Sugar: List 2

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Ten-year-old Sugar endures grueling work on a sugar plantation, but her friendships with the plantation owner's son and new Chinese laborers offer her hope and community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
20 words 93 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bleary
    tired to the point of exhaustion
    “A fine worry,” Mister Beale says. Then he looks far off, with his blurry, bleary eyes.
  2. spunky
    showing courage
    I scoot closer to Mister Beale. “Were you spunky, too?” It’s hard to imagine Mister Beale as a boy, as young as me.
  3. fancy
    a false idea or illusion that is the product of imagination
    “All the more reason for you two to get to work.” Missus Beale is standing in the doorway, an apron covering her skirt and tummy, and a drying cloth in her hands. “Sugar already has too many fancies in her head. It isn’t natural.”
  4. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    I clutch my hands in prayer, just like Br’er Rabbit clutched his paws, and with all the drama I could muster, yell, “‘Please, please, pleassssse, don’t throw me in the briar patch.’”
  5. chortle
    laugh quietly or with restraint
    ‘Unstuck,’ he chortled to Hyena. ‘You silly fool. Can’t catch me. I’m free!’
  6. mangy
    affected with a skin disease causing itching and hair loss
    “Hey ya,” says Lizzie’s pa. The mangy horse jerks, the wagon wheels roll.
  7. imp
    (folklore) a small fairy-like creature that is somewhat mischievous
    I feel an imp overtaking me. I jump, stomp.
  8. flail
    thrash about
    Arms flailing, I kick up dirt, making dust. I know I’m behaving badly, but I can’t help myself. Unhappiness, like a wildfire, is burning inside me.
  9. repent
    feel sorry for; be contrite about
    Maybe Lizzie told her about me and Billy? Maybe she thinks I’ll repent and tell her who told me about Chinamen?
  10. tallow
    a hard substance used for making soap and candles
    “Get the tallow pail,” says Missus Beale, tying her blue apron.
  11. lye
    a strong solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide
    Missus Beale pours in lye.
  12. lull
    make calm or still
    Rafting is better than I remember. Waves and currents lull, making me think of Ma. How holding each other, we danced and swayed.
  13. fallow
    left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season
    Behind the garden, I see fallow fields waiting for cane.
  14. unison
    the act of occurring together or simultaneously
    In unison, me and Billy pull and lift, pull and lift, maneuvering the raft to shore.
  15. gawk
    look with amazement
    “A dollar?” I gawk.
  16. furrow
    hollow out in the form of a groove
    I stare across the fields, flat, not furrowed.
  17. whatsoever
    one or some or every or all without specification
    Grown folks mutter, murmur, “Silly child”; “No sense whatsoever”; “Just foolishness. Plain foolishness.”
  18. ruckus
    the act of making a noisy disturbance
    Missus Thornton screeches, “Somebody ought to do something with that child!” She makes sure everyone hears her. She’s pointing her finger at me. Making a ruckus.
  19. trough
    a container from which cattle or horses feed
    Then I splash water from the trough onto the ground.
  20. beady
    small, round, and shiny
    Circling closer and closer to the cypress, its white head, tilting right, its beady, yellow eyes seeing me, I feel so very, very happy.
Created on Mon Feb 03 16:59:38 EST 2020 (updated Tue Feb 04 08:24:40 EST 2020)

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