| A | B |
|---|
| Lean (Adjective) | Thin ("a lean figure no longer in clown pants" p. 45) |
| Frayed (Adjective) | Shredded at the edges ("a working man's shirt blood-spattered and frayed" p. 45) |
| Shaky (Adjective) | Nervous ("Sure, Johnny," you start to say, reaching behind you, shaky." p. 45) |
| Initiation (Noun) | An introduction into a situation ("just a little initiation welcoming him" p.45) |
| To smother (Verb) | To prevent breathing ("wrestling him to the ground and smothering him" p. 45) |
| sewn (adjective) | Attached by thread and stitches ("wide pockets sewn on to the front" p. 46) |
| Vatos (Noun, plural) | homebody ("He was cruising with the vatos from Los" p. 49) |
| Barrio (Noun) | A part of a town inhabited mostly by Spanish-speaking residents ("moved in straight from the barrio for a little better life" p. 46) |
| Flaming (Adjective) | too showy or tasteless ("Got rid of the clown pants. Levi's. And flaming gypsy shirts" p. 46) |
| To stump (Verb) | confuse ("raising his hand in class to stump the teacher" p. 46) |
| Inimitable (Adjective) | Can't be copied ("Inimitable. Special. Clown pants" p. 46) |
| Slicked back (Adjective) | Hairstyle in which a greasy product is used to smooth the hair away from the hairline ("Wore his hair slicked back" p. 46) |
| Figures (Noun, plural) | Symbols such as numbers ("Proved his point by writing some figures in the dirt" p. 46) |
| Gesture (Noun) | A movement of a part of the body that communicates meaning ("Wiping his mouth as a last gesture" p. 46) |
| To rue (Verb) | to regret something ("You rued his departure" p. 47) |
| Conveyor belt (Noun) | A machine with a rubber belt on rollers that rotates endlessly carrying items ("Men standing on tall ladders pulled chickens out of the cramped cages and hung them upside down on the conveyor belt taken them inside" p. 47) |
| Duplex (Noun) | A house with two (upper/lower) floors ("Clownpants Molina was living in the duplexes by the worst factories in town" p. 47) |
| Wetback (Noun) | Offensive term for a Mexican working illegally in the U.S. ("Clownpants Molina was almost a TJ, almost a wetback" p. 46) |
| Cramped (Verb) | In a space that is too small ("Pulled chicken out of the cramped cages" p. 47) |
| To Shank (Verb) | To hit, cut, or stab someone ("he shanked some dude in Rosemead" p. 49) |
