Lord Of The Flies Flashcards
Lagoon
area of shallow water
“Ralph had stopped smiling and was pointing into the lagoon.”
Clamber
To shuffle or climb using both hands and feet
“Roger clambered up the ladder-like cliff.
“Look at this.”
vainly
Without success
“He took off his glasses and looked vainly for something with which to clean them.”
Quiver
Tremble or shake with a slightly rapidly motion
“His lips quivered and the spectacles were dimmed with mist.”
Decorous
Proper; marked by good taste
“Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement.”
Interpose
Place or insert between two things
“The shell was interesting and pretty and a worthy plaything; but the vivid phantoms of his day-dream still interposed between him and Piggy, who in this context was an irrelevance.”
Strident
Loud and harsh
“: and then at his firmer pressure, the note, fluking up an octave, became a strident blare more penetrating than before.”
Scupper
To deliberately sink
Speculate
To casually talk and make predictions without firm evidence
“Their heads clustered above the trunks in the green shade; heads brown, fair, black, chestnut, sandy, mouse-colored; heads muttering, whispering, heads full of eyes that watched Ralph and speculated.”
Clamor
A loud and confused noise
“Ralph’s face was dark with breathlessness and the air over the island was full of bird-clamor and echoes ringing.”
Pallor
An extreme or unnatural paleness
“Now that the pallor of his faint was over, he was a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse.”
Indignation
A feeling of righteous anger
“Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks.”
Jumble
Untidy collection or pile
“There was a jumble of the usual squareness, with one great block sitting out in the lagoon.”
Grating
Sound unpleasant and annoying
“This one, against which Jack leaned, moved with a grating sound when they pushed”
Warped
Bent, distorted, pulled out
“He stood now, warped out of the perpendicular by the fierce light of publicity, and he bored into the coarse grass with one toe.”
Conch
A large spiral shell of a mollusk, often used as a horn
“S’right. It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone’s back wall. A conch he called it.”
Scornfully
With contempt or derision
“Like kids!” he said scornfully. “Acting like a crowd of kids!”
Officious
Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner
“There was pushing and pulling and officious cries.”
Tumult
A state of commotion, noise, and confusion
“He paused in the tumult, standing, looking beyond them and down the unfriendly side of the mountain to the great patch where they had found dead wood.”
Irresistible
Not capable of being refused
“At the sight of the flames and the irresistible course of the fire, the boys broke into shrill, excited cheering.”
Nimble
Quick and agile
Festoon
Decorate with strings of flowers
“Smoke was rising here and there among the creepers that festooned the dead or dying trees.”
Tendril
A stemlike structure of climbing plants that holds onto walls and other objects
“Here was loop of creeper with a tendril pendant from a node”
Oppressive
Weighing heavily on the senses or sprit
“The silence of the forest was more oppressive than the heat, and at this hour of the day there was not even the whine of insects.”
