Stephen King

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Stephen Kings THE BODY Vocabulary
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1. Patented (adj.) exclusive belonging to an
individual
In The Body, Teddy is known for his patented
laugh Eeeeee-eee-eee!
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2. Slavering (v.) slobbering drooling
Homer has the unfortunate habit of slavering at
the mere thought of food.
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3. Pallid (adj.) lacking in color pale
This particular bat has a very pallid skin color.
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4. Evocative (adj.) bringing about an emotional
response
The Holocaust photos were so evocative that a few
people had to stop looking at them.
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5. Poignant (adj.) deeply affecting important
On their trip to see the body of Ray Brower,
Chris and Gordie have a very poignant
conversation about Gordies talent as a writer
and Chriss intelligence.
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6. Derivative (adj.) obtained from another
source
The word Christmas is derivative of Christ.
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7. Colloquialism (n.) an expression from a
certain area or dialect Examples from The Body
Tosspot a drunk Toys in the attic
crazy Goocher bad luck omen Goosalum a ghost
or spirit
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8. Brackish (adj.) tasting horrible
Andrew Zimmern hosts Bizarre Foods on the Travel
Channel and tastes brackish food from around the
world.
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9. Somnolent (adj.) likely to cause sleepiness
The somnolent flu medication knocked her out cold
for 12 hours of much needed rest.
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10. Impunity (n.) freedom from punishment,
harm, or loss
In some Arab countries, husbands, by law, have
complete impunity when it comes to beating their
wives.
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11. Melodramatic (adj.) overemotional
histrionic exaggerated
Teddy gets pretty melodramatic when Milo Pressman
calls his father a loony.
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12. Apotheosis (n.) the ideal or ultimate
example of something
Gordie writes that the apotheosis of summer for
him was running to the Florida Market with change
jingling in his pockets as he ran to buy food for
the trip to see Ray Browers body.
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13. Spang (adv.) slang for exactly or
precisely
The bullet landed spang on target.
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14. Conciliation (n.) the act of making peace
Throughout the novella, Gordie writes that Chris
was the toughest kid in their gang, but also the
best at conciliation.
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15. Chortle (v.) to chuckle or gurgle with
laughter
This t-shirt makes me chortle a little. (I think
I might have to buy this one, seriously.)
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16. Slipstream (n.) reduced air pressure and
forward suction
Teddy is known for his truck-dodging, getting so
close that he can feel the slipstream of the
passing vehicle.
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17. elbow grease (n.) physical labor
The boys have to use quite a bit of elbow grease
to get the water pump going at Pressmans dump.
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18. Mongrel (n.) a mixed breed (usually a dog)
a mutt
Despite the myths about him, Chopper is revealed
to be nothing but a medium-sized mongrel and not
terribly intimidating.
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19. Voracious (adj.) beyond hungry insatiable
starving
In Gordies story, The Revenge of Lard-Ass Hogan,
Davey Hogan starves himself to the point of being
voracious, and then drinks a secret formula to
fix the contest.
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20. Gyp (n.) a swindle or a fraud a rotten deal
In The Body, the boys agree that life can
sometimes be a gyp, but if they stick together,
they will be successful.
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21. Surrealist (n.) an artistic movement from
the 20th century that focused on dreamlike images
Salvador Dali was a famous surrealist painter.
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22. Fundamental (adj.) primary or essential
Before you can do this
you have to be able to do this.
Dribbling is a fundamental skill of basketball.
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23. languid (adj.) lazy dreamy
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24. ambulating (v.) moving from place to place
(think ambulance)
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25. ululating (v.) howling or shrieking
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26. implacable (adj.) merciless impossible to
bend or change
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27. facsimile (n.) an exact copy or replica
(think fax machine)
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28. brace (n.) a pair of
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29. indolent (adj.) having a lazy disposition
sluggish
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30. haymaker (n.) a punch delivered with great
force
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31. oscillate (v.) creating fluctuations or
waves (think oscillating fan)
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32. vertigo (n.) dizziness or unsteadiness
(often associated with fear of heights)