Crenshaw: Chapters 18–40

by Katherine Applegate
As his family struggles financially, Jackson deals with hardship with the help of his imaginary friend, a giant cat named Crenshaw.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–40, Chapters 41–52

Here are links to our lists for other works by Katherine Applegate: Home of the Brave, Wishtree, The One and Only Ivan
35 words 193 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hack
    cough spasmodically
    At first you just have a tickle in your throat, and then you have a headache, and then maybe you’re coughing a little. The next thing you know, you have a pile of Kleenexes around your bed and you’re hacking your lungs up.
  2. blues
    a type of folksong that originated among Black Americans
    My mom and dad like a kind of music called “blues.”
  3. buoyancy
    the tendency to float in water or other liquid
    One of my favorite bath experiments is about something scientists call buoyancy.
  4. tote
    a capacious bag or basket
    “Almost forgot,” my mom said, reaching into her tote bag.
  5. stall
    waste time or postpone doing what one should be doing
    “Okay. Let’s get this show on the road. Guess I can’t stall any longer.”
  6. gratuity
    a small, extra gift of money for services rendered
    “Given that I’ll be singing for our supper,” he said as he tore the box into pieces, “I prefer to call it a request for gratuities.”
  7. gig
    a job, especially a temporary job
    “When we were young, your dad and I used to be street performers, before we had regular gigs. Lots of musicians do it.”
  8. exhaust
    gases ejected from an engine as waste products
    When he climbed back into our van, my dad smelled like car exhaust.
  9. antsy
    nervous and unable to relax
    “Robin’s getting antsy,” my mom said.
  10. exaggerate
    enlarge beyond bounds or the truth
    “I’ll bet Dad’s telling him about that trout at the lake,” I said to my mom.
    She smiled. “And exaggerating.”
  11. nestle
    move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position
    A small, poodley-looking dog was nestled in his half-zipped jacket.
  12. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    I saw some kids and hunched down in case I knew them.
  13. rabid
    infected by an acute viral disease of the nervous system
    “Yes, Officer, yes. 68 Quiet Moon. Apartment 132. No, he’s not attacking anyone. He’s eating dog food. Dog chow, actually. Not the wet kind. Kids, stay away. He could be rabid.”
  14. jut
    extend out or project in space
    She jutted out her lower lip to make sure we knew she wasn’t happy.
  15. flair
    a natural talent
    “Nice work on the pancakes,” I said.
    “Thanks. I do have a certain flair.”
  16. ruffle
    disturb the smoothness of
    My dad ruffled my hair. He looked at me. Really looked, in that way only parents can do.
  17. scramble
    move hurriedly
    The puppy scrambled over to nose me.
  18. nuclear
    deriving destructive energy from releasing atomic energy
    He was holding the wad of paper towel in his outstretched hand like it was nuclear waste.
  19. judgment
    the act of assessing a person or situation or event
    I’d never stolen anything before last spring. Except for the unfortunate incident with the yo-yo when I was five and used very bad judgment.
  20. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    Aretha slunk toward my bedroom door, tail dragging, and I saw what she was holding.
  21. urgent
    compelling immediate action
    As soon as she was out of my bedroom, she galloped down the hall and scratched urgently at the front door.
  22. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
    She made birdhouses and bat shelters. Dog carriers and cat trees. Hamster habitats and ferret houses.
  23. ferret
    a small domesticated mammal with a flexible, elongated body
    She made birdhouses and bat shelters. Dog carriers and cat trees. Hamster habitats and ferret houses.
  24. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    Aretha stopped digging and looked up at us hopefully. Her face was covered in sand. Her tongue lolled sideways.
  25. intriguing
    capable of arousing interest or curiosity
    “I like it. It’s...intriguing.”
  26. gag
    choke or retch
    “I remember everything about Whoops. She liked to eat brussels sprouts.”
    “Why?” I pretended to gag.
  27. urban
    relating to a city or densely populated area
    “Hey, new bat fact. In Austin, Texas, they have the world’s largest urban bat colony. Like a million and a half of them. When they fly out at night, you can see them on the airport radar screens.”
  28. colony
    a group of organisms of the same type living together
    “Hey, new bat fact. In Austin, Texas, they have the world’s largest urban bat colony. Like a million and a half of them. When they fly out at night, you can see them on the airport radar screens.”
  29. acquainted
    having fair knowledge of
    Sometimes she just let a question sit for a while, like she needed some time to get acquainted with it.
  30. consequence
    the outcome of an event
    Then, just the way I’d taken that cookie, without understanding why, without thinking about the consequences, without any reason, I grabbed my mug and hurled it against the wall.
  31. hurl
    throw forcefully
    Then, just the way I’d taken that cookie, without understanding why, without thinking about the consequences, without any reason, I grabbed my mug and hurled it against the wall.
  32. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    It splintered into shards of cracked plastic.
  33. careen
    pitching dangerously to one side
    I felt my brain screech to a halt, like a cartoon character about to careen off a cliff.
  34. seizure
    a sudden attack characterized by spasms or convulsions
    Dogs have amazing senses. They can tell when a person is about to have a seizure.
  35. unearth
    recover through digging
    They can unearth a piece of hot dog buried at the bottom of a neighbor’s trash can.
Created on Thu Sep 06 14:08:09 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Sep 06 14:55:07 EDT 2018)

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