Gone Crazy in Alabama: List 3

by Rita Williams-Garcia
When sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern visit relatives in Alabama, they find themselves in the middle of an unexpected family feud. Learn these words from the last book in the Gaither Sisters trilogy.

This list covers That’s Entertainment–Short for Onchetty.

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

Here are links to our lists for other books by Rita Williams-Garcia: One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
35 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ravenous
    extremely hungry
    We sat at the dinner table, mosquito-stung and ravenous from our hike.
  2. oblige
    provide a service or favor for someone
    Vonetta obliged her, only too pleased to perform.
  3. humble
    cause to feel shame
    Just when Augustus knew he’d humbled that rascal, he heard the laughter again!
  4. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    Ma Charles was more entertained than she was indignant.
  5. census
    a periodic count of the population
    When the census came around, my mama told them to put ‘colored’ for our household.
  6. yarn
    giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
    Suddenly, the little bit of family history Vonetta had first recited spun itself into a long, winding yarn.
  7. clan
    group of people related by blood or marriage
    But he still had seen it all. How his mother fell to the ground begging her brothers and uncles. So when she tells you they were a happy clan, say, ‘Yes, ma’am, Miss Trotter,’ like I showed you how.
  8. crow
    express pleasure verbally
    “I have all my remembrances of him and how he loved my mama,” she crowed.
  9. scrawny
    being very thin
    My papa was long-limbed and scrawny, but he worked hard and caused no trouble.
  10. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    She pointed her finger at me and said, “She wiped out every sprig of my generations—she hates me so. Wiped out each one but JimmyTrotter.”
  11. clamor
    utter or proclaim insistently and noisily
    Fern mistook the chickens clamoring about her for their need to talk, so whatever she had to say about the new baby she said to the chickens.
  12. determined
    characterized by great firmness of purpose
    It seemed the sisters shared their father equally but they were determined to prove which one was the right and true daughter of Slim Jim Trotter.
  13. bigamy
    the offense of marrying someone while you have a spouse
    “So, you see, dear one,” she said sweetly, “it was her mama’s fault the law went looking for my father on the charge of bigamy.”
  14. mockery
    humorous or satirical mimicry
    So instead of making a mockery of my mother and me, and our holy union as a family under God, my father spared us from being the town joke.
  15. awe
    an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
    I couldn’t hide my awe and envy.
  16. wane
    become smaller
    Even the kick we got out of having our own pecan tree or gathering peaches and lemons from Mr. Lucas’s trees waned after a short while.
  17. killjoy
    someone who spoils the pleasure of others
    I knew better than to not call my grandmother but I was tired of being a killjoy, and my sisters and I were back in step with one another.
  18. rebuke
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
    My cousin stiffened under the sheriff’s questions and rebuke and could only say, “Sorry, Sheriff Charles.”
  19. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    JimmyTrotter shook his head like we were ignorant lunatics.
  20. consternation
    sudden shock or dismay that causes confusion
    To Big Ma’s consternation, Mr. Lucas stepped out on his porch and called out, “Ophelia! Ophelia!” like her name was a song.
  21. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
    And even though she insisted we fry our hair to a crisp for Sunday services, she only had to pass the hot comb once, maybe twice, through her own hair on the one day of the week she deemed was proper to wear it without the wig.
  22. outfox
    outdo someone in trickery
    Fern knew when she was being outfoxed and wouldn’t stand for it.
  23. baste
    cover with liquid before cooking
    JimmyTrotter kept basting and salting the meat.
  24. venison
    meat from a deer used as food
    We ate the smoky venison meat except Fern, who ate a piece of bread.
  25. anticipation
    expecting with confidence of fulfillment
    In fact, she clapped her hands and rubbed them together in anticipation when Big Ma unwrapped the meat.
  26. inauguration
    the ceremonial induction into a position
    “We have a television set,” JimmyTrotter sang to Fern, all the while smiling at Miss Trotter. “It hasn’t worked since George Wallace’s inauguration.”
  27. segregation
    a social system that provides different facilities for minority groups
    He collected himself and said, “Miss Trotter threw a pot at the TV just after the governor stood where Jefferson Davis had once stood, and shouted, ‘Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.’”
  28. doily
    a small round piece of decorative linen or paper
    The yellowed doily that the framed photo sat upon draped slightly over the cabinet.
  29. flourish
    a showy gesture
    JimmyTrotter opened the doors to the wooden cabinet with a fancy flourish so we could see what had been hidden inside.
  30. amble
    walk leisurely
    Miss Trotter ambled up to the cabinet and traced her hand along the wood and even the glass, which was dusty.
  31. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    “I don’t have all day to coax her to yield what she’s supposed to yield in the first place. She’s a milk cow. She’s supposed to milk.”
  32. yield
    give or supply
    “I don’t have all day to coax her to yield what she’s supposed to yield in the first place. She’s a milk cow. She’s supposed to milk.”
  33. cue
    a reminder for some action or speech
    “Like that angry bear.” She pointed to Fern and Fern growled on cue. “The earth doesn’t take to being poked. Not its sky or beyond its sky. No, sir! The earth doesn’t like it.”
  34. deprive
    keep from having, keeping, or obtaining
    “Boy, I won’t stop you from chasing your heart’s desire. No, no. I won’t deprive you of things that fly. It comes to you naturally.”
  35. willful
    habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition
    She shook her head willfully. “I won’t go so she can talk to me as if I’m a beggar looking at her generations, when she knows I hunger for my own. No. I won’t go sit in her mother’s house.”
Created on Tue Feb 12 20:45:28 EST 2019 (updated Thu Feb 28 15:26:40 EST 2019)

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