Better Nate Than Ever: Learning Lines - Enter: Oysters

by Tim Federle
In this hilarious novel, 13-year-old Nate sneaks off to New York City to audition for a role in a Broadway play. Learn this list in which the vocabulary from the novel takes center stage. Break a leg!

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Some Backstory - Black and White to Color, Explanation Time - Moving Ahead, Learning Lines - Enter: Oysters, The Next Part - A Boy Soprano
40 words 25 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ethereal
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    Stapled, as a cover page, is something called a cast breakdown, with the following:
    ELLIOTT - Seeking an ethereal, emotionally intelligent child with an uncommonly clear and beautiful boy soprano voice.
  2. quintessential
    representing the perfect example of a class or quality
    MICHAEL - ROLE CAST/U.S. ONLY - Elliott’s older brother, 16, the quintessential jock.
  3. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    Must stop show cold with "OK, But Where Does This Leave Me?” her plaintive ballad about being stuck as the youngest child in a new household that now includes an alien.
  4. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    MARY - Seeking star names (think: country music/Trisha Yearwood era), late 30s to late 40s, Elliott's mother; world weary but a fighter; must exude an Every-mother quality; seeking a thrilling, roaring belt. High alto.
  5. understudy
    be an alternate for a theatrical role
    ENSEMBLE - tweens to 50s to understudy lead roles and appear in various bits throughout show, from news anchors to students.
  6. finale
    the concluding part of any performance
    Must be comfortable with heights; all must be accomplished tap dancers for the finale.
  7. histrionic
    overly dramatic or emotional
    E.T. - the most famous alien of our time; seeking a very small woman or accomplished professional midget performer. Histrionic vocal displays essential.
  8. dynamic
    characterized by action or forcefulness of personality
    Man, that’s a dynamic exchange. Classic Broadway. And actually . . . there are a lot of dynamic exchanges in this scene. There are a lot of exchanges, period.
  9. queasy
    feeling nausea
    Zooming through the (endless) text, and ignoring my queasy stomach, I land on E.T.’s brilliant last line.
  10. cascade
    rush down in big quantities
    Actual bits of hamburger meat cascade from his mouth.
  11. drawl
    a slow speech pattern with prolonged vowels
    I shout through a crack in the door (in a stupid southern drawl—who knows why): “The bathroom’s the other way, turtle-brains. That’s out back to the yard!”
  12. inverse
    turned backward in order or nature or effect
    Calvin smiles again, the inverse reaction to Garret Charles (who rolls his eyes so hugely, I think he’s either having a stroke or doing a corneal impression of the setting sun), and says, “Will you be around for a few days is what I meant.”
  13. autograph
    a person's own signature
    Plus, Reese’s are loaded with protein (peanut butter is a complex protein, according to the parts of my Health class I didn’t practice my autograph during), and I’ve got to get something to eat.
  14. oblivion
    the state of being disregarded or forgotten
    Starmites my life to oblivion.
  15. underestimate
    make too low an approximation of
    The Duane Reade travel aisle is awash in everything a kid like me would need: tweezers (never underestimate the power of tweezers) and mini-deodorants and mouthwash and—this is the exciting part—an entire bin full of cell-phone chargers.
  16. rummage
    search haphazardly
    I drop to my knees and rummage through, finally landing upon my beloved/hated Nokia plug-in.
  17. stench
    a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
    It’s $4.99, on sale, and that should leave enough change for one more item: I go with Reese’s Pieces, figuring food is more important than my stench right now and that I can take care of all that by giving myself a good scrub-down later on tonight.
  18. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    The waiter brings my water and basket of chips, placing a glorious salsa bowl in front of me, and I put my hand to the receiver and whisper to him: “Allow me to mull over the menu until my mom gets here, please,” and I'm back to my bestie.
  19. loophole
    an ambiguity that makes it possible to evade an obligation
    “You not only made it to New York, you seem to be taking advantage of every loophole I ever taught you.”
  20. resourceful
    adroit or imaginative
    “Well, that’s the thing. In your absence, without the distraction of scene-studies and showtunes, I’ve gotten more self-reliant. One could say ‘resourceful.’”
  21. sordid
    morally degraded
    And Mom—well, Mom has her own sordid history with the bottle; we’re not even allowed to have root beer around the lady.
  22. monumental
    of outstanding significance
    “Libby, even I know Gone with the Wind was a monumental hit, even if it’s unwatchable now.”
  23. mammoth
    so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant
    I pass a giant post office, across from Madison Square Garden, its mammoth stairway straight out of that triumphant scene in Rocky (Dad made me watch it once, hoping it’d butch me up; instead I cried throughout and referred to myself as “the Adrian of our family” for the rest of that week).
  24. haphazardly
    without care; in a slapdash manner
    Next, a sign, taped haphazardly to an upcoming light pole, promises souls saved and a free waffle at some church in Harlem.
  25. mascot
    a person or animal adopted by a group as a symbolic figure
    We loaded up on buses and it was the best day of my life, riding alongside the Anthony Foster, who was, even at thirteen—gosh, my age now—a budding community mascot, raising money for the kids’ library fund, having sports scholarships named after him.
  26. tepid
    moderately warm
    I rinsed off in the group showers—thank (my complicated friend) God nobody was in there—and winced through the physical pain of all that tepid camp water splashing into my bleeding gums; delighted, still, that none of my brother’s bunk friends had to see my secret that night.
  27. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    I rinsed off in the group showers—thank (my complicated friend) God nobody was in there—and winced through the physical pain of all that tepid camp water splashing into my bleeding gums; delighted, still, that none of my brother’s bunk friends had to see my secret that night.
  28. chaperone
    one who accompanies and supervises young people
    I had to sit with the adult chaperone who smelled like Funyons.
  29. overture
    orchestral music at the beginning of an opera or musical
    “Oh, Nate, I wish you had a bike; you’d get to your aunt in, like, less time than the Chu Chem overture.”
  30. promenade
    a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
    I’m reaching Union Square, a promenade of Halloween vendors and restaurants and a Barnes & Noble the size of a brick cruise ship, all for the gawking.
  31. interlude
    an intervening period or episode
    There’s a brief interlude where I walk through Union Square (which is like a big, outdoor mall, but colder) and into the Whole Foods to use the bathroom...and then I use my remaining dollar and penny to buy a piece of individually wrapped “artisanal caramel,” and flip through a magazine on modern decor at the register.
  32. pun
    a humorous play on words
    It’s as horrible a joke as it probably reads, really shameful. “Hue do you do?” would have been the pun. I always think of the right punch line thirty seconds to three days after the setup; Libby’s working on my reflexes.
  33. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    A man ahead of me is riding an electric scooter (a grown-up is!), and I follow him, mesmerized, and stop just as he’s going into a loud, thumping building with shaded-out windows.
  34. garish
    tastelessly showy
    And when the door opens, electric lights paint the walls a garish, thrilling pink.
  35. dinky
    small and insignificant
    I begged to go to the dinky clinic in Jankburg, but they drove me downtown to UPMC.
  36. mirage
    something illusory and unattainable
    Like a mirage, just when I might sit on the curb and inspect my tired feet to make sure my toes haven’t fallen off, I see it: a swinging lit sign, an illustrated oyster in roller skates with a big stupid grin on his face.
  37. chic
    elegant and stylish
    A moment later, I’m inside a very chic little bathroom with a porthole mirror and swing-arm bronze lanterns, just like we’re in a ship.
  38. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    “There was a British guy who was kind of mean to me—”
    “Ugh, they always are,” Freckles says. “Really condescending? Talking to you like you’re an idiot and wouldn’t be able to handle ‘the language’ because you’re American?”
  39. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    And then, “So what do you like about New York so much? That you would venture all the way here and not tell anyone?”
  40. render
    give or supply
    I think I’m about to throw up, and run to the toilet (with a wooden seat, like we’re in freaking Maine), but I just end up with the hiccups, rendering me even more fragile and stupid and unable to control myself.
Created on Wed Oct 25 10:42:59 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Oct 25 16:00:09 EDT 2017)

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