Rebound: List 2

by Kwame Alexander
After the death of his father, Chuck Bell spends the summer with grandparents and finds solace in basketball. Learn these words from the prequel to The Crossover.

This list covers "I tell them"–"Huddle."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kwame Alexander: The Crossover, Booked, Solo, Swing
35 words 324 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. vexatious
    causing irritation or annoyance
    Why are you so vexatious? CJ counters.
  2. casket
    box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
    but all Skinny wants
    to know
    is what
    Old Lady Wilson looks like
    and if it’s true
    she keeps
    her husband’s
    casket
    in the basement.
  3. segregation
    a social system that provides different facilities for minority groups
    He also thought slavery and segregation were good things.
  4. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
    It’s okay, Mrs. Bell, I’m used to Charlie being cantankerous.
    He’s dealing with a lot.
  5. routine
    a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer one
    We’ve been practicing our routine for
    months, and we have a chance to win the finals, and
    Skinny’s grounded because he got a D in English but his
    mother is letting him skate
  6. acknowledgment
    the state or quality of being recognized
    I just got you off punishment. That deserves some
    acknowledgment, don’t you think?
  7. disingenuous
    not straightforward or candid
    Oh yeah, thanks for that.

    That’s disingenuous.
    Huh?

    Insincere. As in, you don’t really mean it. Your gratitude is disingenuous.
  8. ulcer
    an inflammatory lesion resulting in decay of tissue
    My mom says my dad doesn’t talk about how he feels about
    stuff either. I’ve never seen him cry.
    So what?

    So, he has ulcers in his stomach.
  9. counter
    speak in response
    You can’t just change her name though.

    We’ll say it’s her nickname if anyone asks, she counters.
  10. compliment
    a remark expressing praise and admiration
    You’re like an encyclopedia.

    Is that a compliment?
  11. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    she sits
    her ginormous butt
    right between us
    and sprawls herself
    all over us
    so we literally
    can’t move.
  12. disruptive
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
    The whole class got a B, ’cause Mrs. Toney believes that if
    one person is being disruptive it’s all of our faults.
  13. complex
    complicated in structure
    Girls talk earlier than boys. We have larger vocabularies,
    and we use more complex sentence structures.
  14. devour
    destroy completely
    Galactus and Silver Surfer are about to devour the planet.
  15. faint
    lacking clarity, brightness, or loudness
    Get the bags, Percy, she yells to my
    grandfather, who’s still sitting on the porch, bobbing his
    head to music I can faintly hear.
  16. shirk
    avoid one's assigned duties
    Charlie can get his own bags, Mom says.
    Sure can, my grandfather echoes. Don’t shirk the work, Chuck.
  17. hustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    Hustle and grind, peace of mind, he continues, that’s my
    motto. You do what I say this summer, everything’s gonna
    be fine. Just fine.
  18. jalapeno
    hot green or red pepper
    the biggest slice
    of jalapeño cornbread
    you ever saw
  19. diagonal
    having an oblique or slanted direction
    Proper way is to cut it at a diagonal. Looks better.
  20. blare
    make a loud noise
    I wake up

    the next morning
    to piano

    and horns
    blaring
  21. switch
    a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment
    Your mother’s a real good woman. Too easy on you, though.
    You a lucky boy. My mother wasn’t so easy. Used to make
    me get a switch from our peach tree, then we got whupped good.
  22. ruckus
    the act of making a noisy disturbance
    She tried her best to keep us
    behavin’, but we were bad boys. Me and my brother. We
    used to cause all kind of ruckus in that house.
  23. tolerate
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    You make As
    or Bs?
    Don’t tell me you make Cs?

    I know Aunt Gloria doesn’t
    tolerate Cs.
  24. syncopation
    a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat
    That’s all kinda blues
    under the hood.
    The syncopated rhythms,
    the flatted fifths,
    and just you wait
    till Coltrane’s sax solo
    starts up.
  25. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
    It's a metaphor, he says

    as we drive by
    several big
    white buildings
    on either side of us.

    Jazz music
    is like an automobile.
  26. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
    Jazz music
    is like an automobile.
    That’s a simile, I correct,
    which makes Roxie laugh.
  27. convertible
    a car that has a top that can be folded or removed
    If jazz were a car,
    Miles Davis would be

    a convertible Black Mustang GT,
    Coltrane would be the Corvette,
    and Thelonius Monk, well, that cat
    would probably be

    a vintage Fiat.
  28. bona fide
    not counterfeit or copied
    Doesn't matter. Jazz’ll take you there. Just listen to those
    horns and that piano, he says, turning it up even more.
    That there is some bona-fide gas-guzzling music for ya.
  29. ornery
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    I mean, yes Mom, I miss you, then I tell her how we
    were playing Scrabble and Grandma beat us with a word
    she said describes Granddaddy’s attitude—ornery—
  30. lounge
    sit or recline comfortably
    and if you think
    we’re gonna work
    like the devil
    while you lounge
    around the house
    in your PJs
    reading those cartoons
    and eating us
    out of house
    and home
    you got another thing coming.
  31. chump
    a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
    Champions train, chumps complain, Chuck. Love. Work.
    Eat. In that order. Time to get in the game, Chuck!
  32. triumph
    prove superior
    I’m just about
    to eat a Popsicle
    and read
    about how Ant-Man
    helped the Fantastic Four
    triumph over
    their foes
  33. huddle
    a quick private conference
    We get the ball back
    and Roxie calls
    a huddle.
  34. ironic
    displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is
    ISO? What’s an ISO? I ask.
    Isolate, Cheetah Boy says, his eyes wide open, which is
    ironic, ’cause his nickname is Wink. He hasn’t blinked
    once.
  35. isolate
    set apart from others
    She’s gonna isolate him and cross him up. Easy bucket!
Created on Wed Jun 13 18:50:23 EDT 2018 (updated Wed May 01 11:19:14 EDT 2019)

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