Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush: Chapters 5–8

by Virginia Hamilton
At first sight on an Ohio street corner, almost-fifteen-year-old Teresa "Tree" Pratt falls in love with Brother Rush, before she realizes he is a ghost who has appeared to show her the past.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–17
35 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. indignation
    a feeling of righteous anger
    She controlled her indignation. I know how long she wait for a bus and transfer. I know she got to walk from there to here. But I get so mad at her, I can't help it!
  2. serene
    not agitated
    Her serene expression never changed.
  3. pageboy
    a smooth hair style with the ends of the hair curled inward
    She wore her hair straightened in an old-fashioned pageboy with bangs. It was shoulder length and jet black.
  4. finery
    elaborate or showy attire and accessories
    He was dressed in his silky, dark finery, one hand cupped to his ear.
  5. whinny
    make a characteristic sound, of a horse
    Cenithia Pricherd whinnied like a horse.
  6. waning
    a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
    He was visible for three or four seconds more. Then he faded in a waning of mystical light.
  7. vicinity
    a surrounding or nearby region
    But she eyed Tree every moment she could whenever Tree was in her vicinity.
  8. standoffish
    lacking cordiality; unfriendly
    She gave Miss Pricherd the apple in a lunch sack, paid her and let her out of the house. Telling her good-bye and being slightly standoffish.
  9. provoke
    annoy continually or chronically
    You saw what he did, trying to provoke me.
  10. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    He touched the boy's legs with the wet handkerchief where welts had risen.
  11. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    He let his head loll back against Brother.
  12. sassy
    improperly forward or bold
    You ever see a child like this one? the woman said admiringly. Behind stickin up all sassy!
  13. range
    be different within limits
    All the older, smaller houses and bushes and vines of flowers ranging in color from white to deep purple.
  14. shrill
    being sharply insistent on being heard
    Sweet, now don't you pester him, Binnie’s shrill, nervous voice commanded.
  15. lurch
    move abruptly
    He lurched for the dog, caught Ashland, Ken., by his collar, and pulled him away from the child before he could bite her.
  16. profound
    far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect
    Brother added, how you doin, Binnie? spoken kind, with respect for the profound mystery of illness.
  17. high-strung
    in a very tense state
    Binnie's return greeting curled out of her mouth in a gurgling of nerves. She was sweet and kind, Brother knew, but as high-strung as a lead guitar.
  18. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    How long could they go on, watching her teeter down roads, a pathetic, crippled soul with her crippled dog dragging behind her?
  19. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    His face was ashen. "Don't take me no funerals no more."
  20. grate
    reduce to shreds by rubbing against a perforated surface
    She grated cheese and put a cup of it with chopped onion in the sauce when it was ready, while the noodles boiled.
  21. commence
    begin or get started
    Standing at the sink, fear commenced crawling up her neck. There had been no warning.
  22. grits
    coarsely ground corn that is boiled
    So she made him some grits of yellow mush with hot milk.
  23. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    She helped him change his pajamas that smelled sour from the vomit. And worried how she would get him to bathe in the next few days if he stayed so weak and sick.
    How to handle him if I cain't touch him, she thought. Only now did she understand her predicament.
  24. determined
    characterized by great firmness of purpose
    She fought the robe and couldn't find the armholes in the dark. Struggling, she was determined to look neat by the time she left the room.
  25. striking
    having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
    What was striking was not so much that she was very tall and alone. She was tall and wide, alone. Big and wide and separate from all other of Tree's loves.
  26. exertion
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    M'Vy would perspire from the exertion of going inside and out and climbing on and off buses.
  27. discipline
    a system of rules of conduct or method of practice
    Tree always did leave everything just as neat as a pin after each meal, in case Vy came home. M'Vy had to make sure no ragtag lack of discipline had crept into her house.
  28. smolder
    have strong suppressed feelings
    Tree suddenly felt angry at M'Vy. It smoldered, then passed to the back of her mind as more pressing considerations came to the fore.
  29. appraise
    estimate the nature, quality, ability or significance of
    Vy looked at her, appraising her.
  30. resentment
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    All resentment evaporated at the mention of her brother. Maybe some could feel evil to a brother they had to care for more than themselves, the way she did for Dab. But she never could.
  31. malice
    the desire to see others suffer
    "So you got a friend," Tree said. "He one of a few?" Spoken without malice.
  32. casually
    in an unconcerned manner
    "You got yourself a car! Whyn't you tell somebody! How long you have it?"
    "Nothin to it," Vy said casually.
  33. searing
    extremely hot
    Hot water spilled, and Vy let go of it. It hit the floor in a burst of exploding glass and searing water.
  34. register
    show in one's face
    She seemed unaware of hot water over everything; yet her expression registered the pain.
  35. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    "Maybe you did see a ghost." Her voice was shaky, as if she might cry. "I know peoples who has, regularly. They talk to ghosts and confides in em. Maybe so." She sounded fearful, yet resigned.
Created on Sun May 12 11:04:08 EDT 2024 (updated Sun May 12 17:32:45 EDT 2024)

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