Everything Sad Is Untrue: List 1

by Daniel Nayeri
In this novel, based on the author's real experiences, a young immigrant recounts his family's history.

This list covers pages 1–49 of the 2020 Levine Querido edition.

Here are links to our lists for the memoir: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
40 words 330 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. surpass
    be or do something to a greater degree
    Of all the tales of marvel that I could tell you, none surpass in wonder and coolness the one I am about to tell.
  2. bray
    make a sound characteristic of donkeys
    But really, it was the blood. And the bull braying. And the gurgling sound.
  3. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    He would blow out his cheeks and furrow his eyebrows like a super serious chipmunk.
  4. sod
    surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and roots
    When teachers brought us to the sod house in Oklahoma and told us it was ninety-eight years old, I asked why they’d made a museum out of it.
  5. muslin
    plain-woven cotton fabric
    He wore sandals and his muslin pants were rolled up to his knees.
  6. grapple
    grip or seize, as in a wrestling match
    In a single motion he leaned over, picked up the knife, and pushed aside the man grappling with the bull’s horns.
  7. craggy
    rugged and lined or rough-textured
    This is the only memory I have of his face. It was craggy, his beard white and red.
  8. mantel
    a shelf that projects from the wall above a fireplace
    On the phone once, with my dad—I was in Oklahoma, he was in Iran where he stayed—he said, “Your Baba Haji has a picture of you on his mantel. Every day, he weeps and kisses it.”
  9. hooligan
    a rowdy, violent, and typically youthful troublemaker
    The teachers call it “the troublesome bus,” because the kids are so bad a substitute driver once stopped in the middle of the route, shouted that we were all hooligans, and walked out.
  10. kaleidoscope
    a complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes
    When you think about it, the king could stand on the jewel-encrusted carpet—the kaleidoscopic radiance of human greatness—and yet, if he stuck his head out a window, it’d still be raining.
  11. intrigue
    a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends
    There was murder and intrigue and Ferris wheels in the desert, and a house full of swans, a sapphire blue river, and a chest full of gold doubloons—we’ll get to all that.
  12. doubloon
    a former Spanish gold coin
    There was murder and intrigue and Ferris wheels in the desert, and a house full of swans, a sapphire blue river, and a chest full of gold doubloons—we’ll get to all that.
  13. aviary
    a building where birds are kept
    The doves in the aviary are asleep.
  14. trance
    a psychological state induced by a magical incantation
    I think he is in the trance of a thousand-year-old verse.
  15. magistrate
    a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law
    Anyway, he was a doctor. Not a rich guy with a stethoscope. Don’t imagine that. More like a young man who spent all his time in the library of the university, or the private archives of the local magistrate.
  16. dervish
    a Muslim monk of an order noted for fast ceremonial dancing
    “No one will blame you. I’ll tell everyone I got it from a dervish.”
  17. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    “Don’t get greedy, Doktor. A quick anecdote, if you please.”
  18. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    “So you think I should ambush her brothers with such a ploy?”
  19. grievance
    a complaint about a wrong that causes resentment
    “No. I think whatever grievance you have with your future brothers, you should offer forgiveness, and ask them for theirs.”
  20. bazaar
    a street of small shops, especially in the Middle East
    In the bazaar, as he haggled, he saw a magistrate climb onto a mountain of rugs (despite the rug merchant’s protests) and shout over the crowd.
  21. haggle
    wrangle, as over a price or terms of an agreement
    In the bazaar, as he haggled, he saw a magistrate climb onto a mountain of rugs (despite the rug merchant’s protests) and shout over the crowd.
  22. pompous
    puffed up with vanity
    Magistrates (like the pompous one in the bazaar who did not purchase a rug after all that) were sent to every city to find doctors to help her.
  23. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    And the cousin—doesn’t matter whose cousin—had the letter of invitation for the doctor of Isfahan, which he had promised to deliver in exchange for a meager fee.
  24. caravan
    travel in a procession
    How long would it take the doctor to caravan to India, and what did he do in the heat of the day, as the camels lay on the ground resting?
  25. convulsion
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
    But she was wracked with convulsion and delusion and horrific visions.
  26. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I would imagine him trudging behind a long caravan back to Isfahan, broken.
  27. concession
    a point that is yielded
    But my father would make no concessions to mythmaking, when the truth was available.
  28. portly
    fairly large
    I imagine my father, a portly bear who I have never seen move faster than a brisk walk.
  29. resonant
    serving to evoke powerful memories, images, or emotions
    This is a memory that has no sound, but probably it should have my Baba’s laugh, which was such a rich and resonant chortle that it fills rooms of my memory that he was not even in.
  30. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    The people of Isfahan ventured to the center of the strange neighborhood to stand in line, before the famed bakery of Akh Tamar, just for six of his cream puffs.
  31. notion
    a general inclusive concept
    There is no notion as important as love.
  32. alcove
    a small recess opening off a large room or garden
    He takes a stall in the rear alcove of the bazaar and sells them.
  33. saffron
    aromatic dried stigmas of a crocus flower, used as flavoring
    He makes saffron rice pudding, stirring patiently, pulling the pot from the fire with a troubadour’s timing. It is a perfect sunrise yellow.
  34. troubadour
    a singer of folk songs
    He makes saffron rice pudding, stirring patiently, pulling the pot from the fire with a troubadour’s timing. It is a perfect sunrise yellow.
  35. baklava
    dessert made of flaky pastry, nuts, and honey
    He layers his baklava generously with walnuts and cardamom.
  36. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    His almond cakes are subtle and the cherry puree on top is joyous, bold, even a little wanton.
  37. wanton
    not restrained or controlled
    His almond cakes are subtle and the cherry puree on top is joyous, bold, even a little wanton.
  38. shroud
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
    His trembling hands whipped pastry cream as light as a shroud.
  39. martial
    befitting a warrior
    Ray cuts his hair kind of like Bruce Lee, because he says Lee is the only martial artist who deserves to be feared.
  40. maneuver
    a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity
    He does the maneuver and swings his back foot right up to my temple.
Created on Wed Apr 07 09:53:05 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Apr 12 11:32:43 EDT 2021)

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