We'll Fly Away: List 4

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 Chapters 16–23.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. offset
    compensate for or counterbalance
    The new bruises were still bright, offsetting the old scars that mapped his body.
  2. lope
    run easily
    Luke gave Annie a kiss and then loped to the passenger door.
  3. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    Luke shrugged, and it was so dismissive, so arrogant.
  4. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    Luke shrugged again. This time, it was the smug, know-it-all smile on his lips. The way he raised his eyebrows.
  5. auspices
    kindly endorsement and guidance
    The cops had come to see him under the auspices of child welfare, making sure that Toby would have a place to stay for the night.
  6. suspend
    make inoperative or stop
    The room had the same otherworldly quality it usually did, as if the regular rules of space and time that applied in the hallways were suspended here.
  7. complicity
    guilt as a confederate in a crime or offense
    “You’re complicit. You should go right back into that school. That’s the only way your eternal salvation will stay secure. I’m sorry to tell you this.”
  8. salvation
    the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil
    “You’re complicit. You should go right back into that school. That’s the only way your eternal salvation will stay secure. I’m sorry to tell you this.”
  9. perfunctory
    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
    Toby gave a perfunctory glance back to the school.
  10. passive
    lacking in energy or will
    Dudes in here have a way of isolating you, a sort of passive violence. Like they’re already erasing you from their minds, from the world.
  11. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
    It wasn’t pity; more like a patient empathy.
  12. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    Annie was quiet for a few seconds. When she spoke, the bravado was gone.
  13. fraudulent
    intended to deceive
    “What? Why?” She laughed and gave him a hug, which felt just as fraudulent. “Are you getting weird on me, buddy?”
  14. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    Toby stepped inside and pried one of the boxes open.
  15. errant
    straying from the right course or from accepted standards
    Bo leaned over and laughed—was it a bite? Some errant lipstick? Toby didn’t know.
  16. prophetic
    foretelling events as if by supernatural intervention
    Toby took a drink of beer, hoping the answer would come like a prophetic vision.
  17. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    He imagined her opening the door, a wry smile on her face.
  18. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    You were adamant about that...
  19. precipitate
    bring about abruptly
    He had no idea what had precipitated this, but it was at least a question he could answer.
  20. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    David was fumbling with a hundred-ounce insulated mug emblazoned with the Mountain Dew logo.
  21. manifest
    reveal its presence or make an appearance
    At first Toby didn’t react. When he did, it started in his eyes. A flicker of annoyance. A sharpness that finally manifested itself in a simple, stilted shrug.
  22. stilted
    artificially formal or stiff
    At first Toby didn’t react. When he did, it started in his eyes. A flicker of annoyance. A sharpness that finally manifested itself in a simple, stilted shrug.
  23. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    And while they didn’t quite understand what made something cool—Petey especially seemed to struggle with this, pulling a spoon out of the drawer and spending fifteen minutes fawning about how cool it was—they found the entire idea irresistible.
  24. trajectory
    the path followed by an object moving through space
    He wanted to apply the same logic, the same trajectory, to his own future life in Iowa.
  25. integrity
    moral soundness
    But he also didn’t want to have to keep proving his integrity to Luke.
  26. contraband
    goods whose trade or possession is prohibited by law
    I wanted to make a joke. Something like, “How many places a dude can hide contraband?”
  27. convent
    a religious residence especially for nuns
    So I said, “I’m sure you’ve learned a lot of cuss words they don’t use up in the convent.”
  28. transcript
    a written record of dictated or recorded speech
    Toby watched him like he was reading a transcript of everything going through his head.
  29. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Toby scoffed. “C’mon, what is that guy going to do? Hit you with his travel mug? Go down there and tell her you’re going through withdrawal.”
  30. lewd
    suggestive of or tending to moral looseness
    Toby made a lewd gesture, and Luke turned away.
  31. drone
    talk in a monotonous voice
    Inside, the glow from the television lit the walls as newscasters droned on, their voices interrupted by a subtle snoring every few seconds.
  32. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    Ricky carried Doreen across the threshold as they laughed and kissed sloppily.
  33. exuberance
    joyful enthusiasm
    Doreen didn’t look much better, but the exuberance of her entry was enough to overshadow any haggardness.
  34. haggard
    showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
    Doreen didn’t look much better, but the exuberance of her entry was enough to overshadow any haggardness.
  35. gaudy
    tastelessly showy
    She held out her hand and showed a gaudy ring.
Created on Mon Oct 15 14:43:46 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 16 10:40:52 EDT 2018)

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