The Monkey's Paw Vocabulary

“When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse. Now look at him.”

• To lose one's foothold

• a young slender person

• to move, flow, pass, or go smoothly or easily

• a women’s garment worn under dresses or skirts

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

The tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group.

• Death

• an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body

• serious or solemn

• threatening a seriously bad outcome; critical

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

“Did you give him anything for it, Father?” inquired Mrs. White, regarding her husband closely.

“A trifle,” said he, coloring slightly. “He didn’t want it, but I made him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away.”

• an object of very little value

• a matter that is insignificant

• a very small amount

• to mess with, treat disrespectfully

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

“If you only cleared the house, you’d be quite happy, wouldn’t you?” asked Herbert, with his hand on his shoulder. “Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that’ll just do it.”

• to strike repeatedly with great force

• to beat or throb violently, as a heart

• a measure of weight

• a denomination of money used in England

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

“A silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three, which lasted until the old couple rose to retire for the night.

• to withdraw or go away or apart to a place of seclusion

• to go to bed

• to resign permanently from a career

• to retreat, as in troops in a war

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

All of which did not prevent her from scurrying to the door at the postman’s knock, nor prevent her from referring somewhat shortly to retired sergeant majors of bibulous habits when she found that the post brought a tailor’s bill.

• a strong piece of timber, metal, etc, used as a support

• a pole around a racetrack to indicate where a race begins or ends

• an established mail system or service

• to place a text on a website

Tags

CCSS.L.8.6

CCSS.RL.8.4

“Morris said the things happened so naturally,” said his father, “that if you might of so wished to attribute it to coincidence.”

• to consider as made by the one indicated, especially with strong evidence but in the absence of conclusive proof

• something used as a symbol of a particular person

• to consider as a quality of a person, thing, or group

• to regard as resulting from a specified cause

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.L.8.4B

CCSS.RL.8.4

The candle end, which had burned below the rim of the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until, with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired.

• to breathe out

• to die out, as a fire

• to come to an end; terminate

• to die

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

The old woman with a sudden wrench broke free and ran from the room.

• a sudden, violent twist

• to overstrain or injure (the ankle, knee, etc.) by a sudden, violent twist

• a tool for gripping and turning or twisting the head of a bolt, a nut, a pipe, or the like, commonly consisting of a bar of metal with fixed or adjustable jaws.

• a twisting or distortion, as of meaning

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.RL.8.4

He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated.

• to come to a stop, usually temporarily; cease from operation for a time

• to hang by attachment to something above

• to punish by not allowing one to attend school for a predetermined amount of time

• to defer or postpone

Tags

CCSS.L.8.4A

CCSS.L.8.4B

CCSS.RL.8.4