Mid-Air: List 1

by Alicia D. Williams
In this novel in verse, Isaiah learns who he is as he grieves the death of one friend and tries to keep his relationship with another alive.

This list covers vocabulary from "Bet"–"Why?"

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
25 words 125 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. demolition
    the act of destroying completely
    Like the city knocked down a whole building &
    the demolition team up & quit. Left it all in a heap.
  2. gawk
    look with amazement
    I gawk at him.
  3. straddle
    sit or stand astride of
    A kid now at the top straddles his wheels.
  4. pothole
    a pit or cavity in a road produced by wear or weathering
    His arms flap with each bump hit & pothole dip —
    He ain’t gon’ make it!
  5. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    He veers right, hits a brick, skyrockets ten feet, & bam — Ummph!
  6. graze
    scrape gently
    We’re yelling & jumping & pumping fists in the air
    when Darius’s front tire grazes a cement block & —
    Ahhhhhhhhhh! —
    he soars like Miles Morales —
    hits the ground, tumbling tumbling —
    Drew & I run over. Hey, you okay?
  7. slick
    made smooth, as by ice, grease, or water
    The narrow path is worn slick from tires & blood
    of other kids trying to be king.
  8. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    To me teetering over the edge of my garage’s roof.
  9. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    I put it on till it nearly covers my eyes &
    I
    slink
    down.
  10. yank
    pull with a sudden movement
    Before I can respond, he gives me his hand, yanks me up.
  11. hijack
    seize control of
    It was last April, seventh grade, in the schoolyard
    at the concrete slab we hijacked from
    the magic tarot-reading girls & which is now known
    as the Four Square Corner, when this new kid,
    with a scrunched-up face, stood in line. None of us
    said nothing to him. He said nothing to us. Yet, he stood.
  12. thrive
    grow vigorously
    But Chinese money plants & peace lilies
    want low, indirect light to thrive.
  13. propagate
    cause to multiply, as by grafting or layering
    & right now, my fingers gently hold the stem of
    a white-dotted green leaf cast iron plant I’m propagating.
  14. sift
    check and sort carefully
    She was at a table picking through
    Mexican flowerpots. I was at another
    sifting through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle tees
    when my hands landed on a black shirt
    with gold letters & a woman with wings —
    Led. Freaking. Zeppelin.
  15. blare
    make a loud noise
    Song comes on. Fast-rocking guitar blares.
  16. scuff
    poke at with the foot or toe
    Yep, I mumble, & scuff a cigarette butt,
    grind it into the ground.
  17. ease
    move gently or carefully
    He carefully eases a foot into each.
  18. poacher
    someone who hunts or fishes illegally
    His laptop is full of photos of orphaned koala bears
    dreaming of homes before the forests burned,
    tuskless elephants robbed of ivory by poachers,
    the women soldiers sworn to protect them, &
    newly discovered descendants of an extinct tortoise
    on the Galápagos Islands.
  19. pitch
    throw or toss
    Darius pitches peels back. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
  20. feat
    a notable achievement
    So on & so on
    adding time to feats
    we ain’t hardly gonna reach.
  21. cul de sac
    a street with only one way in or out
    Cedar Street cuts Rosewood in two,
    with cul-de-sacs on each end.
  22. bulge
    swell or protrude outwards
    Wrestler veins bulge in his neck.
  23. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Drew glowers & roars.
  24. rave
    talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
    People are raving & fuming &
    I’m stuck —
    I fight to unglue myself.
  25. surge
    rise or move forward
    The man surges then shoves.
Created on Thu May 15 07:18:42 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 10 12:40:41 EDT 2025)

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