As used by Kathryn Stockett in "The Help"

bks (United States of America)
Stockett wrote narration and characters speaking both standard English and a Southern Black dialect. This makes her book a storehouse of words in context and context for practicing correcting nonstandard English. This list will collect some of the individual words that students and tutors may use to build vocabulary — and to expand their enjoyment of the book.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lanky
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    "lanky as a fourteen-year-old boy"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen
  2. accepting
    tolerating without protest
    "I just didn't feel so accepting any more."
    Chapter 1 Aibileen
  3. stationery
    paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters
    "tore up my good stationery"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Miss Leefolt
    How is this word different from "stationary"?
  4. palsy
    a medical condition marked by uncontrollable tremor
    "She['s] getting the palsy."
    Chapter 1, Aibileen
  5. congealed
    congealed into jelly; solidified by cooling
    "I spoon out the congealed salad."
    Chapter 1, Aibileen
    What are some other names for "congealed salad"?
  6. sustainer
    someone who upholds or maintains
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly about a particular level of support for the Jackson League
    What are some other uses for forms of "sustain"?
  7. delicate
    easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    "clearing her throat real delicate-like"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen describing Hilly
  8. sideboard
    a piece of dining room furniture with shelves and drawers
    "the silverware drawer in the sideboard"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen
  9. heirloom
    something that has been in a family for generations
    "'so that she can steal every last heirloom I have left'"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  10. collapse
    an abrupt failure of function or complete exhaustion
    "in case she collapses dead of hunger"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  11. malnutrition
    a state of poor nourishment
    "'I think you're malnutritioned, Mama'" Is this a correct form of the word? What about "mal-nutritious," as Aibileen reports it to Minny in Ch.2?
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  12. preventative
    tending to hinder
    "'as a disease-preventative measure'"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  13. sanitation
    the state of being clean and conducive to health
    "'the Home Help Sanitation Initiative'"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  14. initiative
    serving to set in motion
    "'the Home Help Sanitation Initiative'"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  15. quarters
    housing available for people to live in
    "'houses ... without maid's quarters'"?
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
    Why might African-Americans like Aibilene especially resent such references to "quarters" for them?
  16. measure
    a statute in draft before it becomes law
    "'as a disease-preventative measure'"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
    What are other meanings of the word "measure" as a noun or a verb?
  17. endorse
    give support or one's approval to
    "'if he'll endorse the idea'"
    Chapter 1, Aibileen quoting Hilly
  18. plantation
    an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale
    "... on the Longleaf cotton plantation"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  19. accounting
    the occupation of maintaining records for a business
    "back to his accounting job"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen referring to Mr. Leefolt
  20. sorority
    a social club for female undergraduates
    "trips to New Orleans with your sorority sisters"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen quoting Raleigh Leefolt
  21. personality
    the complex of attributes that characterize an individual
    "You might say Gessum [Avenue] [got] a lot [a] personality." How can a street have personality?
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  22. tithe
    pay one tenth of
    "tithing to the church"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen ("tithing")
    also a noun
  23. chauffeur
    drive someone in a vehicle
    "'What do you think I am? A chauffeur?'"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen (Minny)
    The noun is the same form.
  24. coverall
    a loose-fitting protective garment that is worn over other clothing
    "[Got] coveralls on over a white collar[ed] shirt."
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  25. candelabra
    branched candlestick; ornamental; has several lights
    "'... I stole a candelabra from Miss Walters.'"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen quoting Minny
    Note that a holder for a single candle is formally a candelabrum, but this form is rarely used.
  26. panting
    breathing heavily (as after exertion)
    "She start[s] making this panting noise."
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  27. wail
    a cry of sorrow and grief
    "She['s] wailing now"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  28. sway
    move back and forth
    "I can almost see [th]em, swaying in my kitchen."
    Chapter 2, Aibileen (swaying)
  29. whereabouts
    the general location of someone or something
    "the whereabouts [of] Constantine"
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  30. rheumatism
    any painful disorder of the joints or muscles
    "ailing from [the] rheumatism"
    Chapter 2 Aibileen
    Compare "rheumatic fever" or "rheumy eyes"
  31. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    "This [is] a real predicament, I see."
    Chapter 2, Aibileen
  32. pulley
    a wheel with a groove in which a rope can run
    "a science project with pulleys and rings"
    Chapter 2 Aibileen
  33. rehearsal
    a form of practice
    "I rehearse what to say,"
    Chapter 3 Minny (rehearse)
  34. mansion
    a large and imposing house
    "this big mansion out in the country"
    Chapter 3 Minny
  35. surround
    extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle
    "Woods surround the lawn on every side."
    Chapter 3 Minny
  36. interview
    the questioning of a person, often conducted by journalists
    "asked if I'd come interview" How is this verb different from the noun as it's defined?
    Chapter 3 Minny
  37. recommendation
    praise of a person or thing as worthy or desirable
    "'I was [real] glad to get the recommendation from Missus Walters'"
    Chapter 3 Minny (Celia Foote)
  38. fidget
    move restlessly
    "She clears her throat, fidgets."
    Chapter 3 Minny
  39. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    "'He strut[ted] around the kitchen like a plumed rooster"
    Chapter 3 Minny
  40. interrupt
    make a break in
    I'm the only thing that interrupts all that quiet around her.
    Chapter 4 Minny
  41. task
    a specific piece of work required to be done
    My housekeeping tasks fall on the same days.
    Chapter 4 Minny
  42. thread
    a fine cord of twisted fibers used in sewing and weaving
    minding the antique [rugs] with a hand broom so they don't thread
    Chapter 4 Minny
    Minny uses this word as a verb related to "threadbare."
  43. cardiac
    of or relating to the heart
    [The cat about gave me a cardiac arrest thinking it was Mr. Johnny.]
    Chapter 4 Minny
    Actually, Minny says "cadillac" arrest.
  44. suspicion
    doubt about someone's honesty
    I guess she can see the [suspicion] in my eye.
    Chapter 4 Minny
    Minny uses the wrong form of the word.
  45. reverie
    absentminded dreaming while awake
    I am lost in a peach-peeling reverie.
    Chapter 4 Minny
  46. panting
    breathing heavily (as after exertion)
    all I can hear is my own panting
    Chapter 4 Minny
Created on Sun Oct 20 19:09:29 EDT 2013 (updated Tue Nov 19 22:52:37 EST 2013)

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