Liar & Spy: Bittersweet–Fieldwork

by Rebecca Stead
When Georges moves to a new apartment building, he meets Safer, who enlists Georges in a scheme to spy on a mysterious neighbor. Learn these words from the novel by Rebecca Stead.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: The Science Unit of Destiny–Uncle, Bittersweet–Fieldwork, Big Picture–A Message From the Chef, Break & Enter (#3)–The Scout

Here are links to our lists for other works by Rebecca Stead: When You Reach Me, Goodbye Stranger
35 words 30 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. savory
    having an agreeably pungent taste
    “Umami is a savory taste. Think of excellent Chinese food, a steak, or a perfectly ripe tomato.”
  2. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
    “Can a moment in time be sweet? Can a memory be bitter? I want each of you to spend the next twenty minutes writing about a memory that can be described using the metaphor of taste. Table One, you will write about a sweet memory. Table Two, a salty memory. And so on.”
  3. bittersweet
    having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
    He goes up to the whiteboard, writes the word bittersweet, and puts a 6 next to it.
  4. billowing
    characterized by great swelling waves or surges
    He’s drawing a supervillain with pointy ears and a billowing black cape.
  5. jot
    write briefly or hurriedly; write a short note of
    He must feel me watching, because he looks over, then jots something down and shoves his notebook over to me.
  6. presume
    take to be the case or to be true
    “Shall I presume that you have finished your work and are ready to share it with the class?”
  7. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    Bob English hunches over his drawing and says nothing.
  8. suspicious
    arousing distrust
    “Think about it, Georges. A piece of paper on the floor is suspicious. But a gum wrapper provides its own story—someone unwrapped a piece of gum and dropped the wrapper on the floor. People are slobs! End of story. No suspicions.”
  9. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
    “Ate a bean burrito for breakfast,” Pigeon says. “Ha! ‘Bean burrito for breakfast.’ In poetry that’s called alliteration.”
    “Alliteration,” Safer mimics. “Oh la la.”
  10. mimic
    imitate, especially for satirical effect
    “Ate a bean burrito for breakfast,” Pigeon says. “Ha! ‘Bean burrito for breakfast.’ In poetry that’s called alliteration.”
    “Alliteration,” Safer mimics. “Oh la la.”
  11. gnaw
    bite or chew on with the teeth
    “At first they thought it was funny—you know, ‘Chicken is chickens,’ ha ha. But I was horrified. I would rather gnaw off my own fingers than eat a bird. And that was it. No birds for me since that day in the car.”
  12. hilarious
    extremely funny; causing laughter
    “Isn’t that hilarious?” Candy says. “Chicken is chickens?”
  13. bohemian
    a nonconformist who lives an unconventional life
    When I tell her Safer doesn’t go to school, she says they sound like really nice bohemians.
  14. progressive
    favoring or promoting modern or innovative ideas
    Dad calls them progressive. Nobody wants to say they’re weird.
  15. ritual
    any customary observance or practice
    Later, while Dad is doing his nightly murmuring-into-the-phone ritual with the door to his room closed, I slip upstairs to Mr. X’s apartment and wedge Safer’s balled-up gum wrapper between the door and the frame.
  16. sympathetic
    expressing compassion or friendly fellow feelings
    She looks sympathetic, but I’m beginning to wonder.
  17. distracted
    having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety
    “Oh,” he says. “So I guess you-know-who is home.” But he seems distracted.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask him, dropping into my green beanbag.
  18. disrupt
    throw into disorder
    “The parrots are in trouble. Something is definitely weird over there. The nest looks different. Smaller. And sort of—disrupted.”
  19. downsize
    reduce in magnitude or number
    “Is that bad? Maybe they’re downsizing. Or redecorating. My dad says knowing what to throw away is the single most important thing about sprucing up your home.”
  20. spruce
    make neat, smart, or trim
    “Is that bad? Maybe they’re downsizing. Or redecorating. My dad says knowing what to throw away is the single most important thing about sprucing up your home.”
  21. modicum
    a small or moderate or token amount
    “Sorry. I thought it was a little funny. Maybe not America’s Funniest Home Videos funny, but, you know, a modicum of funny. That’s a vocabulary word. You probably don’t know about those.”
  22. prey
    animal hunted or caught for food
    Safer looks at me like I’m nuts, “You’re joking, right? I’m not talking about a robbery. I’m talking about falcons or hawks—don’t they teach you about birds of prey at school?”
  23. avian
    pertaining to or characteristic of birds
    “Are you trying to give us all avian flu? Put that down! Throw it away! And—take a shower, for Pete’s sake!”
  24. infuriate
    make extremely angry
    I’m trying to imitate Safer’s infuriating talent for focusing his full attention on a tile floor and a locked glass door, but every time I set my eyes on that little black-and-white screen, my mind starts to wander away and I have to bring it back.
  25. static
    crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference
    I’m about to say, “You were watching me that first day when I moved in. You were watching me through the lobbycam. It buzzes, you know. Like static.”
  26. potential
    existing in possibility
    He got out his leather covered notepad with the graph paper that Mom bought him for Christmas one year, and he started making a list of potential clients, and Mom rubbed his shoulders.
  27. dumbstruck
    so surprised or shocked as to be unable to speak
    I’m just sitting there, what they call dumbstruck.
  28. stamina
    enduring strength and energy
    Safer nods. “You’re still developing your lobbycam stamina.” He looks at his watch. “I have to walk the dogs. You coming?”
  29. civilized
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    Safer starts throwing the ball for the dogs to fetch. They take turns bringing it back, very civilized.
  30. deflate
    collapse by releasing contained air or gas
    As soon as he disappears into the basement, the dogs sort of deflate.
  31. casual
    without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
    “Over here,” Safer says, jerking his head toward the laundry room, where he strolls around, very casual.
  32. peek
    throw a glance at; take a brief look at
    It’s resting at L, for lobby, just sitting there, so I step away and peek into the laundry room.
  33. spatter
    dash a liquid upon or against
    It’s wet from something that spatters my leg below my shorts.
  34. analyze
    consider in detail in order to discover essential features
    I open the same garbage can I took the bag out of, which is a mistake because the bottom of the can is covered with the same gucky brown stuff that’s leaking out of the bag, which, if you are a person who likes to analyze things, might suggest that the bag had actually been in there before.
  35. orthodontist
    a dentist specializing in irregularities of the teeth
    And that’s when I remember that I was supposed to meet Dad downstairs at five o’clock to go to the orthodontist.
Created on Thu Jan 04 19:20:04 EST 2018 (updated Mon Sep 24 13:42:25 EDT 2018)

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