New Words from The Trumpet of the Swan

Something (like a swan) is buoyant if it floats easily on water.

People are very buoyant in the Dead Sea.

A commotion happens when things move around a lot fast, and are very noisy.

This fight is a commotion,

and this noisy flock of birds made a commotion.

A person is shy if he seems afraid of other people.

This little girl is shy. Maybe she wants to meet you, but she is afraid!

A person—especially a girl—is coy if she only pretends to be shy. She isn’t really afraid.

This girl seems coy. She isn’t afraid of you, she is only pretending to be, a little.

Something is defective if it has some problem that keeps it from working.

Louis’ voice was defective, because he couldn’t speak. But he could play the trumpet!

A person is doleful if he is sad because he has lost something.

The dog has a doleful look, because he lost his bone.

Something is elegant if it looks fancy and expensive, and especially if it moves nicely.

This dance was very elegant.

To embrace is to hug.

The girl is trying to embrace the swan.

Something is graceful if it moves very easily and prettily.

Look how a swan moves through the water—it is very graceful.

To haul is to pull something very heavy.

The man hauled a big bag of hay across the lawn.

Something is idyllic if it is in the country, or in the wilderness, and it is simple and also very beautiful.

What an idyllic, wild, blue mountain lake. (It is in Canada.)

To implore someone is to ask very strongly (to beg!), especially for help.

“Please, my lord!” said the peasant. “I implore you!”

To investigate is to look at something very hard, or to take a long time to try to explain something. Usually we investigate things that are very hard to understand.

In many stories, Sherlock Holmes investigated why someone was killed. (He looked at things very closely.)

Something is odious if it is so bad, so nasty, that we hate it.

I think that man took the baby’s candy. What an odious thing to do!

A bird’s plumage is all of its feathers.

This peacock has beautiful plumage.

Something is serene if it is peaceful and calm.

I think this is a serene swan.

You are spellbound if you feel that you just have to look at something that is very interesting. You don’t want to look away.

The cat is spellbound by a bird.

A person is stern if he is (or he looks) very serious and harsh.

This man looks stern.

To be timid is to be scared often, especially scared of people.

This painting is called The Timid Bather. She is scared of the water.

Something is troublesome if it makes people wait or clean up messes, or if it causes trouble in some other way.

Thomas the Tank Engine didn’t like these “troublesome trucks.”

The End