accessible(adj) easy to get;understandable

The invisible man,whose wife had been wanting a new washer and drier, surprised her oneafternoon. Both were easy to use andwere located in a part of the housethat was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to a busyhome-maker.

The invisible man’s wife, who was anexcellent reader, found the instruction manuals to be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , or easy to understand.

zany(adj) whacky; kooky

Mr. and Mrs. McSweeney, who usuallyenjoyed watching _ _ _ _, or strangelyfunny, movies on television, were a littlebit creeped out by the llama-ranchingclowns that were on the Disney channel.

Although the clowns themselves were_ _ _ _ and goofy, the llamas behaved viciously.

adhere (v) to stick to something

Wilbur follows directions and _ _ _ _ _ _s to good advice, such as working hard in school, and that iswhy he won the success award.

Because Wilbur had showered with a floweryscented soap before the award ceremony,a sweet fragrance _ _ _ _ _ d, or stuck, to him.This attracted five bees, who dive-bombed his facejust as he was about to pose for a photograph.

woe (n) sadness, miseryAlbert’s lady had dumped him, his hand-made toothpaste businesshad failed, and he suddenly realized that he’d worn one whiteand one black shoe. All this left him full of misery, or _ _ _.

Although Albert was experiencing sadness and _ _ _, hewas not a quitter. He resolved to get a good night’s sleep,dust himself off, and get back to work rebuilding hislife.

amiable (adj) likable, friendlyThe pleasant, or _ _ _ _ _ _ _, ice cream store man offered the three kids an extra scoop for free if it was their birthday.

Although this sounded good at first, he came off as a lot less _ _ _ _ _ _ _, or kind, when he would take a huge lick off the top scoop before handing it to the kid.

askew (adj) crooked, awry,off-kilter, strange

Because Benjamin wanted to appear manly, he slouched when he walked and made sure his collar was a little _ _ _ _ _ , or not too straight.

Ben’s special friend, Larry, also attempted a masculine, he-man style. Larry’s jive walk and neck tie that was crooked, or _ _ _ _ _,were meant to show the ladies that he was a cool, laid-back kind of cat.

whereas (adv) while on the other hand

Bubbles was a quiet fish who kept his thoughts to himself, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Goldiewas always flapping her fish lips about something.

Bubbles’s parents had taught him to be cautious about swimming around with his mouth open, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Goldie’s mom was also a blabbermouth who set a very bad example.

volatile (adj) explosive; unpredictable

Professor Higgenbotham’s shrinking ray machine was still under development, so it was still unpredictably explosive, or _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

During some of the experiments he’d run, the professor was disappointed by the outcomes. He had to tinker with the machine to make the results more predictable and less _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

atone (v) to make up for a wrongdoing;to repay someone for some error

After she hung up with the teacher, Lisa’s mom knew she was going to have to make her daughter _ _ _ _ _ for her bad behavior at school.

Lisa’s mom, who had had it up to here with that little brat’s shenanigans, made a long list of chores that Lisa was going to have to do to _ _ _ _ _ for this. That girl needed to be taught a lesson!

bailiwick (n) A person’s superpower;The thing at which you are absolutely the best

The Listerine company, which is well known for its mouthwash, discovered that it wasn’t so good at making shaving cream. Shaving cream making was clearly not the company’s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

This man, who used to look normal, and whose _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ had been playing the banjo, was now insane and scary because the Listerine shaving cream had poisoned his brain. Now his only good skill, or his _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, was mumbling weird things and looking creepy. Thanks for nothing, Listerine. Stick to mouthwash next time.

versatile(adj) useful for many things; flexible

A Swiss Army knife, which has a few blades, scissors, corkscrew, and bottle opener, is an extremely _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tool.

This mannequin is highly _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ because it can be used to model clothing, wigs, artificial moustaches or body parts. So many uses!

ubiquitousIn Heaven, angels seem to be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, or all over the place. Wherever you look, what do you see? Haloes, wings, harps. They’re like nine-year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert.

Besides angels, clouds are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _up in Heaven. You pretty much don’t see any hardwood floors, carpeting, or pavement. It’s just angels and clouds.

(adj) present everywhere; seems like it’s all over the place

cache(n) a secret stash; a hidden supply

(v) to secretly hide something

As she left her grandpa’s house, Abigail headed home, where she had a _ _ _ _ _ of good candy. She had to get the taste of her grandpa’s horrible Brussels sprouts casserole out of her mouth.

Abigail _ _ _ _ _ d all this good candy, which included butterscotches, Hershey kisses, and lemonheads, shortly after October 31.

chronicle (v) to tell a story in time-order(n) a story that goes in time-order

Chatterly invited some friends to a picnic, where he shared a funny_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ about a time when he went on a blind date with a chipmunk.

Next, Phillip the frog _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the amusing tale about his blind datewith an adorable tortoise.

timidBetty was normally not very outgoing, so it was very awkward for this _ _ _ _ _ housewife to discover that she had an extremely friendly freezer.

(adj) shy, bashful, reticent

This freezer wasn’t even slightly shy, or _ _ _ _ _; that extremely friendly freezer would talk to anybody.

subtle(adj) difficult to notice; understated; somewhathidden

When he talked to Billy about bike riding,Officer Krumpkey’s _ _ _ _ _ _ expressionseemed to indicate doubt in Billy’s bicycling abilities, but it was very hard to tell because the policeman didn’t want to be discouraging.

Officer Krumpkey had a soft voice with a _ _ _ _ _ _, or hard to explain, accent.

currencyKids can earn _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, or money, by doing chores around the house, raking the neighbors’ lawns, or raising adorable hamsters for pets or meat.

(n) money; anything of value that onecan trade for something else.

I did not have any money, but I was able to acquire a bottle of Dr. Pepper by trading two Pokemon cards and a unicorn sticker, because these are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ among little kids.

shenanigans

Because of his ridiculous _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, Bugs Bunny is known as a real goofball and wise guy.

(n) silliness; harmless but annoying misbehavior

Teachers normally prefer that school kids keep their _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ out of the class room; it is, after all, why we have recess.

debonairElwood always dressed well and spoke eloquently, so when he showed up at the middle school dance in his new hat the girls were a little surprised by this young gentleman who, was normally rather _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

(adj) fancy or well-dressed and eloquent in a masculine way

Elwood, who was always kind of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,or fancy, in the way he dressed and spoke, had lost a bet. His fine was to wear a Donald Duckhat and to waddle like a duck.

serendipity(n) amazingly good luck; an extraordinarycoincidence that has a positive and welcomeeffect

It was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, or uncannily great luck, that your son’s baseball broke my window. At first it seemed bad, but in the process of fixing it, I discovered a hidden termite problem. Whenever I find a banana wearing mittens and earmuffs, I thank my lucky stars. It is such _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to grab a snack and end up meeting someone who’d like to go skiing together.

eloquent(adj) said in a fancy or elegant way; articulate;expressed clearly and effectively

Nicole had told her friends she liked strong guys who had hairy chests, but her blind date with Tom revealed him not to be a good match. She preferred hairy-chested guys who were more _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. In other words, she liked her dates to be able to explain their ideas clearly and without any meowing.

retrogradeYeah, what started out as a fun morning bike ride was about to go in a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ direction.

(adj) backwards; in the wrong direction

I almost can’t bear to look at this picture; I wish we could rewind the story that’s unfolding here, to view it in a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ direction.

flummoxed(adj) extremely confused; frustrated and bewildered

I admit it: sometimes the way the Everyday Math people explain something leaves kids more confused, or _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, than necessary.

Although it can be highly entertaining to mess with people and confuse them, it isn’t a lot of fun to be the person who is frustrated and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

resolveMarty the World’s Largest Praying Mantis _ _ _ _ _ _ _ d to stop askinghuman women on dates. He decided they were too shrill and shrieky.

(v) to make up your mind about something; to promise something

Becky told Marty “I promise, or _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , that I will try harder not to scream and shriek next time I see you, but face it-----you really should stick with giant lady insects.” She then offered to pray for him, which he appreciated.

gleanAlthough Edward was “just” a window washer man, he couldeasily _ _ _ _ _, or notice, that Mathilda wasn’t terribly fond of her boss.

(v) to gather details by observation;to look at a situation and infer what’s happening;to notice things and then reach a conclusion

Edward looked through the sudsy window and noticed several things: Mathilda wasn’t paying much attention to her boss, the boss was rambling on and on, and the phone was ringing with no one answering it. Edward _ _ _ _ _ ed that Mathilda might be ready to look for a new job.

reminisceOld people seem to forget the bad parts of their lives; when they _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ about the old days, it always sounds like everything was perfect.

(v) to remember the good parts; to recallpast events fondly

Someday even you will _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ about how great it was back in 2012-13 when you were in 5th grade and everything was perfect.

glibThe giant bunny looked adorable and friendly, but he was known for making sarcastic, or _ _ _ _, comments, such as “Oh boy, you two are going to be miserable together!”

(adj) honest but not polite; funny but with a sharpor sarcastic tone

This _ _ _ _ giant rabbit said “Ha Ha!” when the guy accidentally dropped and broke the egg his pretty girlfriend had handed him.

regaleNow I will _ _ _ _ _ _ you with the amusing story of what really happened to this lady.

(v) to tell a funny or entertaining story

Although it looks as if she had experienced something horribly frightening, you will see, as I chronicle the entertaining events that led to a huge misunderstanding, that this is, in fact, a comedy I am _ _ _ _ _ ing you with .

ratioIf you study the top line of this sushi poster, you will see that the _ _ _ _ _ of fish on a block of rice to fish rolled up in the middle of something is six to two.

(n) a comparison between numbersthe way in which one amount is related to another

Out of ten fifth graders, the _ _ _ _ _ of sushi likers to sushi haters is probably around two to eight .

harbingerGoing out for ice cream cones after the baseball game sounded great, but I got a sick feeling when I saw Jo Jo. An upside-down ice cream cone person with no eyebrows is surely a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of bad things to come.

(n) a sign of bad luck coming; a bad omen

As predicted, Jo Jo the Clown’s appearance at the end of an otherwise terrific evening turned out to be a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of evil: we got a flat tire!

quibbleThe nurses argued over who had whiter shoes. Regrettably, their _ _ _ _ _ _ ing came at the expense of their patients, who were lying in their beds in pain and misery.

(v) to argue over something petty or unimportant

Nurse Welch and Nurse Jones liked to _ _ _ _ _ _ , or argue, about stupid little things, such as whose handwriting was nicer, whose breath was fresher, or who had better proportioned toes.