Tangerine: Prologue–Part 1

by Edward Bloor
Soccer goalie Paul Fisher uncovers dark family secrets when he moves to the strange town of Tangerine, Florida.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. exploit
    a notable achievement
    Both Costellos seemed to be impressed by Erik. They both asked about his high school exploits back in Houston.
  2. calisthenics
    light exercises designed to promote general fitness
    The players were doing calisthenics under a troubled-looking sky.
  3. torque
    a twisting force
    My steps slowed down, and I came to a dead stop, frozen there like a windup toy that had run out of torque.
  4. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    The Erik Fisher Football Dream seems to be materializing. Arthur Bauer is holding the ball for him today, crouching low and spinning the laces away, just like Dad, just like Mike Costello.
  5. benefactor
    a person who helps people or institutions
    What will Arthur do for Erik, his sponsor, his benefactor, his ticket to the big time?
  6. intact
    undamaged in any way
    If the dinosaurs had worn these goggles, and the Earth had been bombarded by mile-wide asteroid boulders, the dinosaurs would still have died, but their goggles would be intact. Nothing can break these goggles.
  7. regulation
    an authoritative rule
    These people all read and signed the regulations before they bought houses here. Those regulations are serious, Paul. This development has a certain look to it.
  8. scrimmage
    practice play between two teams
    We spent most of the time playing a pointless (and goal-less) scrimmage game—the sixth and seventh graders versus the eighth graders.
  9. eligible
    qualified for or allowed or worthy of being chosen
    No, I mean you’re not eligible to play. I have a memo from Mr. Murrow saying that you’re in a special program for the visually handicapped.
  10. justify
    defend, explain, or make excuses for by reasoning
    I’m sorry, but there’s no way we can justify putting a visually handicapped student in the goal, of all places, where he could get his head kicked in.
  11. affliction
    a condition of suffering or distress due to ill health
    According to the sign, this boy stopped growing at the age of five, but he went on to live to the age of eighty-nine. And although he was studied by the top doctors in Europe, he remains a mystery to this day. No one ever discovered what happened to him to cause this strange affliction.
  12. affidavit
    written declaration made under oath
    It’s not like we’re testifying in court or filling out affidavits.
  13. convoy
    a procession of land vehicles traveling together
    A convoy of ambulances, police cars, and fire engines turned into the entranceway, their sirens wailing and their lights flashing.
  14. commission
    the state of being in working order and ready for operation
    Think about it: There are 25 portables that are completely trashed, completely out of commission.
  15. ominously
    in a manner suggesting something bad will happen
    When she got to the Director of Civil Engineering and read out Dad’s name, the crowd buzzed ominously.
Created on Sun Sep 07 16:45:38 EDT 2014 (updated Fri Jun 27 11:02:45 EDT 2025)

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