Things Fall Apart - Word List

Gourds

A large fleshy fruit one can use as a vessel

Folly

Foolishness or deficiency in understanding; lack of good sense

Cowries

Porcelain-like shell (sea-shell) of a small gastropod, used as money in some parts of Africa

Haggard

Wild; weary, fatigued expression; a worn appearance from fatigue, worry, illness, or old age

Harmattan

A very dusty, relatively cool north-easterly or easterly wind in West Africa during the dry season

Loafer

One who spends their time in idleness

Plaintive

Having the character of lament; expressive of sorrow; mournful, sad

Mirth

Gaiety or lightness of mood, manifested in laughter

Prowess

Valour, bravery, gallantry, martial daring; manly courage, fortitude

Foolhardy

Recklessly bold or rash; foolishly adventurous or daring

Imperious

Having, expressing, or characterized by a domineering character or manner; overbearing, dictatorial; arrogant

Capricious

Wit and imaginativeness; given to unorthodox or far-fetched ideas; humorous, clever, ingenious

Sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour

Malevolent

Desirous/Desire of evil to others; entertaining, actuated by, or indicative of ill will

Cockcrow

Dawn or the early morning, marked by the crowing of cockerels or roosters

Roost

Of birds, bats, or other animals: to settle on a perch or other place for sleep or rest; to settle for sleep, or go to rest

Prosperously

With continued good fortune, wealth, or well-being; successfully

Tendrils

A slender thread-like organ or appendage of a plant (modified stem, branch, flower-stalk, leaf or part of a leaf), often growing in a spiral form, stretching out to or twines around something to hold itself up

Kite

A bird of prey, a Falcon (basically)

Perch

To sit, stand, or rest in an elevated, somewhat precarious position

Dry bones

Contemptuous or familiar term for a thin or withered person, who has little flesh on their bones

Dregs

The sediment of a liquid in a container, the grounds; the remnants left in a container

Meagre

Deficient, inferior; lacking fullness or elaboration; weak, unsatisfying

Sisal

A stiff fibre prepared from the leaves of certain cultivated agave plants

Luxuriant

Producing abundantly, prolific; growing to excess

Brusqueness

A curt off-handed manner; bluntness

Repentant

Feeling sorrow or regret for past sins or actions

Deftly

Skillfully, aptly, cleverly, neatly, tidily, gently

Thatched

Covered; roof a house with straw, reeds, palm-leaves, heather, or the like

Arduous

Hard to accomplish or achieve; requiring strong effort; difficult, laborious, severe

Shrivelled

Contracted and wrinkled or curled up, from great heat or cold

Calabashes

The fruit of the calabash tree; gourds or pumpkins

Foo-foo

Starchy dough-like food, made from vegetables like yams, cassava, or plantains, often served with soup, sauce, or stew

Revelled

To take intense delight or satisfaction in something; to make merry; to engage in wild or noisy recreation or festivities (esp. drinking and dancing)

Tentative

To do experimentally, done provisionally; an attempt; trying

Mortar

A cavity in which to pound or grind something; bowl

Cud

An amount of partially digested food an animal brings back from the stomach to the mouth to chew further and then re-swallow

Feverishly

As if under the influence of fever; excitedly, nervously; restlessly, fitfully; frantically

Fronds

Large compound leaves of the palm

Frenzied

Affected with or characterized by frenzy; crazy, mad; distracted, frantic; wildly enthusiastic

Feign

To fashion, form, shape; to invent (a story, excuse, accusation); to forge; to allege falsely against, attribute falsely to; to conjure up (delusions, unreal stories)

Espied

To look steadily, watch, keep a look out; to act as a spy; to discover by spying or by looking out; to catch a sight of; to perceive by chance or unexpectedly