Maniac Magee: Part II

by Jerry Spinelli
An orphan runs away from his guardians to search for a real home. On his journey, he performs feats of athleticism and confronts racial prejudice.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Before the Story–Part I, Part II, Part III

Here are links to our lists for other works Jerry Spinelli: Milkweed, Stargirl
15 words 3007 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hoist
    move from one place to another by lifting
    The old man gathered his own bones and muscles as best he could and managed to hoist the kid and get him into the pickup.
  2. spree
    a brief indulgence of your impulses
    An hour later, after a minor shopping spree, Maniac had clothes of his own.
  3. dumbfounded
    as if rendered speechless with astonishment and surprise
    Dumbfounded, the old man drove back out of the park to the nearest diner, where he sat with a cup of coffee while the boy wolfed down meatloaf and gravy, mashed potatoes, zucchini, salad, and coconut custard pie.
  4. weariness
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    There was a frayed weariness in the old man’s words, as though they had long since worn out.
  5. grapple
    grip or seize, as in a wrestling match
    Stiff, crooked fingers that grappled clumsily with Krimpet wrappers curled naturally around the shape of a baseball.
  6. repertoire
    the range of skills in a particular field or occupation
    Except for one pitch, the only one left in his repertoire from the old days.
  7. grouse
    complain
    And every night, as the old man left for his room at the Y, he would grouse, “You oughta go to school.”
  8. pommel
    handgrip formed by the raised front part of a saddle
    He would saddle up that c, climb aboard and grip the pommel for dear life, and ol’ c, more often than not, it would throw him. Whenever that happened, he’d just climb right back on and ride ’er some more.
  9. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    While he groused about so preposterous an idea, the kid laid down the mat he never used, bulldogged him down to it, pulled off his shoes and draped a blanket over him.
  10. consciousness
    an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself
    Something deep in his heart, unmeasured by his own consciousness, soared unburdened for the first time in thirty-seven years, since the time he had so disgraced himself before the Mud Hens’ scout and named himself thereafter a failure.
  11. throng
    press tightly together or cram
    But that didn’t stop the old man and the boy from joining the ten thousand who thronged to the stadium on the boulevard to see the traditional high school football game.
  12. privileged
    blessed with special advantages
    Thanks to his long acquaintanceship with the locker room attendant, he and Maniac were privileged to continue using the Y’s shower facilities at their pleasure.
  13. languish
    become feeble
    By the time the two of them finished trimming it — their tree-trimming instincts having languished for so many Christmases — hardly a pine needle could be seen under the tinsel and balls and whatnot.
  14. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    They walked the creek woods all the way to the zoo, meandering wordlessly throughout the snowy enchantment.
  15. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    He held the cold, limp hand that had thrown the pitch that had struck out Willie Mays, that had betrayed the old man’s stoic ways by giving him a squeeze.
Created on Wed Sep 28 11:29:52 EDT 2016 (updated Thu Jul 31 10:08:27 EDT 2025)

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