Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu: Chapters 26–33

by Maisie Chan
Twelve-year-old Lizzie Chu is determined to journey west from Glasgow, Scotland to Blackpool, England so that she can honor her grandmother's last wish of enjoying afternoon tea at a historic ballroom.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–17, Chapters 18–25, Chapters 26–33
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gaggle
    a large, disorganized group of people
    Stalls lined the sides of the street and gaggles of tourists moved up and down.
  2. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    The smell of cotton candy wafted into my nostrils.
  3. kiosk
    small area set off by walls for special use
    He headed toward a kiosk that had hats that said KISS ME QUICK, and I pulled a face.
  4. begrudgingly
    in an unwilling manner
    “That will be three pounds, thank you very much.”
    I begrudgingly handed over the ten-pound note and then pocketed the change.
  5. jubilantly
    in a joyous manner
    “Ah! I’ve just remembered! I can pay for everyone!” said Wai Gong jubilantly.
  6. flushed
    reddened as if with blood from emotion or exertion
    Her face was flushed, her cheeks rosy.
  7. pawn
    leave as a guarantee in return for money
    “I took the gold necklace with the jade on it and went to one of those pawn shops and swapped it for cash.”
  8. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    Even though I was usually the cynical one, I’d felt like that necklace was lucky. Maybe his swapping it for cash had been the reason things had been going wrong since we’d left home?
  9. implode
    burst inward
    It took a while to not feel like my head was going to implode, but I eventually calmed down.
  10. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    The Tower loomed in the darkening skyline in the distance.
  11. illumination
    the quality of providing light
    Just then, the Blackpool Illuminations that flanked both sides of the road along the Golden Mile lit up.
  12. pry
    be nosey
    “We’ll stand with our backs to you and act as a shield,” Chi said, holding up her robe to block out any prying eyes.
  13. embedded
    enclosed firmly in a surrounding mass
    Wai Gong stopped to admire the turquoise-blue ceramic tiles that were embedded in the red brick as we went.
  14. dawdle
    waste time
    “We can’t dawdle!” I told the others. I never used the word dawdle; it was one of Grandma Kam’s words. I urged everyone to carry on to level two.
  15. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    “No way, mister!” Chi pushed back her robe sleeves; her face was getting red. Her goddess demeanor had faded away now.
  16. crane
    stretch, so as to see better
    The man craned his neck to look at Wai Gong’s face.
  17. entourage
    the group following and attending to some important person
    “Who are you three? I didn’t know there was going to be an entourage too.”
    “I’m his stylist, and she’s his manager,” said Chi, pointing to me.
    The man looked confused.
    “And I’m the cameraman,” added Tyler.
  18. courier
    a person who carries a message
    Your costume arrived earlier by courier.
  19. serenade
    sing and play for somebody
    There are complimentary pastries, and the table you’re going to serenade is number thirty-two.
  20. complimentary
    costing nothing
    “There’s a spare table you can sit at if you want to stay afterward. It has a card that says ‘Reserved for Elvis.’ There will be complimentary food for you too.”
  21. flare
    become widened, usually at one end
    “Mr. Chu, that kind gentleman has left this Elvis outfit for you,” Chi said, holding up the white sequined jumpsuit with flared legs.
  22. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    The stage was flanked by thick red velvet curtains with a lamppost at either side.
  23. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    Serving staff brought out platters of cakes and elegant triangular sandwiches with the crusts cut off, delicate pastries, and scones with clotted cream and jam.
  24. fringe
    an ornamental border of short lengths of hanging threads
    She had on a blue dress with lots of fringe all over it.
  25. scone
    a small biscuit-like cake, often cut into triangles
    A server came over and put a cake stand with sandwiches, scones, and cakes on it, plus a pot of tea and a jug of lemonade.
  26. dollop
    a soft lump or portion of something, especially food
    She slathered dollops of clotted cream and strawberry jam on it and shoved it into her mouth.
  27. banshee
    a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
    She looked like a hungry banshee rather than a serene goddess.
  28. glamorous
    having an air of allure, romance and excitement
    They looked a lot younger and more glamorous than the rest of the people in the room. He was wearing a tuxedo, and he looked familiar. The woman was in a tight silver sequined off-the-shoulder dress.
  29. pizzazz
    the activeness of an energetic personality
    We left the dressing room and walked back to the pizzazz of the ballroom.
  30. assessment
    the act of judging a person or situation or event
    Wai Gong had an assessment and some medical tests, and he ended up getting a social worker called Conrad, who was very friendly.
  31. keepsake
    something of sentimental value
    He made a mash-up of clips of when Wai Gong and I were dancing and gave me a copy on DVD for a keepsake.
  32. pulverize
    destroy completely
    And he got a new car—the Mini Orange had to be scrapped after our Blackpool trip. Obviously, we got the money from the backseat that Tyler had hidden before it was pulverized.
  33. fare
    the food and drink regularly served or consumed
    I enjoyed my weekends with the Phams. Chi was extremely happy, as the Pham weekly fare became more varied and included a little chicken and fish now, seeing as I wasn’t a vegan.
  34. bracket
    a support projecting from a wall (as to hold a shelf)
    It had a small TV on a bracket on the wall and a velour armchair with high wings around the head so you could comfortably nod off to sleep.
  35. suitor
    a man who courts a woman
    A long, long time ago, a king wanted to marry off his three daughters to suitors, but the youngest daughter—Miao Shan—wanted to be a nun instead.
  36. stubborn
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    However, the king was stubborn and wanted things his way.
  37. frilly
    having decorative ruffles or similar ornamentation
    Tyler was chatting with one of the old ladies, who was dressed in a frilly pink ball gown.
  38. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    The familiar music began and the disco ball whirled on the screen. Everyone in the Cherry Tree common room was transfixed, except for a couple of residents who were already sleeping in their chairs.
  39. deteriorate
    grow worse
    Wai Gong’s memory was deteriorating, but one thing he could always remember how to do was dance!
  40. jive
    dance to jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s
    Some of the residents began tapping their feet, and others sat clapping their hands. The staff smiled and joined in as the residents of Cherry Tree Care Home jived to Wai Gong’s beat.
Created on Thu Jul 11 08:24:13 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Jul 11 18:42:16 EDT 2024)

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