Today Tonight Tomorrow: List 2

by Rachel Lynn Solomon
High school senior and budding romance novelist Rowan Luisa Roth teams up with her academic rival to win a game that sends them throughout Seattle.

This list covers pages 63–127 in the 2020 edition published by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 12 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. salutatorian
    a graduating student with the second highest academic rank
    It’s not about valedictorian or the fact that as salutatorian, I’ll have to introduce McNair as part of my speech.
  2. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    “Don’t you guys text each other ‘good morning' every day?” Mara asks, tentative.
  3. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    She tucks a wisp of hair back into her crown braid.
  4. respectively
    in the order given
    The bell on the restaurant’s door dings, and I glance over on instinct, not expecting to see McNair’s three closest friends: Adrian Quinlan, Sean Yee, and Cyrus Grant-Hayes, presidents of the chess club, the robotics club, and the Anime Appreciation Society, respectively.
  5. casually
    in an unconcerned manner
    “Hey, Adrian. Where’s McNair?” I ask as casually as I can.
  6. forthcoming
    easygoing and open when speaking or sharing information
    “He didn’t say much about it. He’s...not the most forthcoming about his personal life.”
  7. ocular
    relating to or resembling the eye
    The sun on his fiery hair is nothing short of an ocular hazard. If I look directly at it, it’ll probably fry my corneas.
  8. debacle
    a sudden and complete disaster
    It’s a relief to spar like this after the yearbook debacle.
  9. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    “Even though you won’t deign to sign my yearbook?”
  10. appendage
    a part that is joined to something larger
    McNair and his friends call themselves the Quadrilateral, abbreviated as the Quad, and yes, it is the nerdiest thing I’ve ever heard. But it does make what they said about his personal life even stranger. Almost like the Quad is more of a triangle with an extra appendage hanging off it.
  11. sheepish
    showing a sense of shame
    “Rowan! Oh my God, your poor car.”
    “It still drives,” I say, a little sheepish.
  12. blatantly
    in a completely obvious manner
    While we cruise toward downtown, Kirby scrolls through my music, blatantly ignoring the unspoken driver's choice rule.
  13. cusp
    the point of transition when something happens or changes
    We had AP tests and graduation prep and final exams, and now it’s here, our last day on the cusp of our last summer, and I’m losing my best friends much sooner than I thought I’d be.
  14. amble
    walk leisurely
    Our classmates show up mostly in small groups but occasionally solo, and I crouch down low in my seat when Spencer ambles up the aisle.
  15. intersperse
    place between or among
    The juniors modeled it on a silent film, black-and-white stills interspersed with written dialogue and scored by a jazz piece.
  16. minion
    a servile or fawning dependent
    They’re all wearing blue T-shirts, though Nisha and Olivia are weighed down with clipboards and papers and boxes filled with armbands. It’s clear they’re the minions in this operation.
  17. discretion
    freedom to act or judge on one's own
    While you can share photos with your friends at your discretion, we’ll be running them through a reverse image search to make sure you’re not cheating.
  18. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    The list of clues is daunting. A handful of them are obvious, but I’m stumped on at least a couple.
  19. perennial
    recurring again and again
    I tug on my bangs, my perennial nervous habit.
  20. devious
    characterized by insincerity or deceit
    Mara nods, her mouth threatening to slide into a devious grin. Competitive mode.
  21. vicinity
    a surrounding or nearby region
    I check the clues again to assess what’s in my immediate vicinity.
  22. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    If I go to the coffee shop across the street, I could get the cup with someone else’s name on it and devise a strategy for the rest.
  23. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    Most people likely ventured much farther, so I’m probably safe here.
  24. airy
    characterized by lightness and insubstantiality
    The coffee shop is playing folk music with airy female vocals, and I inhale the scent of chocolate and coffee beans.
  25. articulate
    put into words or an expression
    I hoped they’d make me confident with my boyfriends, too, but Spencer and I clearly had communication issues, and with Luke, everything was so new that I didn’t know how to articulate what I wanted.
  26. eloquent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    Spencer is not that eloquent.
    “Then say it.”
  27. obligation
    the state of being bound to do or pay something
    “It started to feel like an obligation, I guess. Okay, that sounds bad, but...high school relationships aren’t really meant to last.”
  28. compulsory
    required by rule
    Their hand squeezes never seem compulsory. My parents, too—they still have major heart eyes for each other after twenty-five years.
  29. troglodyte
    a bad-mannered person with ignorant or outdated ideas
    I feel sorry for this troglodyte because he has no idea that love doesn't have to sour over time.
  30. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    After Spencer left, I sent the juniors a photo of my coffee cup, was rewarded with a green check-mark emoji almost instantaneously, and then scrutinized the list of clues.
  31. cliche
    an unoriginal or predictable theme, situation, or person
    “See you,” I say to Savannah, who’s already started toward the first Starbucks. Not a bad idea for the cliché tourist photo, but I had something else in mind.
  32. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    It would be fun to see him so frazzled if I weren’t so distraught about his potentially impending death.
  33. deliberation
    careful consideration
    “In here,” I say, waving him over, and after a few seconds of deliberation, he follows.
  34. novelty
    a small inexpensive mass-produced article
    Orange Dracula sells all kinds of retro goth novelties, from buttons and patches to vampire incense and shrunken heads.
  35. off-color
    in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent
    McNair flips through an assortment of off-color postcards.
  36. inevitably
    in such a manner as could not be otherwise
    Safe zone means Kirby and Mara and talking about the vacation they’re taking without me. And, inevitably, thinking about the life I’ll have without them next year.
  37. accolade
    a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
    McNair and I earned every accolade, every win.
  38. proximity
    the property of being close together
    The closet was tiny, and I’d accidentally brushed against him while reaching for a jar of paint. Simple proximity to another human being in an enclosed space would make anyone feel flushed.
  39. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    I’m not naive enough to assume everyone in high school liked me, but I figured at the very least they didn’t hate me quite this much.
  40. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    It’s such a resigned thing to say, and McNair has never been resigned about anything, not as long as I’ve known him.
Created on Tue Jan 02 12:31:38 EST 2024 (updated Wed Jan 03 11:12:35 EST 2024)

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