| A | B |
|---|
| hardheaded | stubborn; willful |
| spigots | a faucet |
| lam | to be on the run (from the law) |
| conscience | the part of the mind that controls the urge to prefer right over wrong |
| insisted | to be firm in a demand; refuse to yield |
| commence | to begin; start |
| welted | to raise welts or a welt on (a welt is a bump on the skin caused by a blow) |
| lavatory | a bathroom |
| tussling | to struggle roughly; scuffle |
| urchins | a playful or mischievous youngster |
| copacetic | a slang word meaning good or excellent |
| embouchure | a way of applying the lips and tongue to a wind instrument |
| musings | a thought |
| prodigy | a person with exceptional talents or powers |
| bad tidings | bad news |
| tragedies | a disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life |
| crinkly | having wrinkles or ripples |
| hustle | to cause or urge to proceed quickly |
| willingness | acting or ready to act gladly |
| bleakest | gloomy and somber |
| mission | an organization established for needy people |
| mouth organ | a slang word for harmonica |
| alias | an assumed name |
| matrimonial | the act or state of being married; marriage |
| ventriloquist | a person who projects his voice so that it seems to come from another source |
| gory | full of bloodshed and violence |
| gait | a way of moving on foot |
| accordion | a portable wind instrument with a small keyboard and pleated bellows |
| wiry | sinewy and lean |
| smack-dab | a slang word meaning squarely or directly |
| festering | painful and inflamed like a pus-filled wound |
| scamp | a rogue; a rascal; a mischievous youngster |
| karat | a unit of measure for the fineness of gold |
| knickers | full breeches gathered and banded just below the knee |
| moldering | to crumble to dust; to disintegrate |
| valve | a device that regulates the flow of gases, liquids, or loose materials |
| porter | a railroad employee who waits on passengers |
| paltry | pitiful, puny |
| mellowed | to become pleasant; relax |
| shunned | to avoid deliberately; to keep away from |
