“Of Mice and Men” Vocabulary Words
Freedom and Dreams Unit
Sweiss, Literature
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1. peer
We peered into the back of the shop to see if there was a
salesman in the back that could help us.
We peered at the beautifully lit sky on the fourth of July.
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2. recumbent
3. pugnacious
4. muse
Bikes on which you recline rather than sit upright
are recumbent
Recumbent starts like recline, which is an easy way to
remember it. Your dad's position in his favorite La-Z-Boy
reclining chair? Recumbent. Your position when you lay back
on lounge chair at the pool?
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If you're a first year teacher, you probably don't know how to
deal with the pugnacious kids in every class. Learn some
discipline or they'll end up fighting you, or each other.
When two candidates face off in a debate during a close
election, one or the other might be pugnacious. He looks to
pick a fight with his opponent and is willing to say almost
anything, no matter how outrageous, to make his opponent
look bad.
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In mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses who
symbolized the arts and sciences. Today, a muse is a person
who serves as an artist's inspiration. Often filmmakers talk
about a certain actor being a muse — meaning the actor
inspired a movie. Writers, painters, musicians, and other
artists have muses. Muse can also refer to thinking deeply. If
you muse about something, you're giving it serious thought.
You can't muse in five seconds. People muse on certain ideas
for years.
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5. nuisance
Whether it’s a mosquito or your little brother pestering you
about the laundry, you can use the word nuisance to describe
them.
Going to the doctor every month for a check up is a nuisance.
My little brother is a nuisance.
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It is a strong word––your mother might forgive you for doing
something bad, but something reprehensible? That's worse.
Cursing at a teacher is simply reprehensible!
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6. reprehensible
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7. maul
8. meager
9. avert
Tigers, lions, bears––animals with powerful paws and sharp
claws, will maul their victims.
My copy of The Giver was mauled by my dog. I had to pay the
library a fine or the damages.
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Meager means small and often applies to portions. Meager is
the serving of chocolate cake your mother will allows you––
or the amount of vegetables you actually want to eat before
getting to that cake.
Meager doesn't mean adequate––it means not enough.
People with a limited supply of food may try to subsist on
meager portions. People who make a meager amount of
money probably have a hard time making rent.
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You might put salt on an icy sidewalk to avert accidents, or
you might avert a toddler's meltdown by supplying a lollipop.
I averted my teacher’s reproaching gaze.
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10. jeer
11. tenement
12. woe
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The bully jeered the students because of the way that he
dressed.
Think of it as an anti-cheer. If you offer cheers for the visiting
team and jeers for the home team, you might not be too
popular in the stands.
As a verb, jeer means to laugh at in a mean way. Even if you
did forget the words to the national anthem, it wasn't polite
for the crowd to jeer. But don't feel too bad: the last singer
remembered all the words and they jeered her anyway!
Tough crowd.
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The tenements in Old New York were barely safe enough to
live in — fire hazards, no air circulation, and no bathrooms,
either.
When different immigrant groups first came to the United
States in the 1800s, they didn't have much money and would
often end up living in close quarters with many people in a
small apartment, or tenement. These buildings were
notorious for catching fire and collapsing. In 1901, New York
City passed a law that said all tenement apartments had to
have running water — ah, indoor plumbing! — and required
that each room have a window.
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Never was there a story of more woe, than that of Juliet and
her Romeo.
Job echoes this unhappy cry in the Old Testament when he
contemplates his sad fate, "If I be wicked, woe unto me."
Today, woe generally means problem or worry. You may
experience financial woes, if you spend too much on your
credit card. And study hard for your classes or in addition to
your academic woes, you may get grounded by your parents.
Sometimes woe is used in a slightly ironic way. If your friends
tell you to forget about your woes and go out with them,
they think your problems are not too serious.
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13. belligerent
14. writhe
15. confide
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It's a good idea to avoid hardcore hockey fans after their
team loses — they tend to be belligerent.
The Japanese were very belligerent during World War II and
would only capitulate after two atomic bombs were dropped
on their soil, costing the lives of
innocent civilians.
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You may writhe when you've just ingested some stomachwrenching poison, or perhaps in response to red ant stings.
Writhe stems from the Old English, meaning "to twist or
bend." It's not a coincidence that a Christmas wreath is
greenery twisted and bent into a circle. A person can writhe
in embarrassment but it's usually reserved for times when
pain or discomfort cause you to twist and bend over and
squirm because your body is in such distress.
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We confide in people we trust.
We all have secrets and subjects that are hard to talk about.
When we want to talk about something sensitive, we look for
someone to confide in: a person we trust not to blab about
our business to the rest of the world. Most people confide in
close friends or family, often to get advice. If you tell
someone a secret, and then they tell ten of their friends, you
made a mistake by confiding in that person.
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