letslearnvocab

[letslearnvocab]

A passing tradesperson told me the new owner of the buildings was in the diner.

tradesperson (n) - comerciante

someone who buys and sells goods, especially someone who owns a store

[letslearnvocab]

It was an early August scorcher and the pool had been packed with screaming kids all day.

scorcher (n) - día de calor abrasador

an extremely hot and sunny day

[letslearnvocab]

And I wasn’t lying either when I said the hike wasn’t hard. The first quarter is up an old logging road with a fuckton of switchbacks, then the road peters out into a path through a bog, and then the path ends, and you have to just guess your way. The sky opens as the pine trees start to become sparse, and we’re surrounded by rocks and moss and low cloudberry and blueberry bushes that will gleam golden under sunlight. At night everything is dark and haunting.

fuckton (adj) - una tonelada (una jodida/puta tonelada)

a very large amount

switchback (n) - curva, zig zag

a road that has many ups and downs (and sudden turns)

peter out (phrasal verb) - agotarse, acabarse

to come gradually to an end

sparse (adj) - escaso, disperso

small in numbers or amount, often spread over a large area

cloudberry (n) - mora o zarzamora de los pantanos

a small orange fruit similar to a blackberry that grows on a bush with white flowers, found in northern areas of the world

[letslearnvocab]

Immediately I comply, sinking my feet in the warm water and scrubbing off the dirt and soot from the streets.

soot (n) - hollín

a black powder composed mainly of carbon, produced when coal, wood, etc. is burned

[letslearnvocab]

Every cart is abandoned. No peddlers in sight.

peddler (n) - vendedor/a ambulante

especially in the past, a person who travelled to different places to sell small goods, usually by going from house to house

[letslearnvocab]

Are you a friend or are you a foe?

foe (n) - enemigo/a

an enemy

[letslearnvocab]

Roman was backstage, having just reinterpreted the “to be or not to be” monologue as slapstick comedy, which was equal parts hilarious and bizarre.

slapstick (n) - payasadas, bufonadas

a type of humorous acting in which the actors behave in a silly way, such as by throwing things, falling over, etc.

[letslearnvocab]

We have done the same things for five hundred years and that do we have to show for it but overpopulation, squalor, and starvation within the outer walls?

squalor (n) - miseria

the state of being extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect

[letslearnvocab]

"You call her a shrew all the time. Also a harpy. Also a killjoy. Also your dour jailer. Also a harridan. Also a spoilsport, wet blanket, sourpuss, nemesis of joy, enemy of lightheartedness." "Well, I don't mean ALL the things I say, you know that. Besides, she thinks my bon mots are funny."

shrew (n) - arpía, bruja

an old word for an unpleasant woman with a violent temper and sharp tongue

harpy (n) - arpía

in Greek mythology, a creature with the head of a woman and the body of a bird

a shrewish woman

killjoy (n) - aguafiestas

a person who does not like other people enjoying themselves

dour (adj) - severo, terco, hosco, duro

very serious, and not smiling or friendly

harridan (n) - bruja, vieja gruñona

an unpleasant woman, especially an older one, who is often angry and often tells other people what to do

spoilsport (n) - aguafiestas

a person who stops other people from enjoying themselves

sourpuss (n) - amargado

someone who always looks unhappy and annoyed

lightheartedness (n) - alegría

the state of being lighthearted, joyous, cheerful, without a care.

bon mot (n) - burla, broma, comentario burlón

an intelligent and funny remark

[letslearnvocab]

He never chalked it up to me being Spanish or a woman. Both unjustified stereotypes when it came to being notoriously unpunctual.

chalk something up to something (phrasal verb) - atribuir algo a algo/alguien

to consider something as being caused by something else

[letslearnvocab]

With a barrage of memories from last night rolling like a mortifying flip book through my head, I jog up the wide stairway to the second floor

a barrage of something - un aluvión de algo, una oleada de algo

a great number of complaints, criticisms, or questions suddenly directed at someone

flip book (n) - folioscopio, filoscopio

a series of illustrations of an animated scene bound together in sequence so that an illusion of movement can be imparted by flipping them rapidly.

[letslearnvocab]

Don’t want to be chewed up by despair so unremitting the only conceivable response is to write it. But I am. I write this because I need both life vest and anchor, because I need both to scream and to arm myself in the dark.

despair (n) - desesperación

a feeling of having no hope

unremitting (adj) - incesante, incansable

never stopping, becoming weaker, or failing

life vest (n) - chaleco salvavidas

a sleeveless jacket filled with material that will float, for keeping a person afloat; life jacket

[letslearnvocab]

I put Dahlia in her playpen in my office while I checked my email and wrapped up the assignments I could before submitting them.

playpen (n) - parque, corralito

a small portable enclosure in which a baby or small child can play safely

[letslearnvocab]

But this isn’t some quixotic personal project that pertains to me and no one else. Depression affects everyone on the planet, directly or indirectly, in every possible sphere. Its very ubiquity robs it of sexiness but not urgency.

quixotic (adj) - quijotesco/a

having or showing ideas that are different and unusual but not practical or likely to succeed

pertain to something (phrasal verb) - concernir en algo

to be connected with a particular subject, event, or situation

ubiquity (n) - ubicuidad

the fact that something or someone seems to be everywhere:

[letslearnvocab]

How do you talk about trying to die? Haltingly, urgently: in messages and calls to friends. Abashedly: you stand in the middle of a hospital hallway on a parent’s cell phone as your grandfather bellows, “No more stupid tricks!”

haltingly (adv) - titubeando, con voz entrecortada

in a nervous way, stopping often while you are saying or doing something

abashed (adj) - avergonzado

embarrassed

bellow (v) - vocifera, grita, brama

to shout something in a loud voice

[letslearnvocab]

As quietly as I can, I slip out of the bottom bunk and tiptoe across the freezing floor to the stairs.

bunk (n) - litera

one of two beds attached together, one on top of the other

[letslearnvocab]

I used to imagine he was a roadie for some aging eighties rock band, or an adventurer who led rich tourists to their doom out in the bush. The reality—he’s a Portland locksmith—is less exciting, but his jangle of turquoise bracelets and beaded necklaces at least lets me pretend.

roadie (n) - roadie

a person employed by a touring band of musicians to set up and maintain equipment

doom (n) - muerte, perdición

death, destruction, or any very bad situation that cannot be avoided

locksmith (n) - cerrajero

a person who makes and mends locks

jangle (v) - tintineo

a ringing metallic sound