The Witch of Blackbird Pond: Chapters 6–9

by Elizabeth George Speare
After emigrating from Barbados to Connecticut Colony, sixteen-year-old Katherine (Kit) Tyler finds herself at odds with her Puritan neighbors, which turns dangerous when she befriends a Quaker woman accused of being a witch.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–15, Chapters 16–21
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. condescension
    showing arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
    But the greatest part of his condescension he had bestowed on Kit, once he had understood that her grandfather had been Sir Francis Tyler.
  2. coddle
    treat with excessive indulgence
    “I have to coddle this throat of mine,” he decided. “But my young pupil here is a very exceptional reader. I shall pass the honor on to him.”
  3. pompous
    puffed up with vanity
    Tonight he appeared to be a shadow, hanging on every word from this pompous opinionated man.
  4. canny
    showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
    “I would suggest Proverbs, 24th Chapter, 21st verse,” said the old minister, with a canny gleam in his eye which Kit understood as John began to read.
  5. cadence
    the rhythmic rise and fall of the voice
    John’s voice was low-pitched but very clear, and the words fell with a musical cadence that was a delight.
  6. terse
    brief and to the point
    Her uncle’s terse petitions were hard enough to endure; this prayer, she knew, would be a lengthy masterpiece.
  7. inexorably
    in a manner impervious to change or persuasion
    As the husky voice scraped inexorably on, she ventured to raise her head a little, and was gratified to see that Judith too was peeking.
  8. appraisal
    an expert estimation of the quality of something
    She was studying, with deliberate appraisal, John Holbrook’s bent head and the delicate chiseled line of his profile against the firelight.
  9. affliction
    a condition of suffering or distress due to ill health
    “And bless our sister in her weakness and affliction.”
  10. fulsome
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
    How Mercy must be shriveling at the fulsome words.
  11. timorous
    shy and fearful by nature
    She coaxed her father out of his bitter moods, upheld her timorous and anxious mother, gently restrained her rebellious sister and had reached to draw an uncertain alien into the circle.
  12. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    “But he has hardly seen her—only for a moment after Meeting.”
    “She was conspicuous enough.”
  13. placid
    calm and free from disturbance
    A small wrinkle of concern marred her usually placid forehead.
  14. cordial
    politely warm and friendly
    Her aunt welcomed him cordially, and in a few moments put her head in at the parlor door, her understanding glance taking in the two silent young people.
  15. trifle
    a small amount
    Over a handful of fluffy white kernels William relaxed a trifle.
  16. toil
    productive work, especially physical work done for wages
    The only rights worth all that toil and sacrifice are the rights of free men, free and equal under God to decide their own justice.
  17. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    “Oh—that’s the Widow Tupper.” Judith’s voice was edged with contempt. “Nobody but Hannah Tupper would live there by Blackbird Pond, right at the edge of the swamp, but she likes it. They can’t persuade her to leave.”
  18. encroach
    impinge or infringe upon
    The long rows of onions looked endless, their sharp green shoots already half hidden by encroaching weeds.
  19. uppity
    arrogant or self-important
    Judith, so proud and uppity, so vain of the curls that fell just so on her shoulder, so finicky about the snowy linen collar that was the only vanity allowed her, kneeling in the dirt doing work that a high-class slave in Barbados would rebel at.
  20. rankle
    make resentful or angry
    She could not keep out of her voice the bitterness that had rankled all these weeks.
  21. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    If two or three of the heavier boys could band together at one end, they could make precarious sitting for the unlucky female at the other end.
  22. composure
    steadiness of mind under stress
    Kit marveled at the ease and gentleness with which Mercy controlled her charges, her warm sweet voice never raised, her lovely composure never ruffled.
  23. catechism
    an elementary book summarizing the principles of a religion
    “Now we will repeat the first part of the Catechism, and then Mistress Tyler will tell you a story.”
  24. slough
    a stagnant swamp
    But in a week’s time she had stretched her memory to the utmost, and Pilgrim had traveled all the way from the Slough of Despond to the Celestial City.
  25. enthrall
    hold spellbound
    Kit chose the stories she herself enjoyed most, and her reading had a zest and liveliness that enthralled the children.
  26. raiment
    especially fine or decorative clothing
    And three of you can be the robbers, that set on him and strip him of his raiment and wound him.
  27. stolid
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    Jonathan Ashby stood stolidly beside Mercy, waiting for his chance to be the rescuer.
  28. obstreperous
    boisterously and noisily aggressive
    By chance she had chosen the three most obstreperous pupils in the school to be her thieves and robbers.
  29. priggish
    exaggeratedly or self-righteously proper
    And the hapless boy who represented the traveler was the priggish little scholar they most cordially disliked.
  30. sanctioned
    established by authority
    Such an opportunity, sanctioned by authority, had never been known before.
  31. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    Across the subdued children’s heads Kit and Mercy faced their two visitors, Mr. Eleazer Kimberley, the schoolmaster, and the Reverend John Woodbridge.
  32. bedlam
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    “What is the meaning of this disturbance?” demanded Mr. Kimberley. “We come to inspect your school, Mistress Wood, and we find bedlam.”
  33. falter
    speak haltingly
    “I—I didn’t realize what we were doing, sir,” she faltered.
  34. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    In a panic she fled, out the door and down the roadway, running, blind to reason or decorum, past the Meeting House, past the loiterers near the town pump, past the houses where her pupils lived.
  35. ravenous
    extremely hungry
    She was suddenly ravenous, but more than that, she was curious.
  36. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    Like the school children, she had accepted Kit without a question or suspicion, and like a child she scuttled ahead now, confident that Kit would accept her in the same way.
  37. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    The little hut with its sparsely thatched roof sagged at one corner.
  38. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    "Oh, everything he has told you is true!” answered Kit fervently. “'Tis so beautiful—flowers every day of the year. You can always smell them in the air, even out to sea.”
  39. incoherent
    without logical or meaningful connection
    She scarcely knew where to begin, but all at once she was finding eager, incoherent words for the happy days on the island, the plantation, the long walks together and the swimming, the dim cool library and the books.
  40. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    She listened, nodding her head like a wizened owl, as the tale of the morning’s woes came pouring out.
Created on Fri Aug 19 14:43:46 EDT 2016 (updated Sat Jun 17 12:51:49 EDT 2023)

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