Ella Minnow Pea: List 4

by Mark Dunn
Eighteen-year-old Ella Minnow Pea fights to save her family, friends, and neighbors after the local government forbids the use certain letters of the alphabet in written and spoken communications.

This list covers "September 23"–"October 15."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 38 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. interpose
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    “Here is what I believe: if Nollop actually exists—in spirit form, of course—then perhaps it is for some positive purpose—perhaps even the interposing of a finish to all this insanity emanating from Council Chambers.”
  2. acolyte
    a devoted follower or assistant
    “The fable of Nollop has won acolytic support in the Purcy house of all places!”
  3. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
    Nollop when he was alive was pure charlatan. A veritable con man.
  4. ilk
    a kind of person
    Phenomenally successful in pulling the wool over the eyes of 35,000 naivetés, ripe for the pulling. If he exists at all as manipulating eternal spirit, I see no reason for his not being of the selfsame ilk.
  5. humbug
    a person who is intentionally deceptive or insincere
    “Humbug terrestrial, humbug everlasting?”
  6. altruism
    the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    All those instances of truth, fairness, humanitarianism, altruism: pure mythology.
  7. trenchant
    having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought
    Allow me, finally, to offer up this arresting little trenchancy: given a few weeks, I, or either of you—most anyone on this isle for that matter—might learn how truly easy it is for one to create a sentence of length matching Nollop’s—perhaps one even shorter.
  8. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    Sweet Ella, broach this at your next meeting. I am curious to learn the response it receives.
  9. vulpine
    resembling or characteristic of a fox
    An “O” has fallen. One of the four “O”s. (The last appearance in the vulpine-canine sentence.)
  10. extant
    still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
    What meaning to assign to loss of a letter whose removal leaves three companions still extant?
  11. effrontery
    audacious behavior that you have no right to
    Imagine the effrontery: Morton attempting to ignore the offense in exchange for clearance of a rather large financial obligation.
  12. rife
    excessively abundant
    I say foolish, because any competent contemporary poker player knows that this game is rife with lexical pitfalls.
  13. consort
    the spouse or companion of a reigning monarch
    (King, Consort, Knave. I thought all poker players were in agreement on these new royal appellations!)
  14. appellation
    identifying words by which someone or something is called
    (King, Consort, Knave. I thought all poker players were in agreement on these new royal appellations!)
  15. subversive
    in opposition to an established system or government
    Nate has several things of importance to tell the members of this refreshingly subversive sub-terra group.
  16. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
    The statutes come with greater alacrity.
  17. verboten
    forbidden or prohibited
    It seems a gift, his knowing instantly which letter combinations to use to bypass the verboten ones.
  18. rumination
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    When it was over, Lyttle sat back in his chair, let his eyes close in momentary rumination, then gave his response: “It may be true. It may all very well be true.”
  19. hoary
    having gray or white hair as with age
    Then a crinkle—no, an elaborate furrow to Lyttle’s hoary brow.
  20. asinine
    devoid of intelligence
    The best news of all: the Council is in full agreement with the challenge (It was official as of this morning.), so secure they seem to be in this asinine “unassailable” position of theirs.
  21. ecclesiastical
    of or associated with a church
    “All property left in state of nonoccupation through emigrantal vacatement will be given over to confiscatory oversight by the Council, then borne to official annexation into Nollopian tax-exempt ecclesiastical boroughs, thus falling within clear parameters of Council owner-management.”
  22. elusive
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    I must close now to return to my labors with the “group”: Nate, Ella, Aunt Gwenette, Uncle Amos, each of us in pursuit of the magical, temporarily elusive sentence that shall result in our emancipation—to be sure, our very salvation!
  23. beguiling
    highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
    Such a beguiling sight—your long auburn tresses falling as cataract in shimmering filamentous pool upon the tabletop, gathering in swirl upon your notepaper—obscuring? framing? your toil.
  24. respite
    a pause for relaxation
    I must return to my own mental labors. But you have given me pleasant momentary respite.
  25. brevity
    the use of concise expressions
    I myself, in spite of the flu, have spent the better part of two nights coming up with a sentence containing all twenty-six letters of the alphabet of a length of less than fifty letters—forty-nine to be exact. I was hoping to surprise you with one of far more impressive brevity, but shall be happy with my initial effort.
  26. collusion
    agreement on a secret plot
    I am in collusion with a boy by the name of Wesley, son of the Noonans who own Noonan’s Florist.
  27. jaunty
    having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
    Back in my quaint garden, 
jaunty zinnias vie with flaunting phlox.
  28. vie
    compete for something
    Back in my quaint garden, 
jaunty zinnias vie with flaunting phlox.
  29. articulate
    put into words or an expression
    I am at a terrible loss, Mother—one I cannot even begin to articulate. Were there all twenty-six letters available for my use, my ability to translate my feelings, my thoughts of Nate to this page might still be put to supreme test.
  30. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    I haven’t even the strength to curse those beasts with that epithet you taught me never to say.
  31. consternation
    sudden shock or dismay that causes confusion
    I’m sure I won’t be able to relate to you with any great success this woman’s expression. But I’ll try, nonetheless (because it was such a strange mixture): surprise, slight anxiety, momentary consternation, then overwhelming, saucer-eye panic!
  32. reprehensible
    bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure
    You see, Xenia’s name began not with an X, but with the other letter—the one that brought in this whole reprehensible era!
  33. culpability
    a state of guilt
    Hers was, obviously, the legal spelling. Hence, my culpability.
  34. amity
    a state of friendship and cordiality
    This woman isn’t a stranger to me, Tassie. I am no stranger to her. There is twenty-year amity between us.
  35. simper
    a silly self-conscious smile
    My suspicion was met by a smile—a sinister simper, twisting her saliva-moist, overly rubilious lips as she apparently thought it all through—especially how important it was to bring this glaring violation to the Council's attention as soon as possible.
  36. pharisaical
    excessively or hypocritically pious
    What a pharisaic, vigilante witch! The nerve—to report me—not once, but twice!
  37. ignominious
    deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
    Not being one to waste time about such things, Mrs. Towgate, I’m certain, brought in her eyewitness report within minutes; by early evening your poor mother was in ignominious cephalo-strait.
  38. poltroon
    an abject coward
    The opportunity was mine to silence the witch in perpetuity. I let it go. I am an ignoble poltroon!
  39. chimera
    a grotesque product of the imagination
    Pop is beginning to believe it to be an impossibility—this thirty-two letter-grail (“chimera” he calls it) we all pursue.
  40. inherent
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
    It gives her solace when she recalls your mentioning his ease with language—the way he seems to clearly embrace the challenges inherent in communication with restriction.
Created on Mon Jan 31 13:38:15 EST 2022 (updated Thu Feb 10 10:14:10 EST 2022)

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