In Cold Blood - Part 3 Vocabulary Words

festooning

(n.) a long chain or strip of something that is hung as a decoration (pg 232) He continue to contemplate the scenery, to read Burma-Shave goggerel, and to count the carcasses of shotgunned coyotes festooning ranch fences.

accomplice

(n.) a person who takes part in a crime (pg 167) ..., he had identified the former as the author of the spurious checks, the latter as his silent accomplice.,

urchin

(n.) an appealingly mischievous person (pg 193) He was still (and wasn't it incredible, a person of his intelligence, his talents?) an urchin dependent, so to say, on stolen coins.

assertions

(n.) an idea or opinion that is put forth in a discussion or debate (Pg 198) ..., making him question Nye's assertions - in a sense, disbelieve them.

oddments

(n.) an unused or unwanted piece or item typically of small size or value (pg 178) other oddments included a scrapbook thick with photographs clipped from physical-culture magazines

trivialities

(n.) something of little importance (193) And they weren't discussing trivialities - bad checks or stolen automobiles.

allure

(n.) the power of irresistible attraction, fascination(pg 183) The young man in the picture exuded virile (manly) allure.

candor

(n.) the quality of being open, sincere, and honest (pg 222) And when he had finished he sat with folded arms and a pleased smile, as though waiting to be commended for the humor, the clarity, and the candor of his traveler's tale.

hegira

(n.)a journey especially when undertaken to escape from a dangerous or undesirable situation (pg 229) ..., and, once more, the history of his recent cross-country hegira ...

gauge

(v.) to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement, a guess(pg 176) I never saw the man yet I couldn't gauge his shoe size.

eradicate

(v.) to remove (something) completely : to eliminate or destroy (pg 214) ...; he had reached a decision that he was certain would eradicate his current difficulties and start him on a new road, with a new rainbow in view.

reminisced

(v.) to talk, think, or write about things that happened in the past (pg 217) The prisoner reminisced. Once, when he was nine or ten, his father had fallen ill.

expurgated

(adj.) having material deleted (pg 243) Dewey admits it, but he adds that except for an apparently somewhat expurgated version of his own conduct, Hickock's story supports Smith's.

egomaniacal

(adj.) overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, interests, self-absorbed (pg 173) ..., hearing him start to describe his Mexican "amorous conquests", he thought how "queer" it was, egomaniacal.

pubescent

(adj.) relating to or denoting a person at or approaching the age of puberty (pg 201) Seducing pubescent girls, as he had done "eight or nine" times in the last several years, ...

thanatoid

(adj.) resembling death (pg 211) "We carted the old man into the restaurant and propped him up at a table. He looked exactly the same - thanatoid.

wanly

(adv.) in a weak or pale manner (pg 234) Dewey groans, Duntz whistles, and Smith, smiling wanly, adds, "Me, too.

manacled

(n.) A device for confining the hands (pg 239) Perry frowns, runs his knees with his manacled hands.

silhouetted

(n.) An outline that appears dark against a light background (pg 237) At the top of the stairs, silhouetted against a window.

qualms

(n.) An uneasy feeling about the propriety or rightness of a course of action. (pg 244) 'Well, Dick. Any qualms?' He didn't answer me. I said leave them alive, and this won't be any small rap.

extradition

(n.) Process by which one state, at the request of another, returns a person for trial for a crime punishable by law (pg 216) Our young men had signed waivers of extradition. **Also used in the following sentence: ... - just examined their possessions and arranged the extradition waivers.

recapitulation

(n.) a concise summary (pg 224) ..., then reduced those to a concentrated recapitulation of the crucial weekend - ...