Merci Suárez Plays It Cool: Chapters 5–12

by Meg Medina
In this final book of the trilogy, eighth-grader Merci tries to prove that she is a cool soccer-playing teenager while juggling the responsibilities of school and home, which include assisting the guidance office and taking care of her sick grandfather and almost-seven-year-old twin cousins.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–12, Chapters 13–24, Chapters 25–41
40 words 10 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    He scrapes the sides of the bowl and savors the last morsel without me.
  2. graze
    feed as in a meadow or pasture
    Beyond the trees, two horses graze in a white-fenced paddock.
  3. upholster
    provide furniture with comfortable padding or covers
    I unfold the tarp and drape the kitchen table and upholstered chairs in plastic, taking extra care to cover everything.
  4. curt
    brief and to the point
    She smiles at her boss and gives us a curt nod before heading out.
  5. paddock
    a pen for horses
    One wall is made entirely of tinted windows that overlook the paddock, too. The horses, I notice, are still grazing.
  6. adulation
    exaggerated flattery or praise
    “Smart, like his mother.”
    Roli’s ears become tomatoes as he pretends to study the wall surface, running his hands along the paint. I feel for him instantly. Public parental adulation.
  7. plaque
    (pathology) a small abnormal patch on or inside the body
    “Really? A doctor?”
    Geez. Yes, really. All anyone would have to do is talk to Roli for five minutes to know it. Who else would use words like amyloid plaque and subthalamic nucleus in casual conversation?
  8. casual
    without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
    Who else would use words like amyloid plaque and subthalamic nucleus in casual conversation? If you ask any of his old teachers, they’ll tell you that Roli was pretty much college-ready the day he finished kindergarten.
  9. dappled
    having spots or patches of color
    I caught them in dappled sunlight, which makes them look magical with the filter I used.
  10. tend
    have care of or look after
    Simón shrugs and moves away to tend to the truck.
  11. frugal
    avoiding waste
    But today, Tía sweetened the pot by announcing that we’re going shopping for new school shoes, too. And not at Frugal Foot Hut this time, but at the mall.
  12. preemptive
    designed to prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence
    Then she offers the twins lollipops from her stash. It’s a preemptive bribe.
  13. parched
    extremely thirsty
    I’m parched, so I head straight for the water cooler to quench my thirst.
  14. ample
    fairly large
    He pulls down his top lip so the lady can snip near his ample nostrils.
  15. queue
    a line of people or vehicles waiting for something
    “We have young customers here, and you’re next in the queue.”
  16. wary
    marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    I give Tía Inés a wary look. “What’s the matter with them?” I ask.
  17. conspirator
    a member of a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act
    She gives Consuelo a conspirator’s smile, and they both turn to me like I’m something to eat.
  18. specimen
    a bit of tissue or fluid taken for diagnostic purposes
    The coconut smell in the shop suddenly seems too strong as my eyes trail over all those brushes, scissors, and razors lining the counters, all those combs floating in blue liquid like specimens in a science lab.
  19. peruse
    examine or consider with attention and in detail
    She flips back to a page in the magazine she’s been perusing and holds it out to me.
  20. obligated
    caused by law or conscience to follow a certain course
    This is not a conversation I’m having with Mami, not today or maybe ever. She’ll feel obligated to tell Papi, and then it will be a thing.
  21. brood
    think moodily or anxiously about something
    I did chores and watched my brother brood and tried not to worry that Lolo would die.
  22. helm
    steering mechanism for a vessel
    The chairs even remind me of Jake Rodrigo’s captain’s chair at the helm of the Nova Warrior.
  23. jut
    extend out or project in space
    But I guess it cost more than Mami and Papi could spend because what I got under the tree was a knockoff toy from the Dollar Store that looked like a Tyrannosaurus rex with a man’s arms jutting out of its stomach.
  24. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    “An appointment with Miss McDaniels.”
    “Ominous,” Lena says.
  25. elective
    a course that the student can select from among alternatives
    “You get to take an elective instead. Is it a good one, at least?”
    “Coding,” she says, rolling her eyes.
    “Oh! They design games in there,” Lena says.
  26. inadvertently
    without knowledge or intention
    “We do not want you to discuss who comes to visit us, whose parents were here, that sort of thing. You were selected because the committee believed you could be discreet with any private information you might inadvertently encounter. Do you think you’re up to the task?”
  27. itinerary
    a proposed route of travel
    But I’ve got the exact date, the bus company that’s handling transportation, the hotel where we’ll stay, the whole itinerary and cost—which looks a little steep—right at my fingertips.
  28. steep
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    But I’ve got the exact date, the bus company that’s handling transportation, the hotel where we’ll stay, the whole itinerary and cost—which looks a little steep—right at my fingertips.
  29. shabby
    mean and unworthy and despicable
    At this very moment, I know everything before anybody else does—and it doesn’t feel too shabby.
  30. frilly
    having decorative ruffles or similar ornamentation
    Abuela’s bright costumes catch your eye, so you barely even notice that it’s me in that frilly skirt and head wrap.
  31. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    I have so much I want to say, such as Guess what? You can have three roommates in Saint Augustine, and it will take us four hours to get there, and we have one free day where we can go see an attraction of our choice. But no. The power of the pin keeps me discreet.
  32. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    You can hear that Wilson’s gait has a tiny pause in it on account of his foot.
  33. saffron
    aromatic dried stigmas of a crocus flower, used as flavoring
    Simón and I have been kicking a soccer ball around with the twins while Abuela finishes up the arroz con pollo for dinner. I can tell that’s what we’re having because the whole yard smells of saffron and because the cazuela she uses to cook it isn’t hanging on the hook inside the shed.
  34. farfetched
    highly imaginative but unlikely
    Hannah says identical twins, like Tomás and Axel, are telepathic, which means they can read each other’s minds. It sounds farfetched, but it might explain why my cousins are such good accomplices in everything they do.
  35. stickler
    someone who insists on something
    Lena, who reads everything, says that telepathy is “unlikely,” and Roli, who is a stickler for facts, says she’s right about “vicarious transmissions.”
  36. vicarious
    experienced at secondhand
    Lena, who reads everything, says that telepathy is “unlikely,” and Roli, who is a stickler for facts, says she’s right about “vicarious transmissions.” His theory is that twins’ brains are a lot alike, so they react in lots of the same ways.
  37. impeccable
    without error or flaw
    They’re only in second grade, but together, they’re already one hundred pounds of fast feet and impeccable timing.
  38. spindly
    long, thin, and often weak or fragile
    Now, they’ve got spindly legs, speed, and killer strategy that looks, well, telepathic.
  39. scrimmage
    practice playing (a sport)
    Maybe it’s those new sneakers that Tía bought them last week. That, and the benefit of excellent scrimmaging with Simón and me.
  40. foal
    a young horse
    Axel dribbles the ball past me, looking like a knobby-kneed foal.
Created on Tue Jun 18 12:07:04 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Jun 25 13:42:52 EDT 2024)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.