Sarah, Plain and Tall - Vocabulary

Chapter 1

Dusk - Noun
The time of day before it gets dark; Around 4:00 in the winter; 7:30 - 8:30 in the summer; Example: I usually turn my lights on at dusk.

Troublesome - Adjective
full of trouble
Example: Morning traffic is troublesome. I have to leave for work very early because of the heavy traffic.
Example: Caleb was sometimes troublesome as a baby because he cried a lot and bothered his sister.
Similar words: bothersome (full of bother) ; worrisome (full of worry)

Stew - Noun
A dish of beef and vegetables, which is cooked slowly with water and spices

Snored - Regular verb
to make noises while sleeping
Example: When her husband snored, she woke him up.
Example: Jacob's housekeeper snored every night.

Turnips - Plural noun
A large vegetable that is usually yellow or white

Mild mannered - Adjective
Gentle or kind
Example: A mild mannered person doesn't like to fight.
Example: Sarah was not mild mannered. She liked to do things her own way.

Chapter 2

Melt - Verb; Past tense = melted
To change from a solid to a liquid; ice melts into water; ice cream melts into liquid ice cream Example: It was so hot that my ice cream melted all over my hands.

Braid - Noun and verb
a way to decorate hair
Example1: When Sarah was young, she wore her hair in braids.
Example2: Do you know how to braid hair?

Fogbound - Adjective
To be trapped by fog; Fog looks like clouds on the ground.
Example: It was a rainy, cloudy day, so I had to turn on the headlights of my car. The road was fogbound. Similar words: wheelchairbound - a person who has to stay in a wheelchair is wheelchairbound; housebound - a person who has to stay in the house is housebound

Pesky - Adjective
a person who makes a lot of trouble or bothers others; troublesome
Example: Caleb thought he was too pesky because he talked a lot.

Hush - Exclamation or verb
to become silent or quiet.
Example: "Hush! The baby's trying to sleep."

Plain - Adjective
simple; not decorated; not attractive
Example: Sarah said that she was plain and tall.
Example: A plain sandwich doesn't have any mustard or mayonnaise.

Chapter 3

Hitch; Past Tense - Hitched - Verb
to connect or attach
Example: Jacob hitched a horse to the wagon.

Fetch; Past Tense - Fetched - Verb
to go and bring back;
Example: Jacob fetched Sarah from the train station.

Woodchuck; - Noun
a North American animal of the rodent (rat) family; it has short legs, a round body, and brown fur.
Example: In New Jersey, you can find woodchucks in fields and woods.

Paws; - Plural Noun
An animal's feet are called "paws".

Lonely; - Adjective
to be without companions or friends; to feel sad to be by yourself;
Example: Some immigrants feel lonely when they first come to a new country.

Preacher; - Noun
a type of religious person, similar to a priest or minister;
Example: Jacob will talk to his preacher if he decides to marry Sarah in the church.

Chapter 4

Bunches - Plural Noun
a group of something - a group of flowers, fruit, people, etc
Example: I bought a small bunch of bananas.
Example: There was a bunch of students waiting outside the professor's office.

Nests - Plural Noun
a bird's home, which is made to hold its eggs and baby birds
Example: I found a bird's nest in the tree next to my window.

Bark - Verb and Noun
the sound that a dog makes
Example: Even though it was a small dog, it had a very loud bark.
Example: My dog barks everytime the mailperson delivers the mail.

Chapter 5

Turkey buzzard - Plural Noun
a type of bird, similar to a turkey; a turkey that can fly and will eat dead animals

Scared - Adjective
frightened; afraid
Example1: Sarah wasn't scared when she slid down the dune.
Example2: Many people are scared of snakes.

...the stars blinked like fireflies - a simile (an expression that compares 2 different things;
Fireflies are small insects that you often see at night in the summer; they have small yellow lights.
Anna said that the stars looked like fireflies.
Example: Sarah slid down the hay that was like a dune in Maine.
"Sliding down our dune of hay is almost as fine as sliding down the sand dunes into the sea." (Meaning: Sarah compared sliding down the hay to sliding down sand dunes.)