We welcome you to our "classic text" site where vocabulary has been pulled from many recommended texts. I have suggestions for your FAQ: How can you, as a teacher, student and/or life-long learner use the V.U. classic texts vocabulary lists?
(Tip 1) Individually or as a group, choose words that are unknown to you from the list. To help memorize, look up and write down the definition, part of speech and use the new word in a sentence of more than 6 words.
(Tip 2) Write a story, postcard, letter or journal entry using 15-25 words in context.
(Tip 3) Working individually or in a group, pair synonyms and/or antonyms. Determine how many words are adjectives, nouns and verbs.
Remember, vocabulary mastery comes from encountering new words in assigned reading, in studying vocabulary word lists and using words in context."

A high school recommended book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest written by Ken Kesey, gives the student the opportunity to learn SAT-College Prep vocabulary in context. We have selected 78 words to encourage study.

(Teachers: If you have a vocabulary list for this book (or for others) that you would share with us, email Jan and Carey Cook. We will post it and give you attribution if you wish! Thanks for helping us!!!)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey in order of appearance:

Part 1: glare, swivel, croon, hover, chronic, ornery, loony, pinochle, hassle, callus, heft, efficiency, slurp, replica, knobby, gripe, scowl, embalmer, straggle, overzealous, grievance, prototype, acoustic, braggart, sadistic, ineffectual, matriarchy, notorious, cuss, shimmer, deduce, withered, rumble, splatter, nudge, maudlin, folio, giddy, dingbat, burrow, varnish, humiliation, ample and scour

Part II: bile, vulnerable, suspicious, fidget, latrine, scaffolding, assert, gurney, punitive, sadism, convulsion, delirious, holler and bellow

Part III: wheedle, hovel, indigent, jounce, expedition, flophouse, keelhaul, troll, chum, gaff and jetty

Part IV: dismay, venture, rivet, hallucinate, notoriously, shudder, lobotomy, eventually and ramshackle

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Vocabulary - additional words and definitions

1. Glare: a fiercely or angrily piercing stare

2. Swivel: a pivoted support; pivot

3. Croon: sing softly and plaintively

4. Hover: remain over one place while fluttering in the air; linger about; continue in an undecided state

5. Chronic: of long standing; inveterate; continual

6. Ornery: of ugly disposition; hard to manage

7. Loony: crazy, an insane asylum

8. Pinochle: a card game

9. Hassle: an argument; quarrel

10. Callus: a hardened or thickened part of the skin

11. Heft: weight; heave; try the weight of by lifting

12. Efficiency: adequate in performance or operation; capable; competent; giving a relatively high output of work; acting as a cause; producing an effect

13. Slurp: sip or eat noisily.

14. Replica: any close or exact copy or reproduction. An exact copy made by the original artist

15. Knobby: full of or covered with knobs. Shaped like a knob.

16. Gripe: to complain naggingly or constantly; to suffer pain in the bowels

17. Scowl: a facial expression of dislike or displeasure

18. Embalmer: a mortician who treats corpses with preservatives

19. Straggle: To stray or fall behind. To proceed or spread out in a scattered or irregular group

20. Overzealous: Excessively enthusiastic

21. Grievance: a wrong considered as grounds for complaint, or something believed to cause distress; a complaint or resentment

22. Prototype: the original or model on which something is based or formed.

23. Acoustic: Of or relating to sound, the sense of hearing, or the science of sound. Designed to carry sound or to aid in hearing

24. Braggart: a person who does a lot of bragging; a boastful person

25. Sadistic: any enjoyment in being cruel

26. Ineffectual: powerless; ineffective

27. Matriarchy: a social system ruled by mothers or women

28. Notorious: widely but not favorably known

29. Cuss: swear; curse; obstinate

30. Shimmer: shine with a tremulous light

31. Deduce: derive or conclude by reasoning

32. Withered: shrivel up; languish

33. Rumble: a street fighting; roll heavily or noisily; a rumbling sound

34. Splatter: splash

35. Nudge: a gentle prod

36. Maudlin: tearfully, or drunkenly; sentimental

37. Folio: a sheet of paper folded once; a book of largest size; a page number

38. Giddy: dizzy

39. Dingbat: an eccentric or silly person

40. Burrow: dig into the ground

41. Varnish: a resinous coating material that produces a glossy surface

42. Humiliation: subject to shame or disgrace; humbleness

43. Ample: Large in extent or amount; plentifully sufficient

44. Scour: to clear or rid of what is undesirable; to clean by hard rubbing

45. Lobotomy: Surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain to sever one or more nerve tracts, a technique formerly used to treat certain mental disorders but now rarely performed.

Vocabulary University® has provided vocabulary lists for the following 90 classic books:

90 Recommended High School/Junior High Reading, Books A to H: 1984 Absolutely Normal Chaos All Quiet on the Western Front Angela's Ashes Animal Farm A Tale of Two Cities A Tree Grows in Brooklyn The Awakening The Bean Trees Beowulf Black Boy Call of the Wild Canterbury Tales Catcher in the Rye The Chocolate Wars Cold Mountain The Crucible Cry, The Beloved Country Da Vinci Code David Copperfield Death of a Salesman Diary of Anne Frank Dogs Don't Tell Jokes The Double Helix Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Emma Ethan Frome Fahrenheit 451 Frankenstein Gifted Hands The Glass Menagerie The Grapes of Wrath Great Expectations The Great Gatsby Guests Gulliver's Travels Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix Holes The House of the Spirits The House on Mango Street Huckleberry Finn The Human Comedy

90 Recommended High School/Junior High Reading, Books I to Z: I Heard The Owl Call My Name I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Invisible Man Jane Eyre Johnny Got His Gun Johnny Tremain The Joy Luck Club Kidnapped Lord Jim Lord of the Flies Macbeth Maggie's American Dream Of Mice and Men Moby Dick No-No Boy Not Without My Daughter Old Yeller Of Human Bondage The Once & Future King One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Our Town A Passage to India Pigs in Heaven Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man A Prayer for Owen Meany Pride and Prejudice The Prince and the Pauper Red Badge of Courage The Scarlet Letter A Separate Peace Slaughterhouse Five Something Wicked This Way Comes A Streetcar Named Desire The Street The Sun Also Rises The Taming of the Shrew To Kill a Mocking Bird The Things They Carried Tuesdays wih Morrie Treasure Island Ulysses The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Warriors Don't Cry When I Was Puerto Rican White Fang Wuthering Heights

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If there are other recommended books that you would like to see or contribute vocabulary,
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Special Bonus - ELECTION/CIVICS comic strip, activities and puzzles at Elections and Politics

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Wizard Special - WIZARD Word Puzzles inspired by Harry Potter.

Grade Level Vocabulary Acquisition - visit Vocabulary University®.

We have had two of our Rootonym® puzzles syndicated since 2002:

Rootonym® for print with Tribune Media Services, Inc. (http://www.rootonym.com)

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See our new puzzle called Root Routes® at the link Root Routes®

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Go see this timely content at our link - 39 Week Lesson Plan

Interactive puzzles at grade level: ["S139 Level 1"] -- ["S139 Level 2"] -- ["S139 Level 3"]
Crosswords: ["S139Level 1 C/W"] -- ["S139Level 2 C/W"] -- ["S139Level 3 C/W"]
Find the Words: ["S139Level 1 WF"] -- ["S139Level 2 WF"] -- ["S139Level 3 WF"]
Fill-in-the-Blanks: ["S139Level 1-FITB"] -- ["S139Level 2-FITB"] -- ["S139Level 3-FITB"]
Definition MATCH: ["S139Level 1-Match"] -- ["S139Level 2-Match"] -- ["S139Level 3-Match"]
Contextual Stories: ["S139Level 1 Story"] -- ["S139Level 2 Story"] -- ["S139Level 3 Story"]
Is It True or False?: ["S139Level 1 T/F"] -- ["S139Level 2 T/F"] -- ["S139Level 3 T/F"]
Synonym/Antonym Encounters: [S139Level 1-Syn/Ant] -- [S139Level 2-Syn/Ant] -- [S139Level 3-Syn/Ant]

If you want our free "Alphalary" (alphabetical vocabulary list) of 310 science-related words just email your request to Science Words and put "science" in the subject line. Please include your school, city, state/country and grade you teach, if applicable.
We also have a thematic Alphalaries on Earth. Email your request to EARTH Words and put "earth" in the subject line.
If you want any of our 30 "Alphalaries" (alphabetical vocabulary list) or, in particular, our 432 Character-Ed related words just email your request to Character Education Words and put "character" in the subject line. Please include the name of your school, city, state/country and grade you teach, if applicable.
Have you tried our set of puzzles inspired by Harry Potter? "Visit our Wizard puzzles". If you want our alphabetical list of 160 Wizard-related words just email your request to Wizard Words putting "wizard" in the subject line.

Click here for "Teacher Tips & Ideas" on how to use our thematic Alphalaries.

You can visit our six features on The Most Important SAT* Words.
Top SAT* Word puzzles #1 - Top SAT* Word puzzles #2 - Top SAT* Word puzzles #3 -
Top SAT* Word puzzles #4 - Most Important SAT* Words #5 and Most Important SAT* Words #6