Big Words for Little Geniuses Read online

  Copyright

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Text copyright © 2017 by James Patterson and Susan Patterson / Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Hachette Book Group, Inc. / Illustrations by Hsinping Pan

  Cover art by Hsinping Pan / Cover design by Gail Doobinin / Cover copyright © 2017 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the authors’ intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the authors’ rights.

  JIMMY Patterson Books / Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  JimmyPatterson.org

  First ebook edition: September 2017

  JIMMY Patterson Books is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

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  ISBN 978-0-316-50294-8

  E3-20170719-JV-PC

  Contents

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  DEDICATION

  A

  B

  C

  D

  E

  F

  G

  H

  I

  J

  K

  L

  M

  N

  O

  P

  Q

  R

  S

  T

  U

  V

  W

  X

  Y

  Z

  ABOUT THIS BOOK

  For Lorraine: A numerologist and a cruciverbalist in the most frabjous sort of way! — S. P.

  For Jack: A woolgathering whangdoodle if ever there was one! — J. P.

  For Ray: The incomparable life companion who is perpetually there for me! — H. P.

  Arachibutyrophobia

  (Ah-RACK-ee-byoo-tee-ro-FO-bee-ya)

  Arachibutyrophobia is the alarming fear of peanut butter sticking to the top of your mouth!

  Bibliomania (bib-lee-oh-MAY-nee-ah)

  You have bibliomania if you love to collect as many books as you can.

  Catawampus (ca-tah-WOMP-us)

  Catawampus means tilted, diagonal, or just a little bit crooked.

  Dulcifluous (dull-SIH-floo-iss)

  The delightful word dulcifluous sounds like what it means: flowing sweetly and gently.

  Empyreal (em-pie-REE-ul)

  Empyreal means heavenly, like the enchanting blue color of the sky on a sunny day.

  Flibbertigibbet (flih-ber-tee-JIH-bit)

  A friend who loves to talk and talk can be called a flibbertigibbet.

  Gobbledygook (GAH-bul-dee-gook)

  If you hear words that sound a little goofy or nonsensical, you’re listening to gobbledygook!

  Horripilation (haw-rih-puh-LAY-shun)

  If you’re cold, scared, or excited, you may get horripilation, or goose bumps, on your head or body.

  Idioglossia (ih-dee-oh-GLOH-see-ya)

  If you share a secret language with a friend, it’s called an idioglossia.

  Juxtaposition (jucks-ta-poe-ZIH-shun)

  When you put things side by side, you’ve just made a juxtaposition!

  Kerfuffle (kerr-FUH-ful)

  Have you ever kicked up a big fuss about something, like baking a cake? That’s called a kerfuffle!

  Lilliputian (li-lee-PYOO-shun)

  Lilliputian means very tiny or little, especially when describing a person.

  Magnanimous (mag-NA-nih-mus)

  If you’re magnanimous, you like to share your most favorite toys with your friends.

  Nincompoop (NIN-come-poop)

  When you’re acting a little silly or naughty, you may be called a nincompoop!

  Onomatopoeia (AH-noh-ma-toe-PEE-ya)

  An onomatopoeia is a sound word, like moo, splat, and oink! Can you think of any others?

  Pulchritudinous (puhl-kri-TOO-dih-nus)

  Pretty and pulchritudinous mean the same thing, but one is much more fun to say!

  Quokka (KWOH-ka)

  The quokka is called the happiest animal in the world because it smiles quite a lot!

  Rapscallion (rap-SKALL-yen)

  A rapscallion is someone who really likes to cause trouble.

  Stelliferous (stell-IH-fur-us)

  When the night sky is filled with stars, it’s a stelliferous sight!

  Tokus (TOOK-us)

  Your tokus has lots of funny-sounding names, like heinie, tush, and bum-bum!

  Undulating (UN-dyoo-lay-ting)

  Something that moves up and down is undulating, like the waves of the ocean.

  Volitant (VOLL-ih-tint)

  It would feel very exciting to be volitant and fly through the air like a bird.

  Whirligig (WHIR-lee-gig)

  A whirligig spins around and around, like a pinwheel in the wind.

  Xanthochroism (zan-THOCK-ro-ih-zim)

  Animals that have xanthochroism are bright yellow or orange, like goldfish.

  Yaffingale (YAH-fin-gale)

  A yaffingale is a colorful bird with yellow and green feathers on its body and red on top of its head.

  Zamboni (zam-BO-nee)

  Zamboni is the name of the big machine that zooms around an ice rink to smooth out the ice.

  Adamantine (a-dah-MAN-teen) — unbreakable

  Bumfuzzle (BUM-fuzz-ul) — to confuse someone

  Collywobbles (CALL-ee-woh-bulls) — a tummyache

  Discombobulate (dis-come-BOB-yoo-late) — to confuse someone

  Erinaceous (air-in-AY-shuss) — having to do with or looking like a hedgehog

  Felicitations (feh-liss-ih-TAY-shuns) — kind words to make people feel happy

  Grandiloquence (gran-DIH-loh-kwens) — using big words or lots of style

  Humongous (hyoo-MUN-gus) — very, very large

  Isthmus (ISS-muss) — a thin strip of land that connects two bigger areas of land

  Jillion (JILL-yun) — a very high number

  Kumquat (COME-kwat) — a sweet orange-colored fruit

  Loquacious (low-KWAY-shuss) — very talkative

  Moppet (MOH-pet) — a young child

  Nephelococcygia (NEH-fell-oh-kok-SIH-jee-uh) — fi nding familiar shapes in clouds

  Ozostomia (oh-zo-STO-mee-ya) — bad-smelling breath

  Pandiculation (pan-dik-yoo-LAY-shun) — stretching and yawning at the same time

  Quixotic (kwik-SAW-tick) — when you think that your dreams can come true

  Rigmarole (RIG-ma-roll) — something that is complicated and takes a long time

  Syzygy (SIH-zih-jee) — when objects are lined up, especially the sun, the moon, and the earth

  Tarradiddle (tare-ah-DIH-dul) — a small fi b

 
Uxorious (ucks-OH-ree-us) — very much in love with one’s wife

  Vichyssoise (vih-shee-SWAHZ) — a creamy soup made with potatoes and onions

  Whangdoodle (WANG-doo-dull) — an imaginary creature from children’s books

  Xylophone (ZY-lo-fone) — a musical instrument played by hitting wooden bars

  Yarnwindle (YARN-win-dill) — a tool for winding yarn into a ball

  Zoosemiotics (zoe-ah-seh-mee-AW-ticks) — the study of how animals communicate, like birds singing and dogs wagging their tails

  ABOUT THIS BOOK

  This book was edited by Jenny Bak and designed by Gail Doobinin with art direction by Tracy Shaw. The production was supervised by Lisa Ferris, and the production editor was Betsy Uhrig. The text was set in Bernhard Gothic and illustrations were created using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

 

 

  Susan Patterson, Big Words for Little Geniuses

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