Erin McMahon
Dr. Robley Hood
English IIG
16 April 2007

Swath (n)-" . . . at that inaccessible waving native grass, uncut but by the great mower of time, who cuts so broad a swath, without so much as a wisp to wind about their horns"(160). Thoreau, Henry David. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
Def: the space covered by the stroke of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine
My sentence: Sitting on the floor in my living room, I pulled out my army knife, which had just been sharpened, and grazed its blade along the roots of the carpet, leaving behind a swath of carpet, cutting the strands of yarn shorter than the rest.

Balked (v)- "The Jesuits were quite balked by those Indians who, being burned at the stake, suggested new modes of torture to their tormentors" (329). Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
Def: to hinder, defeat
My sentence: Elizabeth suggested that Tripp should start his project early, but her argument was balked when he came home with a perfect score on the poster which he had completed last minute.

Antepenultimate (mod)-"At length the antepenultimate and drowsy hours drew on, and all the sounds were denied entrance to our ears"(163). Thoreau, Henry David. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
Def: third from the end
My sentence: Of all the things I have read by Thoreau, Walden, "Civil Disobedience", Cape Cod, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, and The Maine Woods, the antepenultimate was my favorite because of the beautiful descriptions of the ocean and beaches.

Gobbets (n)- "Their small red bodies, little bundles of red tissue, mere gobbets of venison would not have ‘fattened fire’" (180). Thoreau, Henry David. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
Def: a chunk of raw meat
My sentence: My favorite meal is breaded steak, requiring spices and breadcrumbs in which the gobbets of steak are placed.

Glaucous (mod)-" . . . looking down through the woods on some of its bays which are not so deep but that the reflection from the bottom tinges them, its waters are of a misty bluish-green or glaucous color"(446). Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
Def: of a pale grayish or bluish-green color
My sentence: Her glaucous eyes were like serene pools reflecting the clear sky.

I pledge on my word of honor as a Webb lady that I have neither given nor received any aid on this assignment.