Saint Louis Armstrong Beach: In the Palm of My Hand–Saturday, August 27, 2005

by Brenda Woods
Twelve-year-old Saint and his dog, Shadow, grapple with the devastating Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

This list covers "In the Palm of My Hand"–"Saturday, August 27, 2005."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incurable
    incapable of being remedied
    "That’s good,” I said, then asked, “But if a person had an incurable disease, they’d know, right?”
  2. premonition
    an early warning about a future event
    “And suppose someone was going to be in an accident. Do you think they’d have a...what’s it called—a premo—?” Suddenly Pops took his eyes off the road and glanced around at me. “A premonition?”
  3. repent
    turn away from sin or do penitence
    Then, as we were turning into the church parking lot, I saw a guy who looked like he was homeless holding a sign with printed words that said THE END IS NEAR—REPENT.
  4. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    “None of us know how much time we have left on this earth,” Father Collins preached from the pulpit.
  5. scowl
    frown with displeasure
    Jupi extended her hand to me. “Peace be with you, Saint." I slipped my hand into my pocket and scowled at her.
  6. vamoose
    leave suddenly
    The look on his face had me convinced the word no was about to come out of his mouth, but probably because most parents want their kids to hang out in libraries, he instead said, “To the library and nowhere else, y’all promise.”
    We gave our word and vamoosed.
  7. evacuate
    move out of an unsafe location into safety
    Remembering last year’s Hurricane Ivan and the seven hours it took for us to travel eighty miles to my gramma’s house in Baton Rouge, I sighed. “Tell me we’re not gonna have to evacuate again.”
  8. straggle
    wander from a direct or straight course
    I opened the door and scanned the sky. Except for a single straggly cloud, it was clear and bright blue. Meteorologists can be wrong, I thought.
  9. meteorologist
    a specialist who studies weather conditions
    I opened the door and scanned the sky. Except for a single straggly cloud, it was clear and bright blue. Meteorologists can be wrong, I thought.
  10. pitiful
    deserving or inciting compassion
    Something smelled fishy. That was way too easy. I didn’t even have to use my pitiful look.
  11. accomplice
    a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan
    Still, I needed a plan of action to make sure Shadow would be around. In no time at all I had one, but I needed a sneaky accomplice—MonaLisa, of course.
  12. muzzle
    a leather or wire restraint that fits over an animal's snout
    And then I heard, “Saint!” I’d forgotten one thing, a muzzle.
  13. levee
    an embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing
    Watched ’em build them levees ’long Pontchartrain after that storm in ’47.
  14. blare
    make a loud noise
    Her television was blaring with hurricane news.
  15. grimace
    contort the face to indicate a certain mental state
    MonaLisa grimaced. “She has the biggest mouth on earth. Wants everyone in the neighborhood to know.”
  16. breach
    make an opening or gap in
    He stared at the television that was mounted to the ceiling. Hurricane news blared. “As long as the levees don’t get breached, it should be fine.”
  17. frugal
    avoiding waste
    “You bought it for me? Are you kiddin’? That’s a lot of money, Smokey.”
    “Don’t you worry. I’ve been, shall we say, frugal.”
  18. destiny
    the ultimate agency predetermining the course of events
    Smokey glanced at his watch. “Well, Saint, I spoze something called destiny brought us together today, but I promised my son I’d be home where he can find me, just in case New Orleans comes under siege and we are forced to once again retreat. I hope to see you sometime soon.”
  19. mandatory
    required by rule
    “Is evacuation mandatory?”
  20. plod
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I hung my head and plodded home.
  21. confide
    reveal in private
    “I have my sources,” I confided slyly as I sat down to eat.
  22. dispatch
    the property of being prompt and efficient
    “Hard work makes time move with dispatch,” Squirrel commented as we hammered and sawed.
  23. eavesdrop
    listen without the speaker's knowledge
    Much later, when Mama finally got home from work, the argument began. I cracked my door and eavesdropped.
  24. spout
    talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
    “Thought you had a compromise?” I spouted flippantly.
  25. flippant
    showing an inappropriate lack of seriousness
    “Thought you had a compromise?” I spouted flippantly.
Created on Tue Aug 31 10:57:03 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Sep 07 13:44:46 EDT 2021)

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