Bronx Masquerade: List 1

by Nikki Grimes
Each week, students in a high school English class step up to the mic to share original poems.

This list covers pages 3–67 in the 2002 Speak edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
35 words 4271 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. convince
    make realize the truth or validity of something
    Tyrone might convince everybody else that he’s all through with dreaming, but I know he wants to be a big hip-hop star.
  2. stoke
    (of a fire) stir up or tend
    You dipped into
    the muddy waters
    of the Harlem River
    and shouted "taste and see"
    that we Black folk be good
    at fanning hope
    and stoking the fires
    of dreams deferred.
  3. defer
    hold back to a later time
    You dipped into
    the muddy waters
    of the Harlem River
    and shouted "taste and see"
    that we Black folk be good
    at fanning hope
    and stoking the fires
    of dreams deferred.
  4. artful
    marked by skill or cunning in achieving a desired end
    You made sure
    the world heard
    about the beauty of
    maple sugar children, and the
    artfully tattooed backs of Black
    sailors venturing out
    to foreign places.
  5. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    You made sure
    the world heard
    about the beauty of
    maple sugar children, and the
    artfully tattooed backs of Black
    sailors venturing out
    to foreign places.
  6. seep
    pass gradually or leak or as if through small openings
    When that boy dyed his hair, I b’lieve some of that bleach must’ve seeped right into his brain.
  7. ward
    a person who is under the protection of another
    Dear Mr. Ward
    with his wards and wardettes.
    Let’s have a show of hands today.
  8. innocence
    the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong
    It’s too late to worry
    about my innocence
    since fear is here.
  9. censor
    forbid the public distribution of
    Why is it a weekend visit
    to your local Mickey D's
    may be deadly?
    Why hasn’t somebody
    censored death?
  10. brutality
    the trait of extreme cruelty
    Say no to police brutality
    and causing fatality.
  11. routine
    an unvarying or habitual method or procedure
    I am not in the mood for Tyrone’s sorry “Baby, gimme some loving” routine, so when I see him in the hall, I storm past as if he’s not even there.
  12. commence
    take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
    She commences to call the guy everything but a child of God, which makes her feel better, I think, then gives me a hug and says she’ll see me later.
  13. gawk
    look with amazement
    Still, I’d rather not have kids gawking at me all period, so I park myself in the back of the room and wait for Mr. Ward to call our English class to attention.
  14. fabrication
    a deliberately false or improbable account
    The truth is always right on the tip of your tongue, he says. It’s the fabrications that take a lot of time.
  15. souvenir
    a reminder of past events
    I caught a quick glance
    in the chilly glow
    of the refrigerator
    before she had
    a chance to hide
    the latest souvenir
    her boyfriend gave her.
  16. advice
    a proposal for an appropriate course of action
    Didn’t he come to me for advice on how to decorate the classroom?
  17. bribe
    make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence
    I’d bribe her with whatever I could scrounge up from returning soda bottles to the grocery.
  18. pamper
    treat with excessive indulgence
    It survives a kind of life where pamper is a noun, not a verb.
  19. distress
    a state of adversity
    I lunge on cue, save the damsel in
    distress.
  20. confining
    restricting the scope or freedom of action
    Why make it easy for you to choose whether I am Zorro or el bandito when I am neither. Your categories are too confining.
  21. tirade
    a speech of violent denunciation
    He’ll launch into a tirade on you in a minute.
  22. limelight
    a focus of public attention
    I guess she’s not exactly used to the limelight.
  23. confide
    reveal in private
    I woke up this morning
    exhausted from hiding
    the me of me
    so I stand here confiding
    there's more to Devon
    than jump shot and rim.
  24. despise
    look down on with disdain or disgust
    He couldn’t wait to get back to his precious mountains! And this is the man you love? But Berto, who puts food in your mouth, him you despise.
  25. rosary
    a series of prayers counted using a string of beads
    Sometimes I say my rosaries and beg for someone to love.
  26. churn
    be agitated
    Our twin hearts beat
    like congas, the rhythm
    churning our blood
    to salsa.
  27. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    Why couldn’t I be tall and elegant like Diondra, or have Judianne’s perfect complexion, all smooth, super-rich fudge?
  28. complexion
    texture and appearance of the skin of the face
    Why couldn’t I be tall and elegant like Diondra, or have Judianne’s perfect complexion, all smooth, super-rich fudge?
  29. invade
    intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, or violate
    "Leave you alone? Look, if you wanted to be left alone, why the hell did you invade my space?"
  30. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    We kind of have our own little clique now.
  31. accentuate
    stress or single out as important
    That’s why I got to show it off, wear clothes that accentuate the positive.
  32. transformation
    the act of changing in form or shape or appearance
    Meanwhile, I sit at my sewing machine and dream about the great transformation I’m going to make someday.
  33. voluptuous
    (of a woman's body) having a large bosom and pleasing curves
    With her chalk,
    she can outline
    a fine and voluptuous shape.
  34. nape
    the back side of the neck
    The nape of the neck is a perfect place to tuck and fold.
  35. baste
    sew together loosely, with large stitches
    A quick basting stitch
    lets her know where
    to set her seams,
    her cuffs, her hem.
Created on Fri Oct 10 19:58:41 EDT 2014 (updated Mon Mar 11 16:19:26 EDT 2019)

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