City of Saints and Thieves: Chapters 38–44

by Natalie C. Anderson
Following the murder of her mother, sixteen-year old Tina is on a quest for revenge. She must survive Sangui City's dangerous streets while waiting for a chance to avenge her mother's death.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–26, Chapters 27–37, Chapters 38–44
35 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sabotage
    destroy property or hinder normal operations
    “RPGs,” I say. “That’s what he’s going to use to blow up Mr. Greyhill’s helicopter once they take off. Maybe we can sabotage them somehow.”
  2. melee
    a noisy riotous fight
    I look up at the melee.
  3. unintelligible
    poorly articulated or enunciated, or drowned by noise
    He mumbles something unintelligible, and a second later I feel a sharp tug.
  4. brindled
    having a gray or brown streak or a patchy coloring
    He took me to a dogfight and told me to watch this brindled pit bull.
  5. wiry
    lean but strong
    She was smaller than the others, wiry and delicate.
  6. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    He says something to the other guys that makes them laugh, and then saunters over, a panga and a satellite phone dangling from his belt.
  7. revulsion
    intense aversion
    I manage to keep my revulsion in check long enough to breathe in.
  8. bile
    a digestive juice secreted by the liver
    Swallowing the fear that is threatening to turn to bile in my throat, I step into the dense foliage.
  9. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    I writhe, trying to break free, but Ketchup has all the leverage, his arm across my windpipe.
  10. mote
    a tiny piece of anything
    I can see dust motes rising in the air on a ray of light.
  11. bearing
    (usually plural) a person's awareness of self
    Then I’m hauling my legs through the loop of my arms, kicking out at him, gasping for breath, while Ketchup is getting his bearings.
  12. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    This could all backfire if I don’t lay things out exactly right.
  13. diversion
    an attack that draws an enemy's attention away
    As long as Boyboy can find and convince Mr. G that we need his help, and as long as I can rescue Michael, steal a motorcycle, create a petrol-fueled diversion, and make a lightning-quick escape without getting caught, shot, or blown up in the process, it’s a perfect plan.
  14. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    I grab a stick from the ground and fling it as hard as I can toward the kitchen area. It careens into a pot, which knocks over a propane stove, which goes crashing into a tall stack of metal dishes.
  15. mayhem
    violent and needless disturbance
    Apparently the propane stove I knocked over exploded, which isn’t great, seeing as I’d been counting on a later explosion to cover Michael’s and my escape. But maybe if I can get Michael out quickly, there will still be enough mayhem.
  16. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Even from here, Greyhill’s barely contained fury is palpable.
  17. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    Mr. Greyhill is typing something on the computer, and Mr. Omoko is engrossed in what he’s being shown.
  18. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    I look from Mr. Omoko back to the truck, where the militia men are clambering in.
  19. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    Michael is crouched over his father, who is ashen and gripping his leg.
  20. tourniquet
    a bandage that stops the flow of blood by applying pressure
    Mr. Greyhill’s leg is dark with blood. Boyboy yanks off Mr. G’s tie and begins to wrap it around his leg as a tourniquet.
  21. succinct
    briefly giving the gist of something
    All in less than an instant, there is the shine of the metal in his hand. The black eye of the gun barrel. The succinct and complete distancing of himself from me.
  22. carnage
    the savage and excessive killing of many people
    General Gicanda had been the one to sweep us up from the carnage in the field, rolling in with a small army of Rwandan special forces only moments after Omoko was dead.
  23. truss
    secure with or as if with ropes
    General Gicanda attended to Mr. Greyhill himself, carrying him to the helicopter and laying him beside a trussed-up, still-unconscious Ketchup.
  24. conscience
    a feeling of shame when you do something immoral
    He was the one who kept my sister safe and in school. He paid for her to go there. But he kept her out of his home too. He left her living like an orphan; all he did was pay off his guilty conscience.
  25. ledger
    a record in which commercial accounts are recorded
    She had proof that Omoko had been stealing gold from me—a very detailed ledger of how much he siphoned off from each transaction with the militia.
  26. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
    “I’m not perfect.”
    “That’s maybe the understatement of the century,” Michael growls.
  27. abscess
    a localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue
    I feel, more than hear, his words, like a tiny knife, cutting away the last abscess of anger I have for him.
  28. mirth
    great merriment
    “The gun he shot her with—he left it for me. I had given it to him years earlier. It was engraved to him with a Roman numeral two. He hated that name, Number Two. The engraving was supposed to be a little joke.” He chuckles mirthlessly.
  29. sanction
    the act of punishing
    “We are trying to do better, Tina. With the other minerals, there are new international laws now. Monitors. Sanctions. For tin and coltan we’ve got good mines. Safety protocols, unions. Ask anyone. Extracta wouldn’t be able to sell these volumes otherwise.”
  30. grudging
    unwilling or reluctant
    I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it’s a look of grudging respect.
  31. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    I think I’m learning the nuances of his expressions now. This one is complicated, but it seems to be a mix of annoyance and exhaustion.
  32. chafe
    feel extreme irritation or anger
    I would chafe at being made to sit up straight in a classroom.
  33. corral
    collect or gather
    Mothers try to corral toddlers, and businesspeople in suits hunch over their laptops and furtively sip coffee.
  34. ebb
    fall away or decline
    My tension ebbs.
  35. tarmac
    a paved road or surface, especially at an airport
    When I look back up, Kiki is walking with the woman through the door that will take them out to the tarmac and the plane.
Created on Tue Aug 23 10:31:36 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Sep 23 12:43:05 EDT 2022)

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