Icarus: Wednesday–Flush

by K. Ancrum
In this young adult romance, a teenaged art thief falls in love with the son of the man he's been stealing from.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Wednesday–Flush, Great–Tight, The First Night–Stream, Hue–Frill, Brick–Pasiphaë
15 words 28 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. traction
    the friction between a body and a surface on which it moves
    Cat burglars rarely wear shoes. Instead, they wear socks. Icarus’s were old and wool and his father had hand sewn fine black leather to the bottoms for traction.
  2. rescind
    cancel officially
    “I knew someone who got into Brown and got their offer rescinded. It does happen.”
  3. obscene
    offensive to the mind
    Even the destruction of the forgery felt obscene: the layer of yellowed volatile lacquer to replicate the age, the dash of green crayon, the heat exposure, and resulting cracks. But, still, it was a masterpiece.
  4. balaclava
    a tight knit cap that covers the entire head and neck
    There was breath on his face that he could feel even through the balaclava he wore, and the boy was so near that some of his hair was brushing the sliver of skin that showed around Icarus’s eyes.
  5. coalesce
    fuse or cause to come together
    Standing there—panting—all his thoughts coalesced to a final conclusion: He couldn’t tell his father.
  6. liturgy
    a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship
    Angus’s voice chanting liturgy, solid and steady as water washing over stone, while Icarus both listened and didn’t.
  7. sedentary
    requiring sitting or little activity
    Normally people in other classes who walked the mile would fight over that position—seeing as it was the most sedentary.
  8. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    “But anyway, you can do whatever you want in it, which is pretty fun. You can do side quests, or mine or fish, you can be a hero or a villain or like...I don’t know, a vagrant?”
  9. trajectory
    the path followed by an object moving through space
    Icarus tracked its trajectory.
  10. liability
    the state of being legally obliged and responsible
    He took out his fabric-covered hammer and set about removing the back door from its hinges. Doing that was easier than most people with homes to protect would like to know. But it was loud, and that made it a liability. Icarus hated liabilities.
  11. provenance
    where something originated or started
    Black’s art was valuable because of its provenance, its historical significance, or the fame of its artist.
  12. alabaster
    a very light white
    Helios’s face was . . . like a statue come to life. Crests and shadows in alabaster and blue.
  13. curtly
    in an abrupt and discourteous manner
    “No,” Icarus replied curtly.
  14. presumptuous
    going beyond what is appropriate, permitted, or courteous
    “You’re the only person I can see that’s not...him. It’s presumptuous to assume we’ll like each other and kind of weird to demand that we be friends. If you have to be here and I have to be here, can you at least talk to me sometimes?”
  15. bereft
    sorrowful through loss or deprivation
    Bereft, Icarus curled into a tight ball, squeezing his eyes hard until sparks danced behind his eyelids.
Created on Fri Jul 17 03:36:21 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Aug 04 11:26:42 EDT 2026)

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