Breakfast of Champions: Chapters 4–11

by Kurt Vonnegut
As a fiftieth-birthday present to himself, a narrator who signs off as Philboyd Studge describes the lives of science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and automobile dealer Dwayne Hoover, before and after they meet at a 1972 Arts Festival in Ohio.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Preface–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–11, Chapters 12–17, Chapters 18–22, Chapter 23–Epilogue
35 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. amok
    wildly; without self-control
    After Dwayne ran amok, the local paper ran a deeply sympathetic editorial about it, begging people to watch each other for danger signals.
  2. collateral
    a security pledged for the repayment of a loan
    Here is where Dwayne got the money to buy the agency: He borrowed it from the Midland County National Bank. For collateral, he put up stock he owned in a company which was then called The Midland City Ordnance Company.
  3. ordnance
    military supplies
    For collateral, he put up stock he owned in a company which was then called The Midland City Ordnance Company.
  4. schizophrenic
    someone who is afflicted with a psychotic disorder
    His wife, Mary, was a schizophrenic, so Vernon hadn’t noticed whether Dwayne had changed or not.
  5. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    They rambled along, and Harry made up a problem for himself just to keep the conversation lively.
  6. spinster
    an elderly unmarried woman
    Dwayne’s real mother was a spinster school teacher who wrote sentimental poetry and claimed to be descended from Richard the Lion-Hearted, who was a king.
  7. itinerant
    traveling from place to place to work
    His real father was an itinerant typesetter, who seduced his mother by setting her poems in type.
  8. conservative
    unimaginatively conventional
    The clothes were conservative and neat, in Harry’s opinion. His shirts were white. His ties were black or navy blue. His suits were gray or dark blue. His shoes and socks were black.
  9. drab
    lacking brightness or color; dull
    On weekends he liked to dress up in women’s clothing, and not drab clothing, either.
  10. wretched
    very unhappy; full of misery
    So poor Harry spent a wretched Veterans’ Day weekend after that. But Dwayne spent a worse one.
  11. abreast
    being up to date in knowledge
    The Plymouth was a Chrysler product, and Dwayne himself sold General Motors products. He had decided to drive the Plymouth for a day or two in order to keep abreast of the competition.
  12. symposium
    a meeting for the public discussion of some topic
    He was supposed to take part in a symposium out there entitled “The Future of the American Novel in the Age of McLuhan.”
  13. ensemble
    a coordinated outfit (set of clothing)
    On the shirt salesman’s advice, Trout had also bought a packaged ensemble consisting of a cumberbund, a boutonnière, and a bow tie.
  14. boutonniere
    a flower that is worn in a buttonhole
    On the shirt salesman’s advice, Trout had also bought a packaged ensemble consisting of a cumberbund, a boutonnière, and a bow tie.
  15. parcel
    a wrapped package
    These goodies were all in his lap, along with a crackling brown paper parcel containing his tuxedo, six new pairs of jockey shorts, six new pairs of socks, his razor and a new toothbrush.
  16. blighted
    affected by something that prevents growth or prosperity
    The cities were blighted with motion picture theaters which showed nothing but dirty movies.
  17. kinship
    a close connection marked by common interests or character
    He was a Nigerian. His name was Cyprian Ukwende. He felt no kinship with Mary or with any American blacks.
  18. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    When Trout headed back for his seat in the theater, he played at being the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe.
  19. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    When Trout and the theater manager, two tinhorns, said they didn’t want any tinhorn fun, the dying children sauntered off, their feet sticking to the planet, coming unstuck, then sticking again.
  20. facade
    the front of a building
    So they walked together, encouraged by the echoes of their footsteps from the building façades.
  21. grating
    a barrier made of parallel or crossed bars
    They bought new locks for their doors and gratings for their windows, to keep out The Pluto Gang.
  22. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    They were small, but they were numerous and volatile. They wished to become frightening, in order to defend themselves and their friends and families, something the police wouldn’t do.
  23. inadvertently
    without knowledge or intention
    While Kilgore Trout was inadvertently poisoning the collective mind of New York City, Dwayne Hoover, the demented Pontiac dealer, was coming down from the roof of his own Holiday Inn in the Middle West.
  24. irreproachable
    free of guilt; not subject to blame
    But this much he has done correctly: He had delivered himself to an irreproachable container for a human being.
  25. sacrilegious
    grossly irreverent toward what is considered holy
    ...God wasn’t any conservationist, so for anybody else to be one was sacrilegious and a waste of time. You ever see one of His volcanoes or tornadoes or tidal waves?
  26. celluloid
    flammable substance used in motion-picture and X-ray film
    Just about the time we got our rivers cleaned up, he’d probably have the whole galaxy go up like a celluloid collar.
  27. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    The chemicals he mentioned were intended to kill all the foliage, so it would be harder for communists to hide from airplanes.
  28. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    Ukwende’s face was impassive as he ordered the Number Three Breakfast with whole-wheat toast.
  29. trough
    a long narrow shallow receptacle
    There was a familiar moat between the parking lot of the Inn and the Interstate, a concrete trough which the engineers had built to contain Sugar Creek.
  30. resilient
    rebounding readily
    Next came a familiar resilient steel barrier which prevented cars and trucks from tumbling into Sugar Creek.
  31. sequester
    set apart from others
    He imagined that oceans and mountains and forests were mainly sequestered in state and national parks.
  32. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
    Dwayne fiddled with his lapel for a moment, felt a badge pinned there.
  33. burnish
    polish and make shiny
    Also: he wasn’t merely polishing the car—he was burnishing it.
  34. swoon
    pass out from weakness or physical or emotional distress
    The tree so bewildered Dwayne that he almost swooned.
  35. uninhibited
    not restrained
    He felt uninhibited and beautiful and lovable and suddenly free.
Created on Tue Dec 19 15:27:27 EST 2023 (updated Wed Dec 20 10:42:18 EST 2023)

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