The Great Gatsby Ch. 8-9 Vocabulary | Baamboozle - Baamboozle

recede. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."

pull back or move away or backward

transitory. "pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent,"

lasting a very short time

refuse. "But I wanted to leave things in order and not just trust that obliging and indifferent sea to sweep my refuse away."

food that is discarded, as from a kitchen

inquisition. " swollen towns beyond the Ohio, with their interminable inquisitions which spared only the children and the very old--even then it had always for me a quality of distortion."

a severe interrogation

indecipherable. "No wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable]"

not easily decoded

elocution. "Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5.00-6.00"

an expert manner of speaking involving control of voice

reverent. "He drew me into his office, remarking in a reverent voice that it was a sad time for all of us, and offered me a cigar."

feeling or showing profound respect or veneration

vain. "But when I'd shouted "Hello" several times in vain an argument broke out behind a partition and presently a lovely Jewess appeared at an interior door and scrutinized me with black hostile eyes."

unproductive of success

sneer. "However, that was my fault, for he was one of those who used to sneer most bitterly at Gatsby on the courage of Gatsby's liquor and I should have known better than to call him."

a facial expression of contempt or scorn

superfluous. "That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it."

more than is needed, desired, or required

deranged. "So Wilson was reduced to a man " deranged by grief" in order that the case might remain in its simplest form."

driven insane

pasquinade. "When Michaelis's testimony at the inquest brought to light Wilson's suspicions of his wife I thought the whole tale would shortly be served up in racy pasquinade--"

a composition that humorously imitates somebody's style

circumstantial. "Most of those reports were a nightmare--grotesque, circumstantial, eager and untrue."

suggesting that something is true without proving it

corrugated. "A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental course with its accidental burden."

shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges

amorphous. "A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about . . . like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees."

having no definite form or distinct shape

ashen. "A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about . . . like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees."

pale from illness or emotion

pneumatic. "He stopped at the garage for a pneumatic mattress that had amused his guests during the summer, and the chauffeur helped him pump it up."

relating to or using air or a similar gas

forlorn. "This was a forlorn hope--he was almost sure that Wilson had no friend: there was not enough of him for his wife."

marked by or showing hopelessness

corroborate. "He looked at me anxiously as if he hoped I'd corroborate this."

give evidence for

flush. "It was a cold fall day with fire in the room and her cheeks flushed."

turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame

vestibule. "He went out to the open vestibule and sat down on a folding-chair, and the station slid away and the backs of unfamiliar buildings moved by."

a large entrance or reception room or area

stratum. "he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself--that he was fully able to take care of her."

a group of people sharing similar wealth and status

redolent. "laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year's shining motor cars and of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered."

having a strong pleasant odor

extravaganza. "Dan Cody--told it to me because "Jay Gatsby" had broken up like glass against Tom's hard malice and the long secret extravaganza was played out."

any lavishly staged or spectacular entertainment

musty. "There was an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere and the rooms were musty as though they hadn't been aired for many days."

covered with or smelling of mold

dejection. "Crossing his lawn I saw that his front door was still open and he was leaning against a table in the hall, heavy with dejection or sleep."

a state of melancholy depression