VOCAB 8 Three Skeleton Key

MONOTONOUS

Monotonous (adj) spoken in one tone; boring, repetitive Well, one does have a few in thirty-five years of service in the Lights, although it’s mostly monotonous routine work – keeping the light in order, making out the reports. When I was riding on highway 20 with my dad, the road was so monotonous that it put me to sleep. Listening to my wonderful, energetic teacher is never monotonous!

Eternal

Eternal (adj) endless; having no beginning or end One misstep and down you would fall into the sea – not that the risk of drowning was so great, but the waters around our island swarmed with huge sharks that kept an eternal patrol around the base of the light. A circle has no beginning or end; thus it is eternal. A wedding ring is symbolic for a marriage that will never end.

Provisions

Provisions (n) Supplies We had enough provisions to last for months, in the event that the sea should become too rough for the supply ship to reach us on schedule. I am paranoid, so I keep a whole closet of provisions in my house in case we are attacked by Russia or aliens.

Treacherous

Treacherous (adj) Dangerous Now, ships were a rare sight in our waters, for our light was a warning of treacherous reefs, barely hidden under the surface and running far out to sea. Walking along the side of the road in the middle of the night wearing a black shirt can be treacherous, especially if you wander out in the road.

Derelict

(n)an abandoned ship; a homeless person (adj) deserted, abandoned, run-down If I say there’s no one aboard, I mean she’s derelict. If I don’t graduate from high school, I may have to live in a derelict little house that will fall in on me when it rains.

Extinguish

Extinguish (V) to put out Our light extinguished, we returned to the gallery with our glasses and inspected her. When the song comes on the radio about the “shorty” burning on the dance floor, I always think to myself that someone should extinguish her so she won’t get hurt.

Specimen

Specimen (n) Example They had been driven out by the rats. Not those poor specimens of rats you see ashore, barely reaching the length of one foot from their trembling noses to the tip of their skinny tails, wretched creatures that dodge and hide at the mere sound of a footfall. Every morning, I look at myself in the mirror and compliment myself on what a fine specimen I am of the male population.

Suffice

Suffice (v) be enough At times, when the cargo does not suffice, the rats attack the crew, either driving them from the ship, or eating them alive. After the game, I was starving so I thought a pizza the size of a microwave would suffice to end my hunger.

Writhing

Writhing (adj) twisting as in pain or discomfort Over her bridge, on her deck, in the rigging, on every visible spot, the ship was a writhing mass – a starving army coming toward us on a vessel gone mad! I writhed in pain when he threw the pencil and it stabbed me in the eye.

Comrades BFF!

Comrade (n) a friend; a fellow member of a group I called my comrades and the three of us fastened a sheet of tin in the opening, sealing it tightly. Daniel and Tony, my comrades, and I created our own club where we meet and reenact different plays on tragic romances.

Incessantly

Incessantly (adv) without ceasing or stopping They moved incessantly, never still. While on vacation in New Zealand, I went on 20 mile hike through the mountains. I hiked incessantly so that I could make it to my destination on time.

Horde

Horde (n) a large, moving crowd We have to walk on the purple line in the hallways when we go to electives so that we won’t look like a horde of crazy animals.

Recede

Recede (v) to draw back As the water receded, I quickly put my feet in the sand to leave footprints even though I knew that the water would wash it away when it came back. His hair was slowly receding; it looked like he would be bald in a few years.

EDIBLE

Edible (adj) able to be eaten My mom makes this really gross meatloaf that has a weird smell. It looks like brown mud that someone has squirted ketchup on. It is probably edible, but who would want to eat it?