Everything We Never Had: List 6

by Randy Ribay
This novel follows four generations of fathers and sons from the Filipino American Maghabol family as they struggle to survive and understand each other.

This list covers vocabulary from "How We Fight"–"Southbound."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8, List 9.

25 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dank
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    But today, Francisco insisted the two of them head back to this dank, dreary place.
  2. southpaw
    a baseball pitcher who throws the ball with the left hand
    “If you say so,” says Emil, seeing no resemblance whatsoever between his father and the world-champ Filipino southpaw.
  3. flurry
    a sudden and overwhelming outpouring or amount
    Francisco throws a flurry of punches that jolts Emil’s body through the bag.
  4. explicit
    precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable
    This is a distinction Emil has never heard his father make explicit before, one that shifts and softens his attitude.
  5. marrow
    the most essential or vital part of some idea or experience
    No matter the reason, no matter how practical or noble—Emil understands all the way down to his marrow what his mother means.
  6. fare
    the sum charged for riding in a public conveyance
    In the other, the folded bills his father handed him for bus fare.
  7. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    Even though he doesn’t plan to be gone for long, he can’t help but remember the exhausted, resigned expression on his mother’s face when he told her.
  8. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    Much to Auntie Carmen’s dismay, his ambitions do not reach beyond the kitchen on the other side of the brick wall, beyond the Pinays in Little Manila and the south-side suburbs.
  9. utter
    express audibly
    While Emil liked the man, the way he had glanced pointedly at Emil as he uttered those words made Emil shrink into himself, wishing he could disappear.
  10. fallow
    left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season
    They find a quiet spot at the edge of a fallow field away from the low hum of the labor camp’s evening conversation and card games.
  11. bristle
    react in an offended or angry manner
    As close as they are, Francisco bristles at the idea of someone else reading his family’s words.
  12. atone
    make amends for
    His conclusion: Nanang has not properly atoned for Tatang’s adultery.
  13. barrio
    a district in a Spanish-speaking country
    Perhaps you were bored with our small barrio and wanted more.
  14. omit
    leave undone or leave out
    The others often exaggerate and omit and outright lie
    when writing home, sending photographs of themselves sharply dressed in borrowed clothes to bolster the deception about the success of their lives in America.
  15. determination
    firmness of purpose
    Despite all the hands it passed through, the indescribable, sacred scent of home survived and, with it, all his sadness and love and anger and determination and regret.
  16. recede
    become faint or more distant
    As if putting it away will stop his sister’s words from replaying in his mind, will keep away the storm that’s receded but not yet passed.
  17. cram
    crowd or pack to capacity
    The first ones ready—usually the Visayans—cram into the jalopies and ride over, leaving the rest to walk.
  18. incandescent
    characterized by ardent emotion, intensity, or brilliance
    They are loud and incandescent as they tread west, the foothills behind them, until they reach the trolley line.
  19. abide
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    But the good white people of Watsonville could not abide one of their daughters being seduced by a brown-skinned field laborer.
  20. suppress
    put down by force or authority
    Lorenzo drifts away as Francisco searches for Milly’s long blond hair and tries to suppress thoughts of taking her away to somewhere like New Mexico, where it’s legal for them to marry.
  21. indicate
    be a signal for or a symptom of
    Francisco buys his tickets as the song ends and the whistle blows, indicating it’s time for new partners.
  22. sashay
    walk with a lofty proud gait, often to impress others
    A white girl with brown hair and freckles in a long green skirt sashays up to him.
  23. ignite
    start to burn or burst into flames
    Francisco’s fear melts; then anger ignites.
  24. sacrifice
    a loss entailed by giving up something
    “They’ve accepted that their lives are a sacrifice for their families back home, to whom they send nearly all their earnings. They speak as if they will one day follow their money across the sea, even though they know they won’t.”
  25. lapse
    pass into a specified state or condition
    They laugh again, then lapse back into silence, but this time a comfortable one.
Created on Tue Mar 18 08:43:02 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Mar 31 17:23:39 EDT 2025)

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