Sonny's Blues

MJKubus (United States of America)
15 words 57 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. denigrate
    attack the good name and reputation of someone
    It was mocking and insular, its intent was to denigrate.
  2. moniker
    a familiar name for a person
    6 straightened and greased 7 “sister,” “brother”: religious or group moniker—not actual siblings 8 proclaiming his religious belief 15
  3. courtyard
    an area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings
    A teacher passed through them every now and again, quickly, as though he or she couldn't wait to get out of that courtyard, to get those boys out of their sight and off their minds.
  4. parody
    a composition that imitates or misrepresents a style
    It looks like a parody of the good, clean, faceless life—God knows the people who live in it do their best to make it a parody.
  5. mores
    the conventions embodying the fundamental values of a group
    5 dictatorial, overbearing, very conscious of social standing and mores 11
  6. repulsive
    offensive to the mind or senses
    It made him repulsive and it also brought to mind what he'd looked like as a kid.
  7. ceremonious
    characterized by pomp and stately display
    Then— being funny and being, also, extremely ceremonious—Creole took Sonny by the arm and led him to the piano.
  8. quicksilver
    a metallic element that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
    It filled everything, the people, the houses, the music, the dark, quicksilver barmaid, with menace; and this menace was their reality.
  9. insular
    narrowly restricted in outlook or scope
    It was mocking and insular, its intent was to denigrate.
  10. furlough
    a temporary leave of absence, especially from military duty
    And I had a lot of things on my mind and I pretty well forgot my promise to Mama until I got shipped home on a special furlough for her funeral.
  11. overbearing
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    5 dictatorial, overbearing, very conscious of social standing and mores 11
  12. sardonic
    disdainfully or ironically humorous
    Then they finished, there was scattered applause, and then, without an instant's warning, Creole started into something else, it was almost sardonic, it was Am I Blue?
  13. menace
    something that is a source of danger
    It filled everything, the people, the houses, the music, the dark, quicksilver barmaid, with menace; and this menace was their reality.
  14. gleaming
    bright with a steady but subdued shining
    Tears were gleaming on my mother's face.
  15. revival
    an evangelistic meeting to reawaken interest in religion
    On the sidewalk across from me, near the entrance to a barbecue joint, some people were holding an old-fashioned revival meeting.
Created on Sat Sep 26 20:30:48 EDT 2020

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