Small Steps: Chapters 1–9

by Louis Sachar
In this sequel to the novel Holes, Theodore "Armpit" Johnson is hoping for a fresh start, but he gets caught up in a series of strange adventures when he reconnects with his old friend X-Ray.

Here are the links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–29, Chapters 30–36

Here is a link to our lists for Holes by Louis Sachar.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reputation
    notoriety for some particular characteristic
    Austin had a reputation for being a little weird, and the mayor fit right in.
  2. aback
    by surprise
    Afraid of his own strength, Armpit tried not to grip the elderly woman’s hand too hard, and was a little taken aback by the firmness of her handshake.
  3. recidivism
    habitual relapse into crime
    The counselor there told them that the recidivism rate for African American boys was seventy-three percent.
  4. annoying
    causing irritation
    X-Ray had the kind of smile that kept you from hating him no matter how annoying he was.
  5. confidential
    given in secret
    Everything she said in her therapy sessions was supposed to be confidential, but Kaira suspected that Polly, like a parrot, repeated everything to El Genius.
  6. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    The backup singers were in their late twenties, but they seemed to resent her being the center of attention.
  7. classy
    elegant and fashionable
    El Genius thought it looked classy for DeLeon to be spelled as one word, with a capital letter in the middle.
  8. sassy
    improperly forward or bold
    “Kind of sassy, and playful, you know? You can always tell it’s her.”
  9. critique
    a serious examination and judgment of something
    “I don’t want a critique! I want six hundred dollars.”
  10. transform
    change or alter in appearance or nature
    The siren noise had been made by an electric guitar, which slowly wound down and transformed into a flurry of notes and chords.
  11. scowl
    frown with displeasure
    “Just wait a sec—”
    He scowled as he returned his phone to his belt.
  12. marionette
    a figure operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
    She reminded Armpit of a marionette who was also her own puppeteer.
  13. palsy
    a medical condition marked by uncontrollable tremor
    She had been born with cerebral palsy.
  14. respect
    a feeling of friendship and esteem
    A few neighborhood kids called her spaz, and retard, but most treated her with respect because she was a friend of Armpit’s, and because she was willing to answer their questions.
  15. taunt
    a cruel or scornful remark
    If there was a taunt in the question she never noticed.
  16. install
    set up for use
    Even though the two families lived inside it, the house was smaller than most of the homes in west Austin where Armpit planted shrubs and installed irrigation systems.
  17. humidity
    wetness in the atmosphere
    At eight-fifty-five in the morning the temperature was already in the mid-eighties, and the humidity made it seem even hotter.
  18. extemporaneous
    with little or no preparation or forethought
    Fortunately, there were no extemporaneous speeches this day.
  19. drought
    a shortage of rainfall
    Somehow by looking at the graphs he was supposed to be able to tell what would happen to the price of a cup of coffee if there was a drought in Brazil.
  20. venue
    the scene of any event or action
    “Everyone gets salaries, per diems, travel expenses. And then there are additional costs associated with each venue.”
  21. exposure
    presentation to view in an open or public manner
    Right now, it’s all about exposure. Getting your name out there. Getting your songs on the radio.
  22. patronizing
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    She didn’t like his patronizing tone.
  23. ignore
    give little or no attention to
    A piece of gravel dug into his back, but the more he tried to smooth it out the worse it got, so he did his best to ignore it.
  24. distress
    a state of adversity
    Oh, you would never guess, Armpit,
    A damsel in distress.
  25. reserved
    set aside for the use of a particular person or party
    “The first few rows are reserved for friends and radio stations. It’s a rip-off, but what can you do?”
  26. concierge
    a caretaker in an apartment complex or hotel
    Every hotel concierge knows who to call if some guest wants tickets.
  27. menacing
    threatening evil or danger
    He usually pretended not to notice, but sometimes he’d give the guy a menacing glare as if to say, “Yeah, you better stay out of my way!”
  28. reimburse
    compensate, as for a loss
    Their homes might have been worth half a million dollars, but they still expected Armpit’s boss to reimburse them five bucks if Armpit accidentally stepped on a daffodil.
  29. avail
    a means of serving
    He went at it with an axe, hacking off many of its offshoots, but to no avail.
  30. abduct
    take away to an undisclosed location against their will
    Maybe she was memorizing his face, in case it turned out the girl had been abducted.
  31. urge
    push for something
    One girl had urged everyone to vote for Milford the Monkey because if he became ruler of the world, he would plant a million banana trees, and that would stop the destruction of the rain forests and help prevent global warming.
  32. submit
    hand over formally
    “We just got to do something,” Armpit said as he hurried outside, knowing he’d have to submit a sample when he returned.
  33. claustrophobic
    uncomfortably closed or hemmed in
    Armpit was feeling claustrophobic in the car and stepped out to stretch.
  34. lurch
    move abruptly
    X-Ray yelled an obscenity out his window, then lurched out of the parking lot and into traffic.
  35. tactic
    a plan for attaining a particular goal
    Cole wasn’t expecting an answer, but Armpit copied Ginny’s tactic and gave him one.
Created on Tue Mar 18 16:31:32 EDT 2014 (updated Mon Jul 30 15:20:45 EDT 2018)

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