thrash
scornful
Definition: adj. expressing extreme contempt
0 Timothy answered scornfully, “Dere, look, mahn,
look ... ”
harassment
Definition: n. the act of tormenting by persistent
attacks and criticism
0 In all dis harassment wid d’shark, I did forget.
lurch
Definition: v. move abruptly
0 In another few minutes, the raft lurched and I knew
it had grounded.
fetch
Definition: v. go or come after and bring or take back
0 Timothy said, “’Ere, young bahss, on my shoulders
an’ I’ll fetch you to dlan’.”
discouraged
Definition: adj. made less hopeful or enthusiastic
0 He could tell I was discouraged because we had
come to the island and there were no people on it.
realize
Definition: v. be fully aware or cognizant of
0 Realizing that I was alone on the beach I became
frightened.
terror
Definition: n. an overwhelming feeling of fear and
anxiety
0 Something brushed against my arm, and I yelled out
in terror.
navigation
Definition: n. the guidance of ships or airplanes from
place to place
0 Several small islands tucked up inside great banks
of coral that made navigation dangerous was what
I finally decided on.
frond
Definition: n. compound leaf of a fern or palm or
cycad
0 He was making a hut of dried palm fronds.
smolder
Definition: v. burn slowly and without a flame
0 We’d always keep a small fire smoldering up by
the hut and if an airplane came near, he’d take a
piece of burning wood from our small fire to ignite
the big one.
impatient
Definition: adj. restless or short-tempered under delay
or opposition
0 His voice now impatient, he said, “Say somethin’
wid d’rock, wid many rock; eeevery rock be sayin
somethin'. . ."
anguish
Definition: n. extreme distress of body or mind
0 There was a silence until Timothy broke it
with anguish.
stubborn
Definition: adj. tenaciously unwilling to yield
0 He was just too stubborn, or too proud, to admit it.
murmur
Definition: n. speak softly or indistinctly
0 He kept murmuring, “Ah-huh, ah-huh,” as if making
sure I was spelling it correctly.
arrange
Definition: v. put into a proper or systematic order
0 Then he happily arranged the rocks on the sand,
following my lines.
superior
Definition: adj. of or characteristic of high rank or
importance
0 I felt superior to Timothy that day, but I let him play
his little game, pretending not to know that he really
couldn’t spell.
tutor
Definition: v. give individual instruction
0 I’d been tutored in Dutch the first year in
Willemstad so I could attend the regular school.
trough
Definition: n. a long narrow shallow receptacle
0 He had taken more boards from the top of the raft
and had made a large trough that would catch the
rain.
miserable
Definition: adj. characterized by physical suffering
0 Stew Cat was huddled in a miserable ball over in a
corner, Timothy said, not enjoying it at all.
catchment
Definition: n. the collection of rainfall
0 Example
squall
Definition: n. sudden violent winds, often
accompanied by precipitation
0 The squall wind was in the tops of the palms and I
could imagine how they looked in the night sky,
thrashing against each other high over our little cay.
rancid
Definition: adj. having a rank smell or taste
0 Big, fat green coconuts. When we’d landed, there
were a few dried ones on the ground, but the meat
in them was not very tasty. In a fresher one, there
was still some milk, but it was rancid.
pompano
Definition: n. an ocean fish with a flat body and a
forked tail
0 example
submerged
Definition: adj. beneath the surface of the water
0 There were submerged coral reefs and great
shelves.
conniving
Definition: adj. acting together in secret toward a
fraudulent or illegal end
0 "B’gettin’ his own self a Hazard, mebbe, mebbe,” he
answered, but there was something conniving in
his voice.
d’jumbi
Definition: n. the evil spirit of a dead person
0 Maybe the cat is “d’jumbi”.
convince
Definition: v. make realize the truth or validity of
something
0 It was no good trying to convince him that jumbi did
not exist, nor was there any way to find Stew Cat if
Timothy had hidden him.
stranded
Definition: adj. cut off or left behind
0 Maybe I was stranded on a tiny, forgotten island in
the Caribbean with a madman.
tether
Definition: v. tie with a rope
0 I knew that if I kept going that way, I’d touch or fall
over the length of life-line rope that tethered the
raft.
kin
Definition: n. related by blood
0 The skate is kin to the deadly sea ray, but this one
was as shocked as I was and swam off to deep
water.
mumble
Definition: v. talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
0 It must have been about ten o'clock when Timothy
began to mumble and laugh.
regain
Definition: v. get or find back; recover the use of
0 He never really regained his strength.
malaria
Definition: a disease transmitted by mosquitoes
causing people to intermittently get high fevers
0 I had to think a moment to understand what he was
talking about. Fever! Malaria! I reached over to touch
him. His forehead was burning hot.