Running Out of Time: Chapters 17–25

by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Jessie learns that the 19th-century frontier village she lives in is actually a 20th-century tourist attraction — and she must venture out into the modern world to find life-saving medicine for her community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–16, Chapters 17–25
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hooligan
    a rowdy, violent, and typically youthful troublemaker
    They sound like ordinary hooligans. Has anyone else tried to stop you?
  2. exposure
    the act of subjecting someone to an influencing experience
    “I take it this is your first exposure to radio,” he said.
  3. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    Another turn, and different music thrummed out, loud and raucous.
  4. outlandish
    noticeably or extremely unconventional or unusual
    The idea of a radio was so outlandish, Jessie almost thought Mr. Neeley was playing a prank on her.
  5. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    Radio wasn’t any more preposterous than the miracle lights she’d seen under Clifton, or the cars that moved without horses, or the strange cold that surrounded the bottles at the Stopping Point.
  6. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Jessie gasped out loud, then clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise.
  7. huffy
    roused to anger
    Then Mr. Neeley again, sounding huffy: “All right, all right. I’ll double-check. I’ll lock her in if it makes you feel better—”
  8. sprawl
    go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
    At the edge of the bed, Jessie tripped over her own boots. She went sprawling, her head striking the bedside table.
  9. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    Disoriented, she looked around the sunny, unfamiliar room.
  10. liniment
    a topical liquid that relieves muscle stiffness and pain
    “I need someone to take care of me,” she murmured to herself, wishing for Ma’s best liniment and soothing touch.
  11. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    It had been easy to pretend when all she faced was little old Crooked Creek or some silly half-trained horse. That "bravery"—bravado, really—had just been to impress the other Clifton children.
  12. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Jessie strapped her pack around her waist and stepped gingerly back to the window.
  13. communicable
    (of disease) capable of being spread by infection
    If there is an actual communicable disease report to be made, we will accept it only from a qualified physician.
  14. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    Just one quote, over and over: ‘All the information we wish to divulge is in the fax.’
  15. substantiate
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
    “If this were true, it would be an incredible story. And we want to help you. But you can’t substantiate any of your claims, or explain how this fits with Clifton Village closing down. We can’t use vague allegations like this. Can’t you tell us anything else?”
  16. allegation
    statement affirming matters that you are prepared to prove
    “If this were true, it would be an incredible story. And we want to help you. But you can’t substantiate any of your claims, or explain how this fits with Clifton Village closing down. We can’t use vague allegations like this. Can’t you tell us anything else?”
  17. idealism
    belief that the best possible concepts should be pursued
    “What is this—Journalistic Idealism 101?” Joe scoffed. “You know all you really care about is ratings. Isn’t this sweeps week?”
  18. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    Jessie fell into troubled sleep and dreamed that Mr. Neeley and Ray and Tol were chasing her, brandishing giant phones the size of clubs.
  19. demure
    suggestive of modesty or reserve
    Hannah looked down demurely.
  20. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    He kept talking, oblivious.
  21. restitution
    a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury
    Mr. Clifton has apologized to all involved. He’s cooperating with the criminal investigation and says he wants to make restitution to the grieving families.
  22. drawl
    speak in a slow and drawn out way
    But the voice Jessie heard was a woman’s, soft and drawling and angry.
  23. specimen
    an example regarded as typical of its class
    But in the long term, the human race is weakened by all the weaker specimens surviving and passing on their weak genes. We wanted to create a strong gene pool that would endure even if the rest of humanity were wiped out—
  24. relapse
    a failure to maintain a higher state
    You’ve been very sick, and you aren’t out of the woods yet. A severe shock could send you into a relapse.
  25. gazette
    a newspaper or official journal
    She found the bunch of roses with the card that said, “The next time you have a news conference, I won’t doubt you at all. Get well soon. Bob Haverford, Indianapolis Gazette."
  26. delusion
    a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
    They’re beginning to ask all sorts of questions, though, about whether the adults in Clifton were suffering mass delusion—like maybe they were free to go, but because they didn’t think they were free, they’re not responsible for their actions.
  27. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    After you escaped, they rushed to close Clifton Village entirely to the outside world. But that actually backfired—it just made the media suspicious enough to show up for your news conference.
  28. exertion
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    Jessie climbed to the top of the King of the Mountain rock and sat down, pulling her knees against her chest. She still didn’t have her full strength back after the sickness, and her legs trembled a little from the exertion.
  29. calico
    coarse cloth with a bright print
    Jessie bunched up her calico skirt in her hand.
  30. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    And she couldn’t understand why the others didn’t see the difference in Ma and Pa: Ma, who cried sometimes when she thought no one was looking, and Pa, who had to be cajoled to wear modern clothes or talk about anything that happened after August 1840.
Created on Tue Jul 20 10:12:28 EDT 2021 (updated Wed Jul 21 11:55:24 EDT 2021)

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