X: A Novel: Chapters 6–10

by Ilyasah Shabazz, Kekla Magoon
Cowritten by one of Malcolm X's daughters, this novel presents a fictionalized account of the activist's troubled youth.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–21, Chapters 22–27

Here is a link to our lists for Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson.

Here are links to our lists for other works by Kekla Magoon: The Season of Styx Malone, The Rock and the River.
40 words 22 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cacophony
    loud confusing disagreeable sounds
    But the cacophony of the city around me is too exciting.
  2. sculpted
    cut into a desired shape
    It’s a Sunday afternoon, and folks are dressed up in their churchgoing fineness. Women in neat knee-length dresses with delicate hats or large sculpted curls in their hair. Men in dapper suits of all colors and neatly brimmed hats.
  3. dapper
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    It’s a Sunday afternoon, and folks are dressed up in their churchgoing fineness. Women in neat knee-length dresses with delicate hats or large sculpted curls in their hair. Men in dapper suits of all colors and neatly brimmed hats.
  4. marquee
    a structure, often with a signboard, over an entrance
    We pass tobacco shops and jewelry dealers and movie theaters with grand marquees ten feet high.
  5. scrawl
    write carelessly
    I try to read every sign, every message scrawled in paint across a picture window, but there’s too much to see.
  6. pert
    characterized by a lightly saucy or impudent quality
    Her black hair was coiled in waves around her head, beneath a pert, proper cream-colored hat.
  7. fanfare
    a gaudy outward display
    Ella, in her big black way, took charge and walked me in without a bit of fanfare.
  8. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    She was gaunt, with these haunted, saggy cheeks, but her shoulders were still broad.
  9. stately
    impressive in appearance
    In downtown Boston, the buildings are tall and stately.
  10. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    It’s not so hard—being black—when I’m surrounded by so many others, and everyone seems to be getting along just fine, from the rich-looking dark men in pressed suits to the vagrants in the alleys.
  11. fedora
    a hat made of felt with a creased crown
    He’s wearing a fedora with the brim pulled low.
  12. hustle
    (offensive) a swindle that cheats someone out of money
    The hand and the voice belong to a short, dark cat with a long black briefcase. “It’s a hustle.”
    “A what?”
    “A game you can’t win.”
  13. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    The three cards stand like little sentinels, waiting.
  14. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    I’m looking at the smug, tiny face of the queen.
  15. taper
    give a point to
    His flat newsboy hat tapers in the front, and underneath it his hair is straight and combed back toward his collar, like a white man’s.
  16. amble
    walk leisurely
    “Beginner’s luck,” Shorty mumbles. “Y’all take care now.” And he ambles off.
  17. wager
    the act of gambling
    In my room that night, I write a letter to Philbert, telling him all about my failed wager with Fat Frankie.
  18. retort
    answer back
    “Maybe,” I retorted. “I could be.” This was not entirely true, but that was the whole point of practicing.
  19. chortle
    laugh quietly or with restraint
    “Not when you stay down as long as you did,” he chortled.
  20. corral
    collect or gather
    Shorty, the guy I met over bets with Fat Frankie, is in there corralling balls atop each table with a wooden triangle.
  21. billiards
    game in which cue sticks are used to propel balls on a table
    “Wouldn’t have pegged you for a billiards man,” he says.
  22. dabble
    work with in an amateurish manner
    I run a hand over the edge of a table. The green-felt surface is firm but smooth under my fingers. “I dabble.”
  23. flit
    move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
    My gaze flits from the sticks to the balls to the can of white powder on the side of the table.
  24. scrutiny
    the act of examining something closely, as for mistakes
    “Really?” I tuck the phone closer. Turn away from Ella’s hands-on-hips, narrow-eyed scrutiny.
  25. unyielding
    stubbornly unwilling to give in
    Ella wipes her hands on her apron. Her weighty stare unyielding. I squirm.
  26. strew
    spread by scattering
    He touches the ceramic bowl strewn with coins.
  27. flourish
    a showy gesture
    I pull the rag up to finish with a flourish, but it only hangs limply from my fingers.
  28. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    “How’d you do that snap?” I ask, yanking the rag taut. It makes no sound at all.
  29. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    “Later on, you might be wanting to offer some more extras.” Freddie leans in conspiratorially.
  30. bluff
    pretense that your position is stronger than it really is
    I hate to admit all the things I don’t know, but Freddie’s been sharp enough to see through my bluffs so far.
  31. throng
    a large gathering of people
    More than anything, I want to be down there in the throng.
  32. vivacious
    vigorous and animated
    Freddie tells me they often hold Negro dance nights, and he promises they’ll be even better, more exciting and vivacious than anything I’ve ever seen.
  33. sleight
    adroitness in using the hands
    “It’s just sleight of hand,” he says.
  34. ensemble
    a coordinated outfit (set of clothing)
    The one thing still missing from my fresh ensemble is a zoot suit.
  35. lilt
    a jaunty rhythm in music or speech
    In the mirror, I practice. Try to perfect that swaggering kind of walk. Arm swinging out front just so. A little lilt to the hips, a little bend and sway. Like a dance-floor move.
  36. lull
    a pause during which things are calm
    A few shawls and jackets and bags, forgotten amid the swirl of liquor and the lull of the tunes.
  37. churning
    moving with or producing or produced by vigorous agitation
    I’ve gotten used to eating my fill now; no longer any need to force away the memories of hunger churning deep.
  38. amend
    make revisions to
    “You can achieve anything,” she amends softly.
  39. throes
    violent pangs of suffering
    All those nights working the shoe-shine rag hadn’t prepared me for how it would feel to be down in the throes of it all.
  40. ebony
    a very dark black
    I dance with every woman I can get my arms around. Beautiful Negro girls: short and tall, slender and big-boned, smooth skin, sun-kissed mahogany, ebony, or creamy caramel.
Created on Thu Dec 07 19:46:35 EST 2017 (updated Thu Apr 25 10:08:14 EDT 2019)

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