Calico Bush
by Rachel Field - Vocabulary Study
1) deftly (adverb)
pg. 3 "Her fingers were brown and twiglike, but they moved deftly in and out of the thick blue strands of wool.
deft |deft|
adjective
neatly skillful and quick in one's movements : a deft piece of footwork.
• demonstrating skill and cleverness : the script was both deft and literate.
2) grimace
pg. 3 Presently a sandy-headed boy went by with a great leap, tweaking one of her dark braids as he passed, and wrinkling his face up into a wide grimace.
grimace |ˈgriməs; griˈmās|
noun
an ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement : she gave a grimace of pain.
verb [ intrans. ]
make a grimace : I sipped the coffee and grimaced.
3) nankeen
pg. 3 "This morning he was feeling very proud of himself, partly because he had inherited a pair of his uncle Ira's nankeen breeches..."
nankeen |nanˈkēn|
noun
a yellowish cotton cloth.
• ( nankeens) historical pants made of this cloth.
• the characteristic yellowish-buff color of this cloth.
adjective
of this color.
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from the name of the city of Nanking (see Nanjing ), where it was first made.
4) breeches
pg. 3
"This morning he was feeling very proud of himself, partly because he had inherited a pair of his uncle Ira's nankeen breeches..."
breeches |ˈbri ch iz; ˈbrē-|
plural noun
short trousers fastened just below the knee, now chiefly worn for riding a horse or as part of ceremonial dress.
• informal trousers.
PHRASES
too big for one's breeches see big
5) bleat
pg. 4 "...and four unhappy sheep who kept up a pitiful bleating in the forward part of the ship."
bleat |blēt|
verb [ intrans. ]
(of a sheep, goat, or calf) make a characteristic wavering cry : the lamb was bleating weakly figurative : handing the mike to some woman who starts bleating out rap rhymes | [as n. ] ( bleating) the silence was broken by the plaintive bleating of sheep.
• [ reporting verb ] speak or complain in a weak, querulous, or foolish way : he bleated incoherently about the report.
noun [in sing. ]
the wavering cry made by a sheep, goat, or calf : the distant bleat of sheep in the field.
• a person's plaintive cry : his despairing bleat touched her heart.
6) dubious
pg. 4 "Captain Hunt watched him go with a dubious headshake."
dubious |ˈd(y)oōbēəs|
adjective
1 hesitating or doubting : Alex looked dubious, but complied. See note at doubtful .
2 not to be relied upon; suspect : extremely dubious assumptions.
• morally suspect : timesharing has been brought into disrepute by dubious sales methods.
• of questionable value : she earned the dubious distinction of being the lowest-paid teacher in the nation.
DERIVATIVES
dubiously adverb
dubiousness noun
7) scud
pg. 4 "Overhead the great canvas sail filled and strained as the Isabelle B. scudded before the wind."
scud |skəd|
verb ( scudded , scudding ) [ intrans. ]
move fast in a straight line because or as if driven by the wind : we lie watching the clouds scudding across the sky | three small ships were scudding before a brisk breeze.
noun
1 chiefly poetic/literary a formation of vapory clouds driven fast by the wind.
• a mass of windblown spray.
• a driving shower of rain or snow; a gust.
• the action of moving fast in a straight line when driven by the wind : the scud of the clouds before the wind.
2 ( Scud) (also Scud missile) a type of long-range surface-to-surface guided missile able to be fired from a mobile launcher
8) taut
pg. 6 "He would never point his toes in their narrow shoes again nor draw his bow smoothly across the taut strings."
taut |tôt|
adjective
stretched or pulled tight; not slack : the fabric stays taut without adhesive.
• (esp. of muscles or nerves) tense; not relaxed.
• figurative (of writing, music, etc.) concise and controlled : a taut text of only a hundred and twenty pages.
• (of a ship) having a disciplined and efficient crew.
DERIVATIVES
tauten |ˈtôtn| verb
tautly adverb
tautness noun
9) chide
pg. 11 "I'll send you to join the fishes if you don't watch out he chided before he hurried over to the men about the tiller."
chide | ch īd|
verb ( past chided or archaic chid | ch id|; past part. chided or archaic chidden |ˈ ch idn|) [ trans. ]
scold or rebuke : she chided him for not replying to her letters | [with direct speech ] “You mustn't speak like that,” she chided gently. See note at scold .
10) tiller
pg. 11 "I'll send you to join the fishes if you don't watch out he chided before he hurried over to the men about the tiller."
tiller 1 |ˈtilər|
noun
a horizontal bar fitted to the head of a boat's rudder post and used as a lever for steering.
pg. 3 "Her fingers were brown and twiglike, but they moved deftly in and out of the thick blue strands of wool.
deft |deft|
adjective
neatly skillful and quick in one's movements : a deft piece of footwork.
• demonstrating skill and cleverness : the script was both deft and literate.
2) grimace
pg. 3 Presently a sandy-headed boy went by with a great leap, tweaking one of her dark braids as he passed, and wrinkling his face up into a wide grimace.
grimace |ˈgriməs; griˈmās|
noun
an ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement : she gave a grimace of pain.
verb [ intrans. ]
make a grimace : I sipped the coffee and grimaced.
3) nankeen
pg. 3 "This morning he was feeling very proud of himself, partly because he had inherited a pair of his uncle Ira's nankeen breeches..."
nankeen |nanˈkēn|
noun
a yellowish cotton cloth.
• ( nankeens) historical pants made of this cloth.
• the characteristic yellowish-buff color of this cloth.
adjective
of this color.
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from the name of the city of Nanking (see Nanjing ), where it was first made.
4) breeches
pg. 3
"This morning he was feeling very proud of himself, partly because he had inherited a pair of his uncle Ira's nankeen breeches..."
breeches |ˈbri ch iz; ˈbrē-|
plural noun
short trousers fastened just below the knee, now chiefly worn for riding a horse or as part of ceremonial dress.
• informal trousers.
PHRASES
too big for one's breeches see big
5) bleat
pg. 4 "...and four unhappy sheep who kept up a pitiful bleating in the forward part of the ship."
bleat |blēt|
verb [ intrans. ]
(of a sheep, goat, or calf) make a characteristic wavering cry : the lamb was bleating weakly figurative : handing the mike to some woman who starts bleating out rap rhymes | [as n. ] ( bleating) the silence was broken by the plaintive bleating of sheep.
• [ reporting verb ] speak or complain in a weak, querulous, or foolish way : he bleated incoherently about the report.
noun [in sing. ]
the wavering cry made by a sheep, goat, or calf : the distant bleat of sheep in the field.
• a person's plaintive cry : his despairing bleat touched her heart.
6) dubious
pg. 4 "Captain Hunt watched him go with a dubious headshake."
dubious |ˈd(y)oōbēəs|
adjective
1 hesitating or doubting : Alex looked dubious, but complied. See note at doubtful .
2 not to be relied upon; suspect : extremely dubious assumptions.
• morally suspect : timesharing has been brought into disrepute by dubious sales methods.
• of questionable value : she earned the dubious distinction of being the lowest-paid teacher in the nation.
DERIVATIVES
dubiously adverb
dubiousness noun
7) scud
pg. 4 "Overhead the great canvas sail filled and strained as the Isabelle B. scudded before the wind."
scud |skəd|
verb ( scudded , scudding ) [ intrans. ]
move fast in a straight line because or as if driven by the wind : we lie watching the clouds scudding across the sky | three small ships were scudding before a brisk breeze.
noun
1 chiefly poetic/literary a formation of vapory clouds driven fast by the wind.
• a mass of windblown spray.
• a driving shower of rain or snow; a gust.
• the action of moving fast in a straight line when driven by the wind : the scud of the clouds before the wind.
2 ( Scud) (also Scud missile) a type of long-range surface-to-surface guided missile able to be fired from a mobile launcher
8) taut
pg. 6 "He would never point his toes in their narrow shoes again nor draw his bow smoothly across the taut strings."
taut |tôt|
adjective
stretched or pulled tight; not slack : the fabric stays taut without adhesive.
• (esp. of muscles or nerves) tense; not relaxed.
• figurative (of writing, music, etc.) concise and controlled : a taut text of only a hundred and twenty pages.
• (of a ship) having a disciplined and efficient crew.
DERIVATIVES
tauten |ˈtôtn| verb
tautly adverb
tautness noun
9) chide
pg. 11 "I'll send you to join the fishes if you don't watch out he chided before he hurried over to the men about the tiller."
chide | ch īd|
verb ( past chided or archaic chid | ch id|; past part. chided or archaic chidden |ˈ ch idn|) [ trans. ]
scold or rebuke : she chided him for not replying to her letters | [with direct speech ] “You mustn't speak like that,” she chided gently. See note at scold .
10) tiller
pg. 11 "I'll send you to join the fishes if you don't watch out he chided before he hurried over to the men about the tiller."
tiller 1 |ˈtilər|
noun
a horizontal bar fitted to the head of a boat's rudder post and used as a lever for steering.