We'll Fly Away: List 1

by Bryan Bliss
Before he was convicted of a terrible crime, Luke and his best friend Toby dreamed of escaping their small town. Moving between Luke's letters to Toby from prison and flashbacks to the boys' senior year of high school, this novel explores the challenges and choices that led Luke to death row.

This list covers November 5–November 17.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 51 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incorporation
    the act of including by making into a whole
    Luke and Toby didn’t know a thing about planes, hadn’t even set foot in one before they found that rusted-out crop duster halfway between Highway 10 and a little gas station that marked the end of incorporation and the beginning of what people simply referred to as county.
  2. pawn
    leave as a guarantee in return for money
    Every can and bottle from there to Charlotte was claimed and redeemed, five cents that neither of them had before. And what they could, they pawned.
  3. fuselage
    the central body of an airplane holding crew and passengers
    The summer passed, and they never got the wing reattached to the body, the fuselage mended.
  4. grove
    a small growth of trees without underbrush
    Time stopped in this small grove of trees, and he wanted to believe he could spend the rest of his life sitting here drinking soda, eating whatever he wanted.
  5. oscillate
    move or swing from side to side regularly
    The only sound was the fan, clicking each time it oscillated across the room.
  6. stint
    an unbroken period of time during which you do something
    He should’ve been home at five, to make sure she was awake and didn’t have to deal with the twins as she was getting ready to leave. To make sure she kept this job longer than her stints at the hosiery mill, or as a waitress at the Waffle House.
  7. hosiery
    socks, stockings, and tights collectively
    He should’ve been home at five, to make sure she was awake and didn’t have to deal with the twins as she was getting ready to leave. To make sure she kept this job longer than her stints at the hosiery mill, or as a waitress at the Waffle House.
  8. indignation
    a feeling of righteous anger
    But he couldn’t keep the indignation from rising up.
  9. perpetual
    continuing forever or indefinitely
    She was still beautiful, even now, her eyes hung with perpetual black circles.
  10. contort
    twist and press out of shape
    Luke held Jack-Jack at arm’s length as the boy twisted, contorting his body back and forth like a wild animal.
  11. seizure
    a sudden attack characterized by spasms or convulsions
    ...Jack-Jack and Petey came over, out of breath and utterly confused, a look on their faces like “Is he having a seizure?”
  12. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    Still, they stood in the kitchen staring at the cracked linoleum, trying not to give the bastard a reason or the satisfaction.
  13. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    The hosts threw their heads back in laughter every few seconds, excited, as the camera panned across the crowd, all of whom seemed equally ecstatic about what looked like a giant knitting needle.
  14. abstract
    existing only in the mind
    But he’d been building this abstract new life for them since Luke took state their freshman year.
  15. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Toby flinched when Doreen picked up the bags of groceries in a huff and started slamming cabinet doors until everything was put away.
  16. grim
    harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
    Luke stood there grim faced, holding the plates.
  17. remedial
    tending or intended to rectify or improve
    He stared at the worksheet, supposedly remedial, and tried to wrap his mind around the shapes and angles.
  18. unflappable
    not easily perturbed, excited, or upset
    Even the normally unflappable Toby seemed momentarily panicked.
  19. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    Her voice seemed to come from her knees, from the dingy floor of their cafeteria, gaining more and more power until finally exploding from her mouth.
  20. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    It was one thing for Toby to get some needed humility.
  21. appease
    cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
    When appeased, she let go of him and—as if suddenly realizing she was in the middle of a crowded cafeteria—looked around, her eyes widening.
  22. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    She scuttled away from the table to a chorus of laughter and cheering.
  23. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Annie roared out of the parking lot, oblivious to Ms. Hoffman’s finger wagging.
  24. gospel
    an unquestionable truth
    Coach O told them to leave everything they had on the mat—blood, sweat, all of it—and Luke treated it like gospel.
  25. heckler
    someone who tries to embarrass you with gibes and objections
    The scale stood in the corner of the room, like a silent heckler.
  26. feign
    give a false appearance of
    He didn’t look at Coach as he slipped to the mat, feigning a single leg and then immediately spinning, ready to break his opponent down.
  27. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Luke saw it coming—let it happen, even—and sprawled back effortlessly, pushing Tyler’s face hard into the mat.
  28. heave
    make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit
    He heaved in the corner, his entire body trying to expel something invisible inside him.
  29. feral
    wild and menacing
    Something panicky and feral pulsed underneath every word, every subtle movement.
  30. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    Something panicky and feral pulsed underneath every word, every subtle movement.
  31. obscure
    not clearly understood or expressed
    That denim jacket, the T-shirt for an obscure band (at least he thought it was a band) he’d never heard of before.
  32. transient
    lasting a very short time
    There was a sense of adventure in the constant moving, the transient life they led.
  33. notorious
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    But he had also been a notorious drunk, meaner than Jimmy, if that could be believed.
  34. tenor
    the adult male singing voice above baritone
    His voice was a high tenor that faltered at the top of his range.
  35. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    His voice was a high tenor that faltered at the top of his range.
  36. petty
    small and of little importance
    Toby knew Jimmy was involved in some petty criminal activity—selling stolen cell phones, the occasional scheme.
  37. instinctive
    unthinking
    Toby instinctively scooted back as his father reached into his pocket, struggling to pull something out.
  38. repent
    feel sorry for; be contrite about
    The first time I met Sister, I told her I was guilty. I thought she’d appreciate me owning it, because that’s all you hear once you get inside. Accept. Repent. Wait.
  39. cold feet
    timidity preventing the continuation of a course of action
    I didn’t want to give cold feet a chance to show up.
  40. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    And of course Sasquatch was like, “No touching!” in that gruff voice they think makes them sound hard.
Created on Mon Oct 15 14:40:37 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 16 10:28:39 EDT 2018)

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