allot (verb)  to assign or distribute into shares or portions  Mr. Gouvin’s job was to allot each group thirty dollars with which to buy groceries.

amass (verb)  to bring together, collect, gather, especially for oneself; to come together, assemble  The world is concerned that North Korea has been able to amass the plutonium necessary to build many nuclear weapons.

audacious (adj)  bold, adventurous, recklessly daring  Bobo’s audacious personality has led him to wrestle crocodiles, bungee jump and talk back to Mrs. Tamboe.

comply (verb)  to yield to a request or command  If one does not comply with the orders of a police officer, one might end up in jail.

devoid (adj)  not having or using, lacking  At one point in the novel, Crispin was devoid of all hope and actually wished for God to take him.

elite  (noun) the choice part of a group of people or things  Someday, Bobo hopes to be part of the elite in Hollywood.  (adj) superior  UCONN basketball is one of the elite programs in the country for both men and women.

grapple  (noun) an iron hook used to grab and hold  The fishermen used a grapple to haul aboard the 800 pound Mako shark.  (verb) to come to grip with, wrestle with, fight with  George and Hunter grappled in the pod area over the last ballet club permission slip.

incapacitate (verb)  to deprive of strength and ability; to make legally ineligible  While Bobo played with the controls on the Taser, it accidentally fired and incapacitated Oslow for ten minutes.

instigate (verb)  to urge on; to stir up  Swen and Oslow did their best to instigate a fight between Bobo and Jennifer by bringing up stories about Bobo’s old girlfriends.

longevity (noun)  long life, long duration  The longevity of a house plant depends on if one waters it daily and provides enough sunlight.

myriad  (adj) in very great numbers  (noun) a very great number  The myriad of species in the world’s oceans seems endless.

perspective (noun)  a point of view from which different things are viewed, physically or mentally; the appearance to the eye of various objects at a given time, place or distance  The perspective of the earth from space makes one realize that all things are related to make one big, living organism.

perturb (verb)  to trouble, make uneasy; to disturb greatly; to throw into confusion  Bobo was perturbed when he found out that Brad Pitt was buying a house in Watch Hill.

prodigious (adj)  immense in size, bulk or degree  Oslow showed his prodigious appetite at Thanksgiving when he ate an entire 20 pound turkey by himself.

relevant (adj)  connected with or related to the matter at hand  The fact that Bobo ran a red light in order to stop the bandit was not relevant to the case.

skittish (adj)  extremely nervous and easily frightened; shy or timid; extremely cautious; unstable or undependable  If one watches different birds’ behaviors one will notice what skittish creatures they are.

tether  (noun) a rope or chain used to fasten something to a fixed object  Oslow used the tether to tie Swen to the flagpole during recess.  (verb) to fasten with a rope or chain  The boat was tethered to the dock securely, so it weathered the hurricane safely.

unison (noun)  a sounding together; agreement or accord  The audience rose in unison as the performer collapsed on the stage.

vie (verb)  to compete; to strive for victory or superiority  It seems that Brad Pitt is attempting to vie for Jennifer’s affection once again, much to the dismay of Bobo.

willful (adj)  stubbornly self-willed; done on purpose, deliberate  The willful child would not stop yelling in the store until his mother relented and bought him the candy.