145th Street: A Christmas Story–Block Party

by Walter Dean Myers
Peaches, Squeezie, Monkeyman, Benny, Mack and Kitty—these are just some of the Harlem residents with vivid stories to tell in this collection from Newbery-winner Walter Dean Myers.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Big Joe's Funeral–Angela's Eyes, The Streak–Kitty and Mack, A Christmas Story–Block Party

Here are links to our lists for other works by Walter Dean Myers: Fallen Angels, Monster, Slam!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. precinct
    an administrative district of a city or town
    Patrolman William Michael O’Brien had heard about her shortly after his assignment to the precinct, but it wasn’t until nearly three months later that he actually met the old woman.
  2. adjoin
    lie next to another or share a boundary
    “She’s in here,” the girl said, and went into the adjoining room.
  3. ebony
    a very dark black
    Her skin was a dull ebony that seemed almost purple in the light of the lamp by her bed.
  4. medieval
    relating to or belonging to the Middle Ages
    Her gray hair, still streaked with wisps of black and thinner on the sides than on the top, framed her face and, catching the light, made her look like a black version of a painted medieval saint.
  5. graft
    the practice of offering something for an illegal advantage
    “What’s this I hear about you taking graft?”
  6. flimsy
    lacking solidity or strength
    He flipped open the flimsy box and took out the contents.
  7. hassle
    annoying inconvenience, trouble, or disturbance
    We had another guy here about two years ago that straightened out a hassle she had with her landlord.
  8. motto
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    It didn’t take O’Brien long to subscribe to the precinct motto—Eight and Straight.
  9. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    He tousled his daughter’s hair and sat on the couch.
  10. snatch
    a small fragment
    He also heard snatches of the conversation drifting from the kitchen.
  11. regal
    belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    He was sitting in his favorite armchair, feeling especially regal in the smoking jacket that Kathy had given him, watching a college football game, when Kathy and Meaghan came into the room with their coats on.
  12. wail
    a cry of sorrow and grief
    Street noises drifted up from the street. The roar of buses. A fire engine’s wail. Snatches of music.
  13. determined
    characterized by great firmness of purpose
    He hit at them with his whip and tried to block them but they were determined.
  14. syringe
    a medical instrument used to inject or withdraw fluids
    Sweet Jimmy handed Big Time the syringe and said something that Big Time didn’t quite catch.
  15. mellow
    become more relaxed, easygoing, or genial
    Hold off the nausea and mellow out slow. He was down with the easy way.
  16. flush
    flow freely
    Big Time felt himself flushing, felt the drugs flooding through his body, felt himself easing into that state in which he just didn’t care about anything.
  17. flak
    intense adverse criticism
    If you bring me down I got to turn you loose because you get in the way of business. Wack don’t walk and flak don’t talk in no business...
  18. fatigue
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    Leaning against the wall he closed his eyes and listened for the feelings that rumbled through his silence. Nausea? So soon? No, just fatigue.
  19. recital
    a detailed account or description of something
    It was growing cold but he still didn’t want to go home and listen to his mother’s recital of his failings.
  20. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    Beyond the roof of the warehouse the ’hood lay in smoldering darkness, the amber lights of the sleepless glaring, forming odd patterns of bothered art.
  21. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    Even farther below, the streetlights marked off sullen pathways that squared back into themselves.
  22. tension
    a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
    “You come up the fire escape?” Benny asked, his voice high and still filled with tension.
  23. surge
    rise rapidly
    “Shut up, man!” Big Time felt the anger surge in him.
  24. desperate
    arising from or marked by anguish or loss of hope
    He watched Benny go to the door and pull on it, his small body looking even smaller as it became more desperate.
  25. protruding
    extending out above or beyond a surface or boundary
    There were a few bricks protruding from the wall.
  26. heave
    rise and move up and down, as in waves
    Benny started to choke, his chest heaving up and down with his coughing.
  27. cinder
    a fragment of incombustible matter left after a fire
    The fire crackled and a shower of cinders came from one corner.
  28. conservative
    resistant to change
    Me and Peaches, who are both on a conservative tip, were standing in front of my crib checking things out.
  29. homely
    lacking in physical beauty or proportion
    I’m not homely but I don’t have Peaches’ looks so I was scopin’ and hopin’, if you know what I mean.
  30. juvenile
    of or relating to children or young people
    He had even been in the Juvenile Detention Facility last Christmas for snatching a white lady’s pocketbook.
Created on Tue May 26 19:35:58 EDT 2015 (updated Mon Sep 10 16:11:17 EDT 2018)

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