Lifeboat 12: List 1

by Susan Hood
During World War II, six boys struggle to survive in a lifeboat after their ship is hit by a torpedo.

This list covers "The Envelope"–"Welcome, Young Sir!"

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
30 words 353 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cheeky
    offensively bold
    “That is not addressed to you.
    Charles! Charles!
    This cheeky son of yours
    wants a good clout about the ears!”
  2. clout
    (boxing) a blow with the fist
    “That is not addressed to you.
    Charles! Charles!
    This cheeky son of yours
    wants a good clout about the ears!”
  3. ration
    the food allowance for one day
    With your father out of work,
    money is tight.
    We can rent out your room
    to help pay for rations.
  4. buccaneer
    someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea
    My stories
    of buccaneers and buried gold,
    cowboys, braves and days of old....
  5. waft
    blow gently
    The charcoal-scented smoke wafts away
    and my fury with it.
  6. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    A black ant
    makes his way along the
    gnarled branch
    high off the ground.
  7. folly
    foolish or senseless behavior
    It will be an adventure...
    far from the rations,
    far from my stepmum’s scowl,
    far from teacher’s cane,
    far from the war...
    ’twould be folly to miss this chance.
  8. hunker down
    take shelter
    I hunker down,
    and stare at the floor,
    sleepless, in shock.
  9. blitzkrieg
    a military offensive with intensive aerial bombardment
    “Short for blitzkrieg,” he says,
    “German for ‘lightning war.’”
  10. rubble
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    Dazed people
    pick their way
    through piles of rubble,
    past a three-story house
    with the front walls blown off.
  11. shrapnel
    shell containing lead pellets that explodes in flight
    “Shrapnel,” says Dad.
  12. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    I pick up the twisted metal shard
    and pocket it—
    a memento of the day,
    of London in pieces;
    a reminder of how lucky I am
    to be whole, to be alive.
  13. memento
    a reminder of past events
    I pick up the twisted metal shard
    and pocket it—
    a memento of the day,
    of London in pieces;
    a reminder of how lucky I am
    to be whole, to be alive.
  14. daft
    foolish or mentally irregular
    “We should bring an oil stove inside
    to help us stay warm,” says one neighbor.

    “Don’t be daft!” says another.
    “It would use up the oxygen!”
  15. suffocate
    deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
    Some shelter this is.
    Spooky, stinking, suffocating.
  16. collective
    done by or characteristic of individuals acting together
    We breathe out
    a collective sigh,
    and get ready to go home...

    till the sirens wail again.
  17. pore
    direct one's attention on something
    But I need answers,
    so I’ve pored over books at the library,
    ever since England declared war on Germany
    a year ago.
  18. linger
    leave slowly and hesitantly
    There are no tears
    from my stepmum,
    no clinging,
    no hugs,
    no lingering last looks.
  19. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    We climb wearily
    back aboard the
    train and lurch along...
  20. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    We slink along, mile upon mile,
    to a secret port
    who knows where....
  21. gape
    look with amazement
    Gaping,
    we’re led off the bus.
  22. grim
    harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
    We’re led
    to two grim brick buildings
    with long black windows
    straight out of Dickens—
    boys in one, girls in the other.
  23. lanky
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    “Come, lads,” says a lanky priest.
  24. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    In the morning,
    Terry and I venture outside
    to join the boys racing round
    the orphanage schoolyard.
  25. infiltrate
    pass into or through by filtering or permeating
    “No diseases must be allowed
    to infiltrate the Dominion!”
    says Father with a smile.
  26. dominion
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
    “No diseases must be allowed
    to infiltrate the Dominion!”
    says Father with a smile.
  27. stately
    impressive in appearance
    She looks stately, regal,
    far too important
    for poor blokes like us.
  28. regal
    belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    She looks stately, regal,
    far too important
    for poor blokes like us.
  29. aft
    situated at or toward the stern or tail
    He gestures to the stairs
    and then leads the way
    to our cabins
    in the aft of the ship...
  30. starboard
    right side of a ship or aircraft to someone facing the bow
    46 boys to port
    44 girls to starboard.
Created on Sun Jul 26 20:06:09 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Mar 11 15:46:34 EST 2021)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.