When I Was the Greatest: Chapters 4–6

by Jason Reynolds
In his debut novel, award-winning writer Jason Reynolds tells the story of Ali, a teenager who tries to stay out of trouble in his gritty Brooklyn neighborhood. But when one of his friends is attacked, Ali is drawn into a real fight — with real consequences.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–9, Chapters 10–12, Chapters 13–16

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jason Reynolds: The Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys, Long Way Down, Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    The boys our age were all dressed in oversize suits, dingy shirts, and sneakers.
  2. pastel
    any of various pale or light colors
    There were a few old men in pastel suits, limping, I think, on purpose.
  3. snicker
    laugh quietly
    I snickered and shook my head while giving him dap.
  4. slick
    marked by skill in deception
    "Plus, that's pretty much what people do after church. Stand around and talk to each other," I said, half-slick and half trying to make him feel better.
  5. lame
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    "That lame clown I saw you talking to down there. Who he? Y'all got a thing?"
  6. impressed
    deeply or markedly affected or influenced
    Ouch. I was impressed. She really laid it on him with that one.
  7. blues
    a state of depression
    He used to give me the blues in the ring, so bad, but I still liked him.
  8. slump
    assume a drooping posture or carriage
    Noodles, now coming out of his slump, leaned forward excitedly.
  9. bluff
    pretense that your position is stronger than it really is
    "Cool. We'll be there," I said, calling her bluff.
  10. trance
    a psychological state induced by a magical incantation
    She just left, almost as if she was in some sort of trance—a she-just-couldn't-believe I-on-behalf-of-the-three-of-us-agreed-to-bring-Needles-to-a-MoMo-party trance.
  11. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    "I guess you're right." He dug his fingers into his scalp and conceded. "And it is a big deal. A MoMo party."
  12. justify
    show to be right by providing proof
    "Right. It'll be good for him too," I said, still trying to justify Needles coming with us.
  13. fuss
    an excited state of agitation
    Then there was a bunch of horn honking coming from right in front of the house. Noodles and I got up to see what the fuss was, but before we could get to the window, Ms. Janice came dashing from the back, tugging at her shirt and buttoning her skintight pants.
  14. scramble
    move hurriedly
    "Aight, Roland, I'm off to work," she said, scrambling around.
  15. primp
    dress or groom with elaborate care
    I mean, it's not like we're girls or nothin', primping in front of the mirror for hours, but like I said, this was a big deal.
  16. exclusive
    admitting or accepting only a particular group
    Like we were going to do something very important. Get haircuts for a very special event we'd been invited to. An exclusive night at Chateau MoMo.
  17. chateau
    an impressive country house (or castle) in France
    Like we were going to do something very important. Get haircuts for a very special event we'd been invited to. An exclusive night at Chateau MoMo.
  18. peer
    look searchingly
    Noodles put his forehead against the glass door and peered in.
  19. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    He would hang out on Fulton, and whatever stores were closed, he would lurk around and wait for customers to show up and be disappointed about the store not being open.
  20. stall
    deliberately delay an event or action
    He knew what he wanted to charge, he was just stalling to make it seem like he was cutting them some kind of deal.
  21. decent
    sufficient for the purpose
    He had proven to be a decent knockoff guy.
  22. weld
    join together by heating
    He had welding masks, paintbrushes and empty paint cans, a barbecue grill, a chainsaw, curling irons, a flute, blades from a ceiling fan, old TVs with the wires coming out the back, a mannequin, high-heel shoes...
  23. smock
    a loose coverall that protects the clothes
    He opened it and began pulling out his clippers and his smock, and the oils and sprays and all that.
  24. posture
    characteristic way of bearing one's body
    What Black said about watching Brother cut became obvious, because while he was cutting Noodles, I realized that he cut exactly like Brother did. His posture. His facial expressions. His movements. Brother, Brother, Brother.
  25. reserve
    something kept back or saved for future use
    I knew I would have to have a reserve messing around with him.
  26. caper
    a crime (especially a robbery)
    Noodles, on the other hand, as usual, was all about pulling a caper.
  27. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
    Just the thought of robbing a corner store made me cringe, especially knowing all the drama it caused my family when my father did it.
  28. outrageous
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    I wasn't sure if I actually said something funny, or if he just found Noodles and me asking for nice clothes so outrageous that laughter was the only possible response.
  29. scrawny
    being very thin
    "I mean, I'll give you the clothes. But your scrawny ass gotta text me when you get there, and when you make it back home. What time the party start?"
  30. hustle
    sell or obtain by energetic and underhanded activity
    "Needles too! You trying to break me," he barked. "My own son. Hustling a hustler. Whoever taught you that should be shot!"
Created on Sun Jun 24 19:26:56 EDT 2018 (updated Wed Oct 31 10:54:03 EDT 2018)

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