We Deserve Monuments: List 4

by Jas Hammonds
When seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson moves from Washington, D.C. to a small town in Georgia, she encounters conflicts linked to painful family secrets.

This list covers "The Cashier"–Chapter 20.

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

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. perpetually
    everlastingly; for all time
    In downtown Bardell, on the corner of Juniper and Main, there was a charming brick building that perpetually lived in the Draper Hotel & Spa’s shadow.
  2. privy
    informed about something secret or not generally known
    But locals privy to gossip would always know Easy Does It as the site of the Letty Harding and Tallulah Oliver Dollar Debacle.
  3. debacle
    a sudden and complete disaster
    But locals privy to gossip would always know Easy Does It as the site of the Letty Harding and Tallulah Oliver Dollar Debacle.
  4. sweltering
    excessively hot and humid; marked by sweating and faintness
    It was July, and that particular afternoon was a sweltering ninety-nine degrees.
  5. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Dottie Henderson had been enjoying her weekly root beer float when she overheard Letty June say, Let me tell you one damn thing before proceeding to berate poor, sweet, pregnant Tallulah Oliver.
  6. unhinged
    affected or as if affected with madness or insanity
    It was awful, folks said before launching into a version of the story that snowballed every time it was told. That cashier down at Easy Does It was a raving lunatic. A cashier lost her job after verbally assaulting Tallulah Oliver. An unhinged cashier threw a soda on Tallulah and pulled her hair.
  7. expletive
    profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
    And it was also true that Letty gathered her things in a stream of expletives and, oddly, a demand that Mr. Wilson brush his goddamn teeth every now and then.
  8. flimsy
    not convincing
    “I’m worried about the SATs,” I said instead, and quickly realized it was the flimsiest lie ever. I wasn’t even taking them again.
  9. nonchalance
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    Mom dragged a spoon through her banana pudding and said, “Yeah, maybe,” with the nonchalance of someone RSVPing to an event they didn’t have any intention attending.
  10. poised
    in full control of your faculties
    Her face screwed up with tears and she yanked a napkin from the metal dispenser. She didn’t look like composed, poised Dr. Anderson.
  11. tirade
    a speech of violent denunciation
    My childhood was nothing but a long stretch of loneliness, hiding from Mama Letty’s drunken tirades and shutting myself in my room.
  12. scour
    examine minutely
    In the span of its fifty-six-year existence, it would never reveal itself to eager tourists scouring the web for authentic Southern experiences.
  13. inception
    an event that is a beginning
    Since its inception, Arnie’s home on the river was meant to be a landing place for tired, lonely souls.
  14. flamboyant
    tending to attract attention; marked by ostentatious display
    Its reputation as a safe haven for fatherless girls and the ones deemed too flamboyant or too weird or too outside the box became as ingrained as the names carved into the wall behind the makeshift stage.
  15. sidle
    move sideways
    I sidled up to the sink next to her and worked on taming my curls.
  16. primp
    dress or groom with elaborate care
    We stared at each other in the mirror for a moment longer before an underclassman walked in and started primping at the sink next to us.
  17. trinket
    a small cheap ornament, knickknack, or piece of jewelry
    Jade and I wandered off to the next tent alone, which turned out to be an antique store, full of odd trinkets and knickknacks.
  18. incessant
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Still, I could only hear Mama Letty, her warning on an incessant loop.
  19. tinny
    thin, metallic, and displeasing in sound
    Creepy music box melodies poured from tinny speakers at the entrance.
  20. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    “I think this was an elaborate ruse to get me alone,” I joked.
  21. patter
    make light, rapid and repeated sounds
    Then there was a rustle. The pattering of footsteps.
  22. peal
    a deep prolonged sound
    A peal of laughter escaped me; I couldn’t help it.
  23. curdle
    go bad or sour
    My heart curdled like sour milk as I watched her front door close.
  24. scrawl
    poor handwriting
    Ray’s handwriting was a sloppy scrawl, like everything he had to say was urgent.
  25. breach
    make an opening or gap in
    Everything escaped, like a dam breaching.
  26. afghan
    a blanket knitted or crocheted in strips or squares
    Mama Letty and I started the day off quietly on the couch wrapped in a huge afghan, half watching a nature documentary on the ancient television.
  27. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    By noon, she finally mustered up the courage to come over for a visit.
  28. defer
    hold back to a later time
    I knew it made sense, but I still couldn’t shake Mom’s grief in Renny’s. How it must’ve felt to return there and recall a love deferred.
  29. rendition
    a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role
    Behind him, the all-Black band launched into a rousing rendition of Luther Vandross’s “Never Too Much.”
  30. charismatic
    possessing an extraordinary ability to attract
    He enunciated every syllable like a charismatic pastor, gripping the bedazzled microphone with a gleam in his eyes.
  31. swoon
    be overwhelmed with ecstasy, especially when encountering something or someone you admire
    “This whole night has been a dream,” Simone swooned as we climbed onto a large tree stump.
  32. whimsical
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
    I always thought falling in love would feel like an endless summer. Warm and whimsical, sugar-sweet sherbet and sparklers lighting the sky.
  33. clandestine
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
    “Avery filled me in on our mothers’ clandestine affair,” Simone said.
  34. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    My mom appeared at the driver’s door as if she’d materialized out of thin air.
  35. repressed
    characterized by the suppression of impulses or emotions
    “I didn’t corrupt your daughter, Ms. Cole. You can be mad at a lot of things, but it’s not fair for you to take your anger out on us just because you’re repressed.”
Created on Thu Sep 21 16:22:09 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Oct 03 14:21:34 EDT 2023)

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