The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin: "The Beginning"–Chapter 5

by Elinor Teele
For more than one hundred years, his family has been making coffins in the city of Pludgett, but eleven-year-old John Peregrine Coggin does not want to be trapped in a lifeless job, so he runs away with his younger sister.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: "The Beginning"–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–17, Chapters 18–25, Chapter 26–"The End of the Beginning"
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. faculty
    an inherent cognitive or perceptual power of the mind
    “Now, now, you know I have neither the facility nor—let’s face it—the faculties; nutty as a maggot-infested fruitcake. No, I am merely a player that frets and struts his hour upon two arthritic limbs. You, on the other hand, are incurably optimistic and still breathing. The perfect job description for a storyteller.”
  2. balderdash
    trivial nonsense
    “I don’t know how.”
    “Balderdash,” Boz retorted. “It’s very simple. You begin at the beginning and end at the end.”
  3. virulent
    infectious; having the ability to cause disease
    Great-Aunt Beauregard was John’s only surviving relative. She had been granted this honor upon the death of John’s parents, who were struck down by virulent consumption when John was five.
  4. termagant
    a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman
    Along with John, his newborn sister, Page, was also entrusted to this termagant’s care. Though, truth to tell, over the next six years it was John who did most of the caring.
  5. impertinence
    the trait of being rude and inclined to take liberties
    “I went straight from birth into the family business. And that’s enough impertinence from you,” she added, whacking him soundly on the head with a T square.
  6. mire
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
    It had originally been a swamp, but that did not bother the settlers who decided to make it their home. They simply spent three years dismantling a neighboring hill and depositing the dirt in the mire.
  7. hovel
    small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    And when that didn’t work—and granaries and grannies took to mysteriously disappearing overnight—the settlers began building hovels on top of the ones that were sinking.
  8. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    Our clock tower has been voted the most egregious edifice in the country!
  9. subsidize
    support, as through grants or other funds
    In addition to subsidizing the fireworks finale, she insisted on opening the family workshop for Bring Your Own Parent morning.
  10. imperative
    requiring attention or action
    We are doing imperative work! Even if I did want to make furniture—which I don’t!—Pludgett wouldn’t stand for it. We are the only casket manufacturers in the city.
  11. copious
    large in number or quantity
    He even went so far as to propose that he might build a shredder to recycle their copious wood scraps into packing material, but Great-Aunt Beauregard was having none of it.
  12. regale
    occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
    He’d regale her with visions of mermaid houses run on volcanic steam and metallic dragons that belched blue fire.
  13. dudgeon
    a feeling of intense righteous anger
    Great-Aunt Beauregard sat back down in high dudgeon and raised a toothpick menacingly.
  14. facade
    the front of a building
    “Well, as I was cruising the perimeter of this fine establishment—not for any piratical purpose, mind you, but merely to admire the proportions of the Augustan facade—I happened to observe you and your sister tripping the light fantastic in aquamarine waters.”
  15. airily
    in a manner that is overly casual or lacking seriousness
    “I’m not a girl,” John interrupted.
    “Oh, we can fix that,” Boz said airily.
  16. impresario
    a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments
    “At this particular moment, I happen to be engaged in a more varietal occupation under the benevolent dictatorship of a circus impresario.”
  17. hackneyed
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
    However, Colonel Joe prefers to call them the Wandering Wayfarers, ‘circus’ being a rather hackneyed term for a group of their caliber.
  18. assent
    agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
    “So, do I have your considered assent? Shall we sign, seal, and deliver ourselves to the adventures of the open road?”
  19. congenial
    friendly and pleasant
    “Pardon me, great-aunt—may not exactly be the most congenial custodian of filial responsibilities.”
  20. filial
    designating the generation following the parental generation
    “Pardon me, great-aunt—may not exactly be the most congenial custodian of filial responsibilities.”
  21. wayfarer
    a traveler going on a trip
    “Should we go, Johnny?”
    For a moment, John was tempted. He’d heard of the Wandering Wayfarers. Though he’d never been allowed to see their act, they were often in town for Pludgett Day.
  22. solder
    join or fuse with an alloy
    But I can see that I am not going to be able to solder my suggestions of sojournings to your iron will.
  23. sclerosis
    any pathological hardening or thickening of tissue
    Au revoir, my little amis, may your hearts be free from sclerosis and your thoughts ever pure.
  24. shirk
    avoid one's assigned duties
    “At eleven, you are old enough to appreciate the importance of our glorious family tradition. And unlike your nincompoop father, I know, you will not shirk from duty.”
  25. interment
    the ritual placing of a corpse in a grave
    Therefore, for the next chapter in our history, I plan to create the
    COGGIN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME
    Boutique Interments for the Bourgeoisie
  26. bourgeoisie
    a socioeconomic group that is neither wealthy nor poor
    Therefore, for the next chapter in our history, I plan to create the
    COGGIN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME
    Boutique Interments for the Bourgeoisie
  27. tactful
    showing skill and sensitivity in dealing with people
    And since you, John, are about as tactful as a bellyful of beetles with customers, I will be working with a new assistant on this branch of commerce while you handle workshop affairs.
  28. coffer
    the funds of a government, institution, or individual
    “I wouldn’t worry too much about my retiring. If my funeral home plan succeeds, as I believe it will, then the family will have decades of corpses and coffers to look forward to.”
  29. fruition
    the attainment or fulfillment of a plan or objective
    “The fruition of our good fortune.”
    John looked up. A teetering tower of flowerpots, wooden fruit crates, and rocks rose before them.
  30. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    As the tiniest breath of wind meandered through the firs, the whole edifice creaked and swayed in an agony of pain.
  31. egress
    the act or means of going out
    “It’s a princess castle!” Page cried.
    “That,” Boz said proudly, “is our method of egress.”
  32. genuflect
    bend the knees and bow before a religious superior or image
    “Now, if you could genuflect in the general direction of the grass.” Boz pushed John down into a kneeling position.
  33. phalanx
    any of the bones of the fingers or toes
    “And then plant your phalanges firmly in the plants.” He continued to push until John was on all fours. “Then I will be able to ascend unto the celestial heavens.”
  34. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    Off they went, careening down the road, sending cats and roosters and barrels scattering before them.
  35. formidable
    inspiring fear or dread
    By now, that formidable fortress of formaldehyde—your great-aunt—will have retreated to her discounted digs.
  36. constabulary
    a force of police officers
    There she will assemble the constabulary to pursue you.
  37. mountebank
    a flamboyant deceiver
    “Well, I admit that the bloom of her youth has somewhat oxidized, but she is home for many a meandering mountebank.”
  38. percolate
    spread gradually
    As a stream of soda percolated down his back, John realized they were under a bench set up for spectators.
  39. potentate
    a powerful ruler, especially one who is unconstrained by law
    “Colonel not in attendance,” Boz explained. “We’ll proceed to the potentate’s fire.”
  40. slaver
    let saliva dribble from the mouth
    A pair of slavering German shepherds rose up from nowhere and charged.
Created on Mon Aug 19 09:24:23 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Aug 20 11:04:08 EDT 2024)

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