1. Infallible not capable of being wrong or making mistakes
a. (Page 5)
i. James stepfather was seemingly infallible
ii. He was 72 when he died trim strong infallible
b. Infallible nobody on this earth is infallible he said
2. Nonchalance casually unconcerned or indifferent
a. (Page 8)
i. The world thought of her nonchalant in the face of what I
perceive to be imminent danger
b. I cannot be nonchalant towards what is going on in my country
3. Throng -fill or be present in a place or area
a. (Page 9)
i. Staying away from the thronging masses to come home on
weekends
b. The crowd thronged into the movie theater to watch the new movie
4. Impend- be about to happen
a. (page 29)
i. As my siblings gathered behind her to watch the impending
slaughter
b. I have no time right now because of an impending paper submission
deadline
5. Providence- the protective care of God or nature as a spiritual power (Page
37)
a. I found in divine providence a source of comfort and trusted the
providence of the Holy Easter to do the rest
6. Synagogue – Building for worship where Jewish people meet
a. (Page 37)
i. He preached in synagogues and he was so smooth talkin’
7. Testament – evidence that something is true
a. Page 42
i. Reading the old testament and hoping it brough you something
to eat
b. His testament was all of his money to be distributed to poor people
8. Molest- to pester or harass someone in an aggressive manner
a. Page 42
i. Any time he had a chance he’d try to get close to me or crawl in
my bed with me and molest me
b. The judge punished him for molesting a 12 year old girl.
9. Self-Esteem- Confidence in one’s own abilities- self-respect
a. Page 43
i. I had very low self –esteem as a child, which I kept with me for
many, many years
b. I am sure he will keep his promise because he has self-esteem
10. Trance – detachment from surroundings as in contemplation
a. Page 46
i. then he’d slip back into his spiritual trance
b. he always hurts himself when he fell into a trance
11. Possessed- completely controlled by an evil spirit
a. Page 46
i. Wrestling with the Bible verses like a man possessed
b. Always it had been better to possess a small apartment than to rent a
large one*
12. Vengeance-punishment inflicted for injury or wrong
a. Page 47
i. Shaking her fist and silently promising vengeance
b. Your thinking of vengeance had devastated your life
13. Connoisseur-an expert judge matters of taste
a. Page 48
i. We never new mommy was a connoisseur of ministers
b. He invited him to a restaurant because he is a connoisseur in food
14. Deference –humble submission and respect
a. Page 50
i. I knew God was all powerful because of mommy’s letter
Deference to Him
b. We treated him with deference due to his age.
15. Ravaging – cause severe and extensive damage to
a. Page 119
i. After ravaging the lawn for about one hour one of us had the
presence of mind asking, “Whose house is this?”
b. I am afraid the war could ravage my country
16. Inadvertently – without intention; Accidentally
a. Page 120
i. when the sheriff went to lunch and inadvertently left the cell
door open
b. His name was omitted from the list inadvertently
17. Peek - look quickly in a furtive manner
a. Page 120
i. A white sheriff had locked him up for peeking under the tent of
the traveling without paying
b. I peeked through the window and saw the taxi had arrived
18. Put yourself in God’s hands and you can’t go wrong
19. Dissipate– the act of using if a lot of money or time; in a foolish way;
disbursement scanner
a. Page 229
i. The uncertainty that lived inside me begin to dissipate
b. The cloud of smoke dissipated when the wind blew
20. Epitomized–be a perfect example of; give a summary of
a. Page 121
i. They epitomized old-time cool, suave, handsome, black men
who worked hard, drank hard.
b. The elections in the U.S.A. epitomize the perfect democracy
21. Barreled–Drive or move fast often heedless of surroundings or conditions
a. Page 123
i. As he barreled up the road laughing uncle Walter screamed at
him.
b. We barreled up the road Manhattan until the police gave us a ticket
22. Segregated –set apart from each other isolate divide
a. Page 180
i. The segregated schools came as a complete surprise to
mommy
b. Blacks were segregated in schools in Delaware
23. Contingency – a future event that is possible but cannot be predicted with
certainty
a. Page 181
i. Contingency plans were made. Appointments were drawn up.
b. We added $1,000 in our trip budget for contingencies
24. Encompassing – Surround and have or hold within
a. Page 186
i. The estate was a huge piece of land, encompassing a horse
barn, a large vegetable garden
b. The investigations were designed to encompass all the possibilites
25. Oblivion – The state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening
a. Page 191
i. One hand squeezing her eyes, as if the tears that flowed out of
them could be squeezed into oblivion
b. He drank himself into oblivion
26. Dilemma – A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between
two or more alternatives
a. Page 199
i. She refused, and I could understand her dilemma she was in
her early forties then.
b. I always consult my closest friends when I face a serious dilemma.
27. Quipped – a clever witty remark or comment
a. Page 203
i. You got a ready made family now, she quipped
b. Drinking too much will lead you to lose all of your friends, he quipped
28. Irk – Irritate, annoy
a. Page 205
i. The part of me that wanted to understand who I was began to
irk and itch at me
b. It irks him when I speak frankly
29. Incoherent –(of spoken language) expressed in an incomprehensible and
confusing way; unclear
a. Page 149
i. Chicken man was a sweet man. He was completely incoherent
when he was drunk
b. I could not understand his idea because he explained it in an
incoherent way.
30. Oddball –a strange or eccentric person
a. Page 219
i. I felt like an oddball standing in front of the quiet, empty
building
b. He thinks in a very oddball way
c. He’s an oddball.
31. Stalking – pursue or approach stealthily
a. Page 220
i. I felt like I was stalking ghosts. No sign of Rabbi Shilsky
b. A cat was stalking a mouse.
32. Lest – with the intention of preventing (something undesirable); to avoid the
risk of
a. Page 220
i. Looked up and down Street every couple of minutes lest the
cops come by and wonder why a black man was loitering.
b. Sometimes I do not ask for help, lest I disturb anyone
33. Loiter- stand or wait around without apparent purpose
a. Page 220
i. Why black man was loitering in front of a white building in the
middle of the day itself
b. He loitered in the streets, in the sunshine.
34. Nostalgia– Feeling of longing for the past or bygone thing; sentimentality
i. He spoke to me neither of Nostalgia price warming with
wrenching recognition
b. I feel a strong nostalgia for the days when I was just a little boy
35. We were like night and day- A phrase to describe he starts difference
between two things seller today and night except implies improvement of the
situation rather than its deterioration
a. Page 200
b. This couple is so different. They are like night and day, like black and
white!
36. Hemmed and Hawed- Discuss, deliberate, contemplate rather than take
action; Or making up one’s mind
a. Page 196
i. (Dennis Hemmed and Hawed at it and finally he said let’s live
together and be husband and wife)
b. Stop hemming and hawing! I want an answer!
37. Hand-me-downs: A garment or other item that has been passed on from
another person
a. Page 200
i. When she was little she refused to wear hand-me-downs and
wore nice skirts and socks
b. Most of the sibling wear hand me downs.
38. Nail someone down- elicit a firm promise or commitment from someone
a. Page 205
i. When I finally nailed her down on it, she sat a the kitchen table
pulled out an old envelope
b. I could not nail him down to tell me the truth.
39. Dais- a low platform for lectern, seats of honor, or a throne
a. Page 251
i. Our teacher stood on the dais to lecture us about democracy
b. The surviving founder of the New Brown Memorial Baptist Church is
sitting at the end of a long table on a dais.
40. Mused-be absorbed in thought
a. Page 256
i. “They are not going to get me,” she mused, the amorphous
“they” being hospitals, the system and anything else that
“sticks tubes in you and takes your money at the same time
b. I mused on my problem for a long time
41. Indecipherable- not able to be read or understood; incomprehensible
a. Page 257
i. Her words, nearly indecipherable as she flies through the
stilted speech in that high-pitched, nervous voice.
b. Stilted unnatural
c. His handwriting is almost indecipherable
42. Nebulous- In the form of a cloud, unclear, vague
a. Page 262
i. I began to accept that fact that the nebulous “white man’s
world” wasn’t as free as it looked
b. I could not understand his nebulous explanation
43. Vacillating- alternate or waver between different opinions or actions
a. Page 262
i. I began a process of vacillating between music and writing
b. My friend vacillated for a long time to get married or to live single
44. Soared-fly or rise high in the air
a. Page 264
i. I soared as a reporter but I always parachuted out in the end
b. The bird continued to soar high in the air
45. Broached-raise (a difficult or sensitive subject) for discussion
a. Page 267
i. The subject was not broached again until I met Al Larkin
b. I broached the matter with my wife
46. Delve-search or rummage
a. Page 267
i. The public response to the piece was so overwhelming I
decided to delve further
b. I have to delve for a solution to my problem
47. Eavesdropping-listen in on another person’s private conversation
a. Page 154
i. So I grabbed a rag and started wiping the counter, edging close
to them, eavesdropping
b. I can not let them catch me eavesdropping
48. Fumble-use the hands clumsily while doing or handwriting something
a. Page 173
i. I fumbled around, fumbled around, and finally I said to myself
“well, I can manicure good.”
b. He fumbled his way through the crowded room
49. Marveled- be filled with wonder or astonishment; be amazed
a. Page 186
i. He marveled at how I got out of doing all the dirty work Mrs.
Dawson wanted me to do
b. I marveled at the painting’s beauty
50. Crammed-Completely filled to the point that it appears overflowing
a. Page 194
i. They had four other friends and a sister from the shouth, all
crammed in their apartment
b. The subway was crammed yesterday