The Egypt Game: Chapters 1-4

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
When Melanie, April, and Marshall discover an abandoned yard, they think it's the perfect place to play games based on their shared love of ancient Egypt. But the children aren't prepared to deal with a creepy antiques dealer, mysterious oracles, and a shocking murder.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-13, Chapters 14-18, Chapters 19-23
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. straggle
    go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
    He was tall and bent and his thin beard straggled up his cheeks like dry moss on gray rocks.
  2. dingy
    gloomy or depressing
    The Professor lived somewhere at the back of his dingy store, and when he came out to stand in the sun in his doorway, smaller children would cross the street if they had to walk by.
  3. offset
    compensate for or counterbalance
    It was said that he sold items that were used, but not antique, very cheaply, but even for grown-ups the prospect of a bargain was often not enough to offset the discomfort of the old man’s stony stare.
  4. disclose
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    The old man recalled that she had been in his store not long before, and along with some other improbable information she had disclosed that her name was April.
  5. pert
    characterized by a lightly saucy or impudent quality
    A similarity in their pert features and slender arching eyebrows indicated that they were probably brother and sister.
  6. bust
    a sculpture of the head and shoulders of a person
    It was a cracked and chipped plaster reproduction of the famous bust of Nefertiti.
  7. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    They didn’t say a word, but with widening eyes and small taut smiles they sent a charge of excitement dancing between them like a crackle of electricity.
  8. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    Some of the ornate old porch pillars had been propped up around the lean-to so that they seemed to be supporting its sagging tin roof; the statue of Diana had been moved into position near this improvised temple; and in the place of honor at the back and center of the shed, the bust of Nefertiti was enthroned in the broken birdbath.
  9. improvise
    manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand
    Some of the ornate old porch pillars had been propped up around the lean-to so that they seemed to be supporting its sagging tin roof; the statue of Diana had been moved into position near this improvised temple; and in the place of honor at the back and center of the shed, the bust of Nefertiti was enthroned in the broken birdbath.
  10. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    She stood up, dumping her lap full of weeds, and reached for the blossoms—gingerly because of the prickles.
  11. vantage
    place or situation affording some benefit
    At about that point, a customer, entering the Professor’s store, forced him to leave his vantage point at the dirty window.
  12. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    He also missed the indignant scolding when the girls discovered that April’s false eyelashes had fallen before the altar of Nefertiti, where Marshall had found them and quietly beautified one of the button eyes of his octopus.
  13. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    Exactly one month before the Egypt Game began in the Professor’s backyard she had come, very reluctantly, to live in the shabby splendor of an old California-Spanish apartment house called the Casa Rosada.
  14. glamorous
    having an air of allure, romance and excitement
    She came because she had been sent away by Dorothea, her beautiful and glamorous mother, to live with a grandmother she hardly knew, and who wore her gray hair in a bun on the back of her head.
  15. prim
    affectedly dainty or refined
    Caroline smiled her small prim smile.
  16. facade
    the front of a building
    On the other, across a narrow alley, was a tall billboard that pretty much blocked the view, but by leaning forward April could see the facade of a long low building.
  17. crude
    not carefully or expertly made
    She squatted down in front of a glass case full of small objects: vases and jars, some partly cracked or broken, crudely made jewelry and tiny statues.
  18. deadpan
    deliberately impassive in manner
    A deadpan was something she’d cultivated herself, and she knew from experience that such a perfect one was not easily come by.
  19. cultivate
    foster the growth of
    A deadpan was something she’d cultivated herself, and she knew from experience that such a perfect one was not easily come by.
  20. grudging
    unwilling or reluctant
    April regarded him with grudging admiration.
  21. archaeologist
    an anthropologist who studies prehistoric culture
    As a matter of fact, I’m even planning to be an archaeologist when I grow up.
  22. reincarnation
    embodiment in a new form
    You see, I have this theory about how I was a high priestess once, in an earlier reincarnation.
  23. quaver
    give off unsteady sounds
    The old man’s voice quavered the word into a whole flock of syllables.
  24. gab
    talk profusely
    As she drifted out the door and back to the Casa Rosada, April wondered why she’d gabbed so much.
  25. apt
    naturally disposed toward
    Apartment dwellers, particularly near a university, are apt to come and go.
  26. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    Her hair was stacked up in a pile that seemed to be more pins than hair, and the whole thing teetered forward over her thin pale face.
  27. stole
    a wide shawl or scarf worn around the shoulders
    April adjusted Dorothea’s old fur stole, patted up some sliding strands of hair and waited—warily.
  28. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    April adjusted Dorothea’s old fur stole, patted up some sliding strands of hair and waited—warily.
  29. offhand
    without previous thought or preparation
    “April Dawn,” April corrected with an offhand sort of smile.
  30. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    April put back on her haughty face.
  31. caper
    a crime (especially a robbery)
    From the Girl-Scout-cookies caper, the game moved into even more exciting escapades, and when Mrs. Ross came in to say that Marshall was down for his nap and that she was leaving for the university, where she was taking a summer course for schoolteachers, the criminals were just escaping, taking one of the Brewster children with them as a hostage.
  32. escapade
    any carefree episode
    From the Girl-Scout-cookies caper, the game moved into even more exciting escapades, and when Mrs. Ross came in to say that Marshall was down for his nap and that she was leaving for the university, where she was taking a summer course for schoolteachers, the criminals were just escaping, taking one of the Brewster children with them as a hostage.
  33. thaw
    become or cause to become soft or liquid
    But Melanie was beginning to understand about April’s frozen spells, and how to thaw her out.
  34. monolith
    a single great stone, often in the form of a column
    In a very short time they had accumulated all sorts of fascinating facts about tombs and temples, pharaohs and pyramids, mummies and monoliths, and dozens of other exotic topics.
  35. exotic
    strikingly strange or unusual
    In a very short time they had accumulated all sorts of fascinating facts about tombs and temples, pharaohs and pyramids, mummies and monoliths, and dozens of other exotic topics.
  36. hieroglyphic
    a writing system using picture symbols
    By the end of the month, April and Melanie were beginning work on their own alphabet of hieroglyphics for writing secret messages, and at the library they were beginning to be called the Egypt Girls.
  37. sheer
    complete and without restriction
    April and Melanie and Marshall were on their way home through the alley when, by the sheerest luck, Melanie noticed the loose plank.
  38. omen
    a sign of a thing about to happen
    There she was, waiting for them in the shed, Nefertiti, the beautiful queen of ancient Egypt, like a magical omen, or, as April put it, “a beautiful messenger from out of the ancient past.”
  39. integrate
    become one
    April just couldn’t wear those eyelashes to school on the first day. She was going to be hard enough to integrate even without them.
  40. evasive
    avoiding or escaping from difficulty or danger
    They went the wrong way first and took evasive action through a garage and around a stack of garbage pails.
Created on Wed Jan 17 19:45:53 EST 2018 (updated Mon Jan 22 16:45:54 EST 2018)

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