This section presents terms and phrases that are central to understanding the text and may present a challenge to the reader. Use this list to create a vocabulary quiz or worksheet, to prepare flashcards for a standardized test, or to inspire classroom word games and other group activities.

1. apprise (verb):

inform someone about something

“[Eldest sister] was to apprise me and warn me. She said I had been seen talking with this man.” (Chapter 1, Page 4)

2. encroachment (noun):

a usually slow or subtle intrusion into someone else’s space, rights, property, etc.

“At eighteen, I had no proper understanding of the ways [milkman’s behavior] constituted encroachment.” (Chapter 1, Page 6)

3. lewd (adjective):

sexually suggestive in an offensive way, vulgar

“Other things about [third brother-in-law] were that he never gossiped, never came out with lewd remarks or sexual sneers or sneers about anything.” (Chapter 2, Page 11)

4. ambivalent (adjective):

having mixed or contradictory feelings about something

“At this [maybe-boyfriend's neighbors] cast a last look, now more of an ambivalent look, towards the supercharger.” (Chapter 2, Page 33)

5. spurious (adjective):

fake, baseless, or having only the appearance of truth

“The motor-trade aspect [of middle sister’s love interest] came across as spurious, as artificial, as a weak and fabricated attempt by [ma’s] good friend Jason and those other kindly neighbours to cheer her up in the midst of this bombshell.