithe and full of vim.”
  3. vim
    a healthy capacity for vigorous activity
    “I’ve brought them to be acrobats,” Boz said, pushing the Coggins forward. “Names of John and Page. They’re blithe and lithe and full of vim.”
  4. complement
    a full number or quantity
    Already got a full complement of acts, and I won’t need more until next summer.
  5. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    “JOHN PEREGRINE COGGIN! Present yourself immediately!”
    John blanched. Page blanched. Boz may have blanched, but it was impossible for anyone to tell. He had plunged under a blanket.
  6. huckster
    an aggressive and dishonest seller or advertiser
    If you’re speaking about Boz, he’s a huckster and a half. Discovered that last year when he blew up our big top.
  7. impart
    transmit, as knowledge or a skill
    I have trained that boy up in the manner befitting the family business since the day his parents died! I have clothed him, fed him, and imparted to him the secrets of the grave.
  8. ensconce
    fix firmly
    We’ll ensconce you in a nearby barn.
  9. dyspeptic
    irritable as if suffering from indigestion
    The animals appeared to be in a feeding frenzy.
    “Don’t worry,” Boz said, “they’re simply dyspeptic. You two can rest over here on these hay bales, and I’ll come and retrieve you in the morning.”
  10. jaunty
    having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
    Throwing a jaunty wave, he vanished into the dark.
  11. dally
    waste time
    “Least dallied, soonest rallied. Come along now, come along.”
  12. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    There was a wizened elderly lady entwined in a six-foot beard and snoring lustily.
  13. bandy
    curved outward at the knees
    An enormously tall man with big bandy legs rose like a balloon and bounded over to them.
  14. lineage
    the descendants of one individual
    “You don’t look like b-b-bloodsucking leeches.”
    “I resent that. I come from a distinguished lineage,” Boz retorted.
  15. induction
    a formal entry into an organization or position or office
    “You’ll have to do better than ‘kind of’ for your induction.” Porcine Pierre smirked through his needled teeth.
    “What’s that?” asked Page.
    “It’s a test,” said Mister Missus Hank. “To see if you’re good enough to be a Wayfarer.”
  16. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    “Children, children!” Gentle Giant Georgie admonished, trying to grab Alligator Dan’s collar and pull him away from the melee.
  17. melee
    a noisy riotous fight
    “Children, children!” Gentle Giant Georgie admonished, trying to grab Alligator Dan’s collar and pull him away from the melee. Unfortunately, Dan’s only reaction was to seize Georgie’s leg and refuse to let go.
  18. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    Boz leaned nonchalantly against one of the exterior ropes.
  19. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    John summoned his meager courage.
  20. squall
    utter a sudden loud cry
    What could be purer of heart than a man raising a roof above his squalling babes?
  21. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
    “For the simple reason that I am not worthy. Since you have come, I have learned I am but a hock-fisted hack, a scrap, man’s offcut, not fit to touch the tools so hallowed by sacrifice.”
  22. reverie
    an abstracted state of absorption
    John was jerked out of his reverie by Page’s tug on his arm.
  23. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    Intrigued, John crouched down to examine the interior.
  24. idle
    not in action or at work
    When he wasn’t working on props, he was helping Page tear down tents or hitch up horses. Life became a constant round of coming and going.
    “Idle hands make for empty bellies,” Colonel Joe noted.
  25. ilk
    a kind of person
    He knew that no woman born of her ilk would give up on the family legacy that easily.
  26. skulk
    move stealthily
    In his paranoia, John skulked behind trees to scan the faces of the crowds.
  27. deft
    skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
    You’d better be a deft hand at diapers, young man.
  28. carp
    raise trivial objections
    John squeezed his teddy. A fatal mistake.
    “Ah. Can’t have that endangering the family line,” Great-Aunt Beauregard carped, yanking the bear from John’s arms. “Germs.”
  29. rudimentary
    being in the earliest stages of development
    Now that the Wayfarers could see a rudimentary boiler and crankshaft taking shape in front of their eyes, some of them began to believe in the Autopsy’s possibilities.
  30. galling
    causing irritation or annoyance
    Most galling of all, John knew he could do better. With patience, time, and a finer grasp of engineering, he was confident he could make it work. Yet he had none of those things.
  31. faltering
    unsteady in speech or action
    Every time she helped him rebuild the faltering crankshaft, John remembered Great-Aunt Beauregard’s comments about his father’s nitwilliness.
  32. flounce
    walk in an emphatic or exaggerated way
    They had barely finished flouncing out of the caravan when Boz hurtled through the entrance, hair sparkling like a constellation, a cloth sack in hand.
  33. appease
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
    “Alas, what’s bothering the brain of our resident genius? Moan a little my way and I’ll do my best to appease ya.”
  34. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
    “You, my fine fellow, may be suffering from a galloping case of the responsibles,” he said gravely, seizing John’s wrist and cocking his own head sideways. “It begins with an almost invisible twinge to the conscience and results in an insidious rash of the shouldn’ts.”
  35. arabesque
    position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind
    “My dear girl,” said Boz—he was doing an arabesque on one of the fence poles—“whither we flither is no fit place for a lady.”
  36. mottle
    mark with spots or blotches of different color
    Page’s cheeks mottled with fury.
  37. svelte
    being of delicate or slender build
    I took the liberty of loosening a few boards yesterday. We need only slip our svelte selves between them.
  38. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    By this time, the snake was at Alligator Dan’s feet. And Alligator Dan was just beginning to get a vague inkling that something wasn’t quite right.
  39. predecessor
    one who goes before you in time
    Slithering in his predecessor’s path, Boz crossed the field and inserted himself between the boards.
  40. chassis
    the skeleton of a motor vehicle
    A buggy seat was provided to hold the driver and passenger, with a large space for luggage between the top of the chassis and the back of the seat.
Created on Mon Aug 19 09:25:05 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Aug 20 11:40:16 EDT 2024)

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