The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen: Chapters 8–10

by Isaac Blum
Following a wave of antisemitic attacks, fifteen-year-old Orthodox Jew Hoodie Rosen faces the ire of his family and community when he falls in love with a non-Jewish girl.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–10, Chapters 11–15
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. innate
    inborn or existing naturally
    Did their stairs have bannisters, or did they just rely on their innate sense of balance?
  2. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    I expected her mom’s entrance to be accompanied by some ominous music, like a movie villain.
  3. impromptu
    with little or no preparation or forethought
    But it didn’t seem like the best time for an impromptu lesson on kashrut, and I didn’t feel like I should have to personally defend the consistent three-thousand-year-old interpretation of God’s law.
  4. proclivity
    a natural inclination
    She looked at Anna-Marie like her daughter was supposed to have given her a full briefing on my various proclivities.
  5. verbatim
    using exactly the same words
    “I’m going to relay this conversation to Case verbatim.”
  6. rotary
    describing or moving in a circle
    You going to call the operator with your rotary phone and ask them to look up his number in the directory?
  7. inscrutable
    difficult or impossible to understand
    But her voice was flat, inscrutable.
  8. de facto
    existing, whether with lawful authority or not
    As soon as the market opened last fall, it became the de facto community meeting place.
  9. delinquent
    a young offender
    The local delinquents shouted antisemitic slurs, and when my classmates took issue with the verbal abuse, the kids transitioned to physical abuse and attacked my friends.
  10. slur
    a negative or offensive remark about someone
    The local delinquents shouted antisemitic slurs, and when my classmates took issue with the verbal abuse, the kids transitioned to physical abuse and attacked my friends.
  11. affront
    treat, mention, or speak to rudely
    The hate pains us. It affronts us as it affronts God.
  12. shirk
    avoid one's assigned duties
    Predictably, they’ve shirked their responsibility to protect all of their constituents. They listened, but it was clear that they will do nothing.
  13. constituent
    a citizen who is represented in a government by officials
    Predictably, they’ve shirked their responsibility to protect all of their constituents.
  14. appeal
    request earnestly; ask for aid or protection
    We will lock the synagogue doors during prayers and keep two people at the door at all times. In the meantime, Rabbi Friedman and I will appeal to the mayor, town council, and police for an easing of tension.
  15. induce
    cause to arise
    I looked down at myself, trying to see if I noticed anything that would induce shame.
  16. brunt
    the main part, especially of a force or shock
    You’re bearing the brunt of this because they don’t expect this from you.
  17. astute
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    As my astute sister Zippy noted on our lovely stroll back from the market, I am a “fast-talker.”
  18. invoke
    cite as an authority
    I didn’t even need my lawyer to advise me to invoke my Fifth Amendment rights.
  19. burgeon
    grow and flourish
    It said that there had been an attack on youths of the “burgeoning” Orthodox Jewish community in Tregaron. The suspects got away. Later, the Jewish community held an illegal meeting at a kosher market, where they burgeoned so much, the police had to break up the gathering for safety reasons.
  20. congenital
    present at birth but not necessarily hereditary
    There were more Rwandans than Jews, more Yankees fans, more people who had congenital birth defects that caused them to have eleven toes.
  21. rail
    complain bitterly
    Could you imagine if people were out there railing against conspiratorial world dominance by the extra-toe people, how ridiculous that would be?
  22. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    Could you imagine if people were out there railing against conspiratorial world dominance by the extra-toe people, how ridiculous that would be?
  23. earnest
    devout or heartfelt
    I sat in shock at the antisemitism and in love with Anna-Marie’s earnest plea for love and acceptance.
  24. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    Yoel is one of these aloof book people. Most of what he does is stand around leafing through books.
  25. chagrin
    cause to feel shame
    It was a top five moment of my life, Chana standing over her own vomitus in triumph, me laughing maniacally, Leah covering her eyes and retching, Zippy just sitting there, chagrined, because she knew it was her fault.
  26. ideal
    conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection
    If I was the worst nightmare of the Jewish parent—lacking devotion, without talent and interest in Talmud—Yoel was the ideal son. Yoel was so devoted to his studies that he couldn’t be bothered to put them on hold even for basic life necessities, like safe personal locomotion.
  27. dawdle
    take one's time; proceed slowly
    But this morning I dawdled, took my time, drawing it out.
  28. derision
    contemptuous laughter
    Just before we stepped into the main building, I looked up at the classroom windows, at dozens of beady eyes, watching me with a combination of derision and curiosity.
  29. ill-conceived
    poorly thought out
    We cannot take the chance that you will pass your ill-gotten, ill-conceived thinking on to others.
  30. virulent
    infectious; having the ability to cause disease
    Just like Moritz, Rabbi Friedman spoke about my “situation” like it was an illness I’d contracted, a virulent infection my classmates could catch through the air.
  31. licentious
    lacking moral discipline
    We’d all be strolling around the campus in shorts and tank tops with bikini-clad shiksas on our arms, listening to licentious pop music on our new smartphones.
  32. sanctity
    the quality of being holy
    Was it when I defended the sanctity of the desecrated headstones?
  33. triviality
    a detail that is considered insignificant
    Friedman dismissed these trivialities with a wave of his hand.
  34. impervious
    not admitting of passage or capable of being affected
    I wanted to be snarky with Rabbi Friedman, but you couldn’t. It didn’t work on him. He was impervious to it. He didn’t experience humor, and he had none of the vulnerability of the younger Rabbi Moritz.
  35. monotony
    the quality of wearisome constancy and lack of variety
    The boredom and monotony were excruciating.
  36. pedant
    a person who is preoccupied with rules and learning
    Ideally, you don’t want your prince to be a pimpled, nose-picking pedant.
  37. exonerate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
    I wanted to side with you. I wanted to protect you. I tried to find a ruling through which I could exonerate you.
  38. commiserate
    feel or express sympathy or compassion
    I thought he’d come to rescue me, or to keep me company, or to commiserate with me.
  39. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    At home, I expected my house to be volatile, full of hostility.
  40. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    My father described Diaz-O’Leary and her tactics with an impressive variety of epithets.
Created on Tue Oct 25 18:39:43 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Nov 18 16:56:51 EST 2022)

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