Chapter 1

Question 1

assuaged; part of speech (verb)

Answer 1

“When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.”Dictionary meaning:1. To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief. See Synonyms at relieve.2. To satisfy or appease (hunger or thirst, for example).3. To appease or calm: assuaged his critics

Question 2

apothecary; part of speech (noun)

Answer 2

“All we had was Simon Finch, a fur-trapping apothecary from Cornwall whose piety was exceeded only by his stinginess.”Dictionary meaning:1. One that prepares and sells drugs and other medicines; a pharmacist.2. See pharmacy.

Question 3

taciturn;part of speech (adjective)

Answer 3

“Their sister Alexandra was at the Landing: she married a taciturn man who spent most of his time lying in a hammock by the river wondering if his trot-lines were full.”Dictionary meaning:1. Habitually untalkative. See Synonyms at laconic.2. Characterized by reserve or a lack of expression: “Beneath his taciturn exterior was an optimist”

Question 4

chattel; part of speech (noun)

Answer 4

“So Simon, having forgotten his teacher’s dictum on the possession of human chattels, brought three slaves and with their aid established a homestead on the banks of the Alabama River some forty miles above Saint Stephens.”Dictionary meaning:1. Law An article of movable personal property.2. A slave.

Question 5

unsullied;part of speech (adjective)

Answer 5

“Atticus’s office in the courthouse contained little more than a hat rack, a spittoon, a checkerboard and an unsullied Code of Alabama.”Dictionary meaning:1. Not spoiled or made impure.

Question 6

dictum;part of speech (noun)

Answer 6

“So Simon, having forgotten his teacher’s dictum on the possession of human chattels, bought three slaves and with their aid established a homestead on the banks of the Alabama River some forty miles above Saint.”Dictionary meaning:1. a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source.2. a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle.

Question 7

strictures; part of speech (noun)

Answer 7

“Mindful of John Wesley’s strictures on the use of many words in buying and selling, Simon made a pile practicing medicine, but in this pursuit he was unhappy lest he be tempted into doing what he knew was not for the glory of God, as the putting on of gold and costly apparel.”Dictionary meaning:1. A restraint, limit, or restriction: strictures placed on free assembly; strictures against food in the library; the strictures of traditional gender roles.2. An abnormal narrowing of a bodily duct or passage.3. An adverse remark or criticism.

Question 8

dispatched; part of speech (verb)

Answer 8

“The Haverfords had dispatched Maycomb’s leading blacksmith in a misunderstanding arising from the alleged wrongful detention of a mare, were imprudent enough to do it in the presence of three witnesses, and insisted that the-son-of-a-bitch-had-itcoming-to-him was a good enough defense for anybody.”dictionary meaning:1. To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business.

Question 9

ambled; part of speech (verb)

Answer 9

“They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything.”Dictionary meaning:1. To walk slowly or leisurely; stroll.2. To move along at an easy gait by using both legs on one side alternately with both on the other. Used of a horse.

Question 10

detention; part of speech (noun)

Answer 10

“The Haverfords had dispatched Maycomb’s leading blacksmith in a misunderstanding arising from the alleged wrongful detention of a mare, were imprudent enough to do it in the presence of three witnesses, and insisted that the-son-of-a-bitch-had-itcoming-to-him was a good enough defense for anybody.”dictionary meaning:1. The act of detaining.2. The state or a period of being detained, especially

Question 11

detachment; part of speech (noun)

Answer 11

“Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment.”dictionary meaning:1. The act or process of disconnecting or detaching; separation.2. The state of being separate or detached.3. Indifference to or remoteness from the concerns of others; aloofness.

Question 12

repertoire; part of speech (noun)

Answer 12

“High above us in the darkness a solitary mocker poured out his repertoire in blissful unawareness of whose tree he sat in, plunging from the shrill kee, kee of the sunflower bird to the irascible qua-ack of a bluejay, to the sad lament of Poor Will, Poor Will, Poor Will.”
dictionary meaning:
1. The stock of songs, plays, operas, readings, or other pieces that a player or company is prepared to perform.
2. The class of compositions in a genre: has excellent command of the chanteuse repertoire.
3. The range or number of skills, aptitudes, or special accomplishments of a particular person or group.

Question 13

malevolent;
part of speech
(adjective)

Answer 13

“The remains of a picket drunkenly guarded the front yard— a “swept” yard that was never swept— where johnson grass and rabbit-tobacco grew in abundance. Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; malicious.
2. Having a harmful influence: malevolent stars.

Question 14

vapid;
part of speech
(adjective)

Answer 14

“But by the end of August our repertoire was vapid from countless reproductions, and it was then that Dill gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull: vapid conversation.
2. Lacking taste, zest, or flavor; flat: vapid beer.

Question 15

morbid;
part of speech
(adjective)

Answer 15

“Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal events: people’s chickens and household pets were found mutilated; although the culprit was Crazy Addie, who eventually drowned himself in Barker’s Eddy, people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Given to or characterized by unwholesome thoughts or feelings, especially of death or disease.

Question 16

nocturnal;
part of speech
(adjective)

Answer 16

“Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal events: people’s chickens and household pets were found mutilated; although the culprit was Crazy Addie, who eventually drowned himself in Barker’s Eddy, people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Of, relating to, or occurring in the night: nocturnal stillness.
2. Botany Opening at night. Used of flowers.

Question 17

stealthy;
part of speech
(adjective)

Answer 17

“Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work. Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal events: people’s chickens and household pets were found mutilated; although the culprit was Crazy Addie, who eventually drowned himself in Barker’s Eddy, people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Marked by or acting with quiet, caution, and secrecy intended to avoid notice.

Question 18

mutilated;
part of speech
(verb)

Answer 18

“Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work. Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal events: people’s chickens and household pets were found mutilated; although the culprit was Crazy Addie, who eventually drowned himself in Barker’s Eddy, people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions.”
dictionary meaning:
1. To injure severely or disfigure, especially by cutting off tissue or body parts.
2. To damage or mar

Question 19

predilection;
part of speech
(noun)

Answer 19

“The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb.”
dictionary meaning:
1. A special liking for something; a preference.

Question 20

domiciled;
part of speech
(noun)

Answer 20

“According to neighborhood legend, when the younger Radley boy was in his teens he became acquainted with some of the Cunninghams from Old Sarum, an enormous and confusing tribe domiciled in the northern part of the county, and they formed the nearest thing to a gang ever seen in Maycomb.”
dictionary meaning:
1. A residence; a home.
2. One’s legal residence.

Question 21

flivver;
part of speech
(noun)

Answer 21

“One night, in an excessive spurt of high spirits, the boys backed around the square in a borrowed flivver, resisted arrest by Maycomb’s ancient beadle, Mr. Conner, and locked him in the courthouse outhouse.”
dictionary meaning;
1. An automobile, especially one that is small, inexpensive, and old.

Question 22

intimidation;
part of speech
(verb)

Answer 22

“Besides, Boo could not live forever on the bounty of the county.”
dictionary meaning:
1. To make timid; fill with fear.
2. To coerce or deter, as with threats.

Question 23

nebulous;
part of speech
(adjective)

Answer 23

” Boo’s transition from the basement to back home was nebulous in Jem’s memory. Miss Stephanie Crawford said some of the town council told Mr. Radley that if he didn’t take Boo back, Boo would die of mold from the damp.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Cloudy, misty, or hazy.
2. Lacking definite form or limits; vague.
3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a nebula.

Question 24

transition;
part of speech
(noun)

Answer 24

” Boo’s transition from the basement to back home was nebulous in Jem’s memory. Miss Stephanie Crawford said some of the town council told Mr. Radley that if he didn’t take Boo back, Boo would die of mold from the damp.”
dictionary meaning:
1. Change from one form, state, style, or place to another.

Question 25

concession;
part of speech
(noun)

Answer 25

” Jem stood in thought so long that Dill made a mild concession: “I won’t say you ran out on a dare an‘ I’ll swap you The Gray Ghost if you just go up and touch the house.” Jem brightened.”
dictionary meaning;
1. The act of conceding.