A Crooked Kind of Perfect: The Words–How It Is Supposed to Be

by Linda Urban
Zoe dreams of being a piano player — but when her father buys an old organ instead of a piano, she must learn to adapt.

This list covers "The Words"–"How It Is Supposed to Be."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. crescendo
    grow louder
    The Perfectone Hits of the Seventies songbook has notes and instructions like crescendo (get louder) and pianissimo (play very softly), but it doesn’t have the lyrics to the hits.
  2. ledger
    a record in which commercial accounts are recorded
    There’s a work crisis. A ledger emergency.
  3. hors d'oeuvre
    a dish served as an appetizer before the main meal
    We’ll dress up fancy and have candles and we’ll put Vernors in champagne glasses. We could have hors d’oeuvres and I could print up programs.
  4. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    He was cha-cha-ing through the parking lot singing about how he didn’t get us lost once and Wheeler should have put the Birch Valley Sentinel on his speed dial because this is front-page news.
  5. impressive
    making a strong or vivid mental image
    “Impressive, isn’t it? Top of the Perfectone line. A real firecracker!”
  6. upgrade
    the act of improving something
    He has a button pinned to his suit. ASK ME ABOUT AN UPGRADE!! it says.
    Dad obeys the button. “What’s an upgrade?” he asks.
  7. prejudice
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    “So you won’t have to worry about one judge having a prejudice against your style or selection. Only the three best scores are added up.”
  8. fringe
    an ornamental border of short lengths of hanging threads
    All they see is a huge velvet curtain with golden fringe and tassels.
  9. dainty
    affectedly refined
    And then a spotlight hits the stage and you walk out and everybody cheers and you glide gracefully to the piano and stand in front of it while the crowd goes wild and you smile a gracious smile and curtsy and raise your dainty hand to wave and the crowd gets even louder and you curtsy once again.
  10. curtsy
    bend the knees in a gesture of respectful greeting
    And then a spotlight hits the stage and you walk out and everybody cheers and you glide gracefully to the piano and stand in front of it while the crowd goes wild and you smile a gracious smile and curtsy and raise your dainty hand to wave and the crowd gets even louder and you curtsy once again.
  11. fluke
    a stroke of luck
    What rhymes with puke? Fluke? Kook?
  12. snooty
    overly conceited or arrogant
    A snooty-looking lady lowers her glasses. “It’s a good thing the Perfectone people rewrite this music for the student songbooks. That girl never could have handled the original composition. Imagine if she’d attempted one of the classical pieces.”
  13. comatose
    in a state of deep and usually prolonged unconsciousness
    “Young and the Restless? More like the Old and the Comatose,” one guy mutters.
  14. fugue
    a musical form consisting of a repeated theme
    “Mona will be playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor on the Perfectone M-80,” says the judge.
  15. checkered
    patterned with alternating squares of color
    Our kitchen tablecloth is spread across the table by the window and Dad’s blue checkered sheets are on his bed. There is a set of red checkered sheets on the other one.
  16. allegro
    (of tempo) fast
    “Allegro, kids. Speed it up.”
  17. stuffy
    lacking fresh air
    Then the doors open and a bunch of people walk out and another bunch of people walk in and the smiles fade and people start talking again about how stuffy it is in this room and how come they don’t let you bring food in here?
  18. appropriate
    suitable for a particular person, place, or situation
    Before Becky can flip the Merengue switch, Mom takes out a pen and marks up HOW IT WORKS, underlining “lowest score will be dropped” and “style and appropriate selection” and “top five performers earn trophies.”
  19. condiment
    a preparation to enhance flavor or enjoyment
    And then me and Mom sit side by side and chew and watch our reflection in the Bust-A-Burger condiment island until Judy and Mona come back.
  20. formal
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    His voice is deep and formal, like he is about to make a speech.
  21. critical
    being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency
    Mom goes back to talking about ledgers and deadlines and critical inaccuracies and fiscal years.
  22. marzipan
    confection made of sugar, almond paste, and egg whites
    It is me. A little marzipan me. Standing by the piano. Holding a trophy.
  23. shift
    the time period during which you are at work
    Turns out an early- shift baker works from two A.M. to six A.M., which is perfect for Dad because there is no traffic at two in the morning.
  24. dolly
    a wheeled handcart for moving heavy objects
    They roll the Perfectone D-60 on dollies—out of the house, down the ramp, into the truck.
  25. reconcile
    bring into consonance or accord
    “What’s the final tally?” I hear her say. "Does it all reconcile?”
Created on Thu Aug 26 16:36:41 EDT 2021 (updated Thu Sep 09 12:59:50 EDT 2021)

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