All the Days Past, All the Days to Come: List 3

by Mildred D. Taylor
In the final book of the Logan Family Saga, Cassie Logan, now a young woman, overcomes prejudice and heartbreak as she tries to find her place in the world.

This list covers "Cassie's Love Story, Chapter II"– "Going Home."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 17 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. overture
    a tentative suggestion to elicit the reactions of others
    ...he made no overtures to do so.
  2. invigorate
    make lively
    The class invigorated me. After each class I shared what I had learned with Flynn and he was always attentive, asking questions, and he delighted in my enthusiasm.
  3. intact
    undamaged in any way
    After all, this was a university, a place of higher learning and highly educated people, where ethics were taught and moral values were supposed to be intact.
  4. intercede
    act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
    The officer holding Flynn glanced over at me and said, “Gal, you know, we can take you in too.”
    Flynn interceded. “Look, she’s done nothing! She has nothing to do with this!”
  5. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    I declined their offer but thanked them profusely for their help.
  6. chagrin
    cause to feel shame
    J.D. sat on the sofa, his head lowered, looking chagrined.
  7. exhort
    urge or force in an indicated direction
    “It’s not all right!” exhorted Justine. “You need your sleep!”
  8. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    After that, there was only silence as Justine plopped down on the sofa beside the forlorn J.D.
  9. encroach
    impinge or infringe upon
    It was the kind of love that angered me when others encroached upon it.
  10. attest
    authenticate; affirm to be true, genuine, or correct
    “It was wartime," he attested. “I thought I’d have to go to war.”
  11. mar
    cause to become imperfect
    Since then, nothing else had marred our happiness.
  12. vindictive
    disposed to seek revenge or intended for revenge
    “Cassie, the car belongs to me. I repaid Faye for the payment I missed, but now she’s just being vindictive and she wants me to sign the car over to her.”
  13. contention
    a dispute where there is strong disagreement
    Flynn was stubborn and so was I. I refused to ride in the car. Flynn refused to give it up. It remained a point of contention between us.
  14. speculate
    talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way
    But both Clayton Chester and Rachel firmly insisted that they were only friends, just as they had been since childhood. We took them at their word, though we speculated that Rachel would be a perfect fit to the family.
  15. curt
    brief and to the point
    “Not your business,” Mama stated curtly.
  16. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    The woman’s look was condescending.
  17. azure
    bright blue in color, like a clear sky
    I leaned my back against his chest and we gazed out at the azure sky against azure water.
  18. succumb
    give in, as to overwhelming force, influence, or pressure
    I put my arms over his shoulders and clasped my hands behind his neck and succumbed, kissing him long, then I pulled away and got up quickly from the sand.
  19. helm
    steering mechanism for a vessel
    Despite that, we knew we were always welcome on the boat, and in April, during one of its early voyages, Flynn and I were on board, along with Jorge, Justine, and J.D., with Señor Peña at the helm.
  20. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    The bright sunshine that had ushered us onto the water was gone, and dark, ominous clouds were gathering.
  21. quip
    make jokes or witty remarks
    “What I tell you?” Justine quipped irritably. “You tend to your wife. Let me tend to me.”
  22. incoherent
    unable to express yourself clearly or fluently
    J.D. was as useless as I was, muttering over and over again, incoherent words.
  23. pristine
    completely free from dirt or contamination
    As I stared out at the beauty before me, at the pristine town, the cobalt sky, the rugged Flatirons, the infinite mountain range, for a few moments, I forgot my sorrow.
  24. delirious
    experiencing hallucinations
    It was Uncle Hammer who claimed Flynn’s body when it was recovered after Señor Peña and Jorge had pulled me, crazed and delirious, from the water.
  25. shroud
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
    There was no describing the loneliness, no way to expel it. It was a shroud that enwrapped me and cast doubt of living over my whole being, but somehow deep inside me I knew I had to go on.
  26. clerical
    appropriate for or engaged in office work
    With my political science professor’s help, I was able to get a part-time job at the university doing clerical work.
  27. enmesh
    entangle in or as if in a net
    There was such splendor in this place, and a fairness in people like Dr. Skurnik, or so I thought; I also reminded myself that here I was, totally enmeshed in a white world.
  28. correspondence
    communication by the exchange of letters
    I smiled at that, and as we all sat, Dr. Skurnik behind his desk, and Brad Buchanan and I in chairs in front of it, Brad Buchanan turned to me and said, “I’ve looked at the correspondence—”
  29. gratis
    costing nothing
    “I didn’t say I wanted a lawyer.”
    “I know, but whatever advice he offers will be gratis. He knows you’re a student.”
  30. contend
    maintain or assert
    “Unfortunately,” Brad Buchanan went on, “the medical center is a private professional corporation and they can contend that they have a right to exclude or accept as patients anyone they choose.”
  31. render
    give or supply
    They would not render an apology.
  32. despondent
    without or almost without hope
    I read the letter over and over again, thought about it, was infuriated by it, frustrated by it, insulted by it, despondent about it, but in the end I decided to let it be.
  33. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    “Even with all these people traipsing in and out of your bedroom to go down to wash or get to their room?”
  34. undertaking
    any piece of work that is attempted
    “But a lawyer...that’s a high undertaking. You know of any colored women lawyers?”
  35. impeccable
    without error or flaw
    If I went to Howard—the oldest Negro law school, established only years after slavery in 1869, a law school with an impeccable reputation but an all-Negro student body—I could be comfortable in classes with other Negro students, facing the same challenges together.
Created on Thu Feb 11 16:28:09 EST 2021 (updated Fri Feb 19 15:32:02 EST 2021)

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