Elsewhere: List 5

by Gabrielle Zevin
After her death, fifteen-year-old Liz ends up in a strange place called Elsewhere, where she will have to live her life in reverse until she becomes a baby again.

This list covers Part III–Epilogue.

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

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. intimate
    someone to whom private matters are confided
    And there will be other lives for a man you don’t recognize, for a face in a mirror that is no longer yours, for the funerals of intimates, for shrinking, for teeth that fall out, for hair on your chin, for forgetting everything.
  2. concurrent
    occurring or operating at the same time
    Oh, there are so many lives. How we wish we could live them concurrently instead of one by one by one.
  3. palimpsest
    a manuscript on which more than one text has been written
    From his coat pocket, he removes a green recorked wine bottle with a sticky palimpsest where the label had once been.
  4. pleat
    make folds in a garment or piece of fabric
    (The envelope is really more pleated than rolled, because of the thickness of the paper.)
  5. firmament
    the sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
    Paradise or
    Eden or
    The Firmament or
    The Sky or
    Wherever you are, whatever it’s called
  6. inclination
    an attitude of mind that favors one alternative over others
    So if you have the time and the inclination, and if you happen to be in Boston (we wanted Chicago, but Mom won), you should drop by the wedding.
  7. samovar
    a metal urn with a spigot at the base
    In a burst of desperation, Liz suggests the samovar, but Owen, who knows more about these things, rejects the idea on the grounds that the water source has to be connected to actual plumbing. Despite Owen’s warnings against it, Liz tries the coffee pot, but it doesn’t work anyway.
  8. conviction
    an unshakable belief in something without need for proof
    “I’ve been seeing her for five years, as you know, and I was recently overcome by the utter conviction that I had to be her husband,” Curtis says.
  9. manic
    affected with or marked by frenzy uncontrolled by reason
    Although Sadie spends most of her time napping in Betty’s garden, she has strange bursts of manic activity where all she wants to do is wrestle with Paco and Jen.
  10. equanimity
    steadiness of mind under stress
    Both older dogs tolerate Sadie’s outbursts with considerable equanimity.
  11. articulate
    put into words or an expression
    “I’m not all that sad,” Liz says, “because Sadie hadn’t been Sadie for a while, and I knew this would happen eventually.” Liz pauses, trying to precisely articulate her feelings.
  12. despair
    a state in which all hope is lost or absent
    “All these years, I have felt despair as you cannot imagine. I hit you with my cab and I did not stop.”
  13. chortle
    laugh quietly or with restraint
    Liz laughs again, a chortling little bird call of a laugh.
  14. scornful
    expressing extreme contempt
    Winnie did not believe in fairy tales. She had never longed for a magic wand, did not expect to marry a prince, and was scornful—most of the time—of her grandmother’s elves.
  15. bassinet
    a basket (usually hooded) used as a baby's bed
    And Shelly carries Thandi in a bassinet.
  16. dignified
    formal or stately in bearing or appearance
    Owen begins to cry in an undignified manner, although he isn’t entirely sure why he is crying.
  17. indulge
    yield to; give satisfaction to
    “If you wouldn’t mind indulging me, I’d like to say a few words about Liz,” she says.
  18. fore
    situated at or toward the front
    Looking at the babies to her rear and fore, left and right, she notices that most of them keep their eyes closed.
  19. rumination
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    As Liz travels down the River, farther and farther away from her home, farther and farther away from Elsewhere, she has many thoughts. Indeed, there is much time for rumination when one is a baby at the start of a long journey.
  20. succumb
    give in, as to overwhelming force, influence, or pressure
    The waves cradle the babies and rock them to sleep. And before long, this one succumbs, too.
Created on Mon Sep 27 14:52:18 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Oct 05 09:13:02 EDT 2021)

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