The Schwa was Here Name
Vocabulary Study Guide Class period
Chapters 1 - 8
Choose the letter of the definition that best matches the meaning conveyed in the sentence.
1. More snooty people might call him a mannequin, or even a prosthetic personage, because nobody calls things what they really are anymore. But to us normal people in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, he was a dummy, plain and simple (2).
a. the nose b. a snob c. snobbish and condescending
Howie backs up for a second, and a moment later Manny Bullpucky comes hurtling over the side of the bridge, arms and legs flailing like he’s really alive, and he does a swan dive headfirst toward the rocks (5).
2. Hurtling in the above sentence means
a. to jump over, to leap over
b. to master
c. to rush violently or move with great speed
d. hurting
3. Flailing in the above sentence means
a. To beat or strike with
b. To wave or swing vigorously; thrash
c. an instrument for threshing grain, consisting of a staff or handle to one end of which is attached a freely swinging stick or bar.
d. a similar instrument used as a weapon of war
4. I hit the deck, narrowly miss being decapitated, and when I get up again, a headless mannequin lies with his arms strewn on the rocks, just another casualty of the fast life (5).
a. to gather c. to lose a head
b. to spread here and there; scatter d. to be scattered or sprinkled over a surface
5. We snapped our heads around so sharply, it’s like whiplash. The Schwa was there, leaning up against my backyard fence. It’s like we’re all too dumbfounded to speak (22).
a. to make speechless with amazement c. to make clear
b. not smart d. horrified
6. For an instant I don’t recognize the face—like no part of it is distinctive enough to stick to my memory – a face like mental Teflon (17).
a. a nonstick pan c. a coating on applications to prevent sticking
b. deflecting blame or criticism d. clear
7. On this particular day, after the other kids went off to console themselves in their humiliating loss, Howie, the Schwa, and I hung around on the court just shooting around (29).
a. a small cabinet standing on the floor and having doors
b. a desklike structure containing the pedals, keyboard, etc. of an organ
c. the control unit of an electronic system
d. to give comfort to; to lessen the grief of
8. "How about your mother?" says Howie. I might be the prince of foot-in-mouth disease, but Howie's the king. He grimaces the moment after he says it, but it's already out (30).
- inappropriate, insensitive comment
- eating one's toe nails
- athlete's foot
- having a canker sore in one's mouth
9. "Is it true your father got a samurai sword and went Benihana on her?" (30)
- a Japanese restaurant where the cooks cut up the meat in front of the customers
- to cut up meat in a showy fashion
- to dress up in a Geisha dress
10. I took an outside shot. "How much is the stealth fighter worth?" Clank! Nothing but chain. I reveled in the sound (31).
- loud merrymaking or festivities c. to celebrate
- to take pleasure in d. to disclose or show
11. You don't really believe it, but there's enough borderline credibility to make you wonder (33).
- attention c. disbelief
- believability, trustworthiness d. falseness
12. Once Mary Ellen MacCaw spread the word, people began to devise more and more uses for the Schwa's unique talent (35).
- to form a plan c. a gift made in a will
- a crafty scheme or trick d. a thing made for a particular purpose
13. The fifty-four bucks were the least of my worries, now that Crawley was pulling our strings (53).
- to control, as of a puppet c. to tug at strings
- to kid, to joke d. to pay for services
14. I hit the deck, narrowly miss being decapitated, and when I get up again, a headless mannequin lies with his arms strewn on the rocks, just another casualty of the fast life (5).
Based on the context clues in the sentence, what might decapitated mean?
According to Santa Barbara City College CLRC Writing Center, idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that are either grammatically unusual, as in, “Long time, no see!”, or their meaning cannot be taken literally, as in, “It's raining cats and dogs!” This expression does not mean that cats and dogs are falling from the sky, but it is a metaphorical expression (word picture) that means that it is raining very heavily.
15. Underline the idioms in numbers 4 and 13. What do they literally mean? Write your answers in the space below.