Vocabulary from An American Childhood

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Vocabulary from An American Childhood

• By Annie Dillard

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Improvise
We kept running, block after block we kept
improvising, backyard after backyard, running a
frantic course (Dillard 56).

• Create and perform without preparation
• Example When the actor forgot his lines he had
  to improvise.

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Translucent
I started making an iceballa perfect iceball,
from perfectly white snow, perfectly spherical,
and squeezed perfectly translucent so no snow
remained all the way through (Dillard 54).

• Allowing light, but not images, through
• Example Frosted window glass is translucent but
  not transparent.

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Simultaneous
We kept improvising, backyard after backyard,
running a frantic course and choosing it
simultaneously, failing always to find small
places or hard places to slow him down (Dillard
56).

• Existing or occurring at the same time
• Examples
• 1. The two gunshots were simultaneous.
• 2. There was a simultaneous release of the movie
  and its soundtrack on CD.

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Labyrinth
He chased us through the backyard labyrinths of
ten blocks (Dillard 56)

• A maze (in a garden) formed by paths separated by
  high hedges.
• Example He got lost in a complex labyrinth of
  tunnels and chambers.

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Embark
I had just embarked on the iceball project when
we heard tire chains come clanking from afar
(Dillard 54).

• To start or begin something important.
• Examples
• Millions of Europeans embarked for America in the
  late 19th century.
• He embarked on a new career.

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Redundant
If we listened at all, for the chewing out was
redundant, a mere formality, and beside the
point (Dillard 56).

• No longer needed or useful
• Example He edited the paper and removed any
  redundant information or statements.

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Righteous
He could only begin, You stupid kids, and
continue in his ordinary Pittsburg accent with
his normal righteous anger and the usual common
sense (Dillard 57).

• Right or moral
• Example A righteous man can be trusted to act
  honorably regardless of the circumstances.

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Perfunctory
You stupid kids, he began perfunctorily
(Dillard 56).

• Done routinely with little interest or care
• Example The violinist delivered a perfunctory
  performance that displayed none of the passion
  and warmth he was once known for.

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Crenellated
The cars tires laid behind them on the snowy
street a complex trail of beige chunks like
crenellated castle walls (Dillard 54).

• Having rows of squares like notches along a
  castle wall
• Example The archers used the crenellated walls
  to shoot at the enemy.