manacle
(noun) a metal band, chain, or shackle for fastening someone's hands or ankles
(verb) to fetter (a person or part of the body) with manacles
example: "He was slightly bent over when Chigurh squatted and scooted his manacled hands beneath him to the back of his knees" (5).
pneumatic
(adjective) containing or operated by air or gas under pressure
example: "The pneumatic hiss and click of the plunger sounded like a door closing" (7).
scree
(noun) a mass of small loose stones that form or cover a slope on a mountain
example: "The spot he’d picked to shoot from lay just below a long talus of lava scree and it would put him well within that distance" (8).
mote
(noun) a tiny piece of a substance
example: "He studied the animals through the binoculars. In the compressed air motes and heat distortion" (9).
caldera
(noun) a large volcanic crater, typically one formed by a major eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano
example: "He looked across the caldera toward the low range of rock on the eastern perimeter" (16).
proprietor
(noun) the owner of a business, or a holder of property
example: "He got change from the proprietor and made a phone call and filled the tank and went back in and paid" (52).
lapis
(noun) a bright blue metamorphic rock consisting largely of lazurite, used for decoration and in jewelry
example: "The man looked at Chigurh’s eyes for the first time. Blue as lapis. At once glistening and totally opaque" (56).
mesquite
(noun) a spiny tree or shrub of the pea family, native to arid regions of southwestern US and Mexico. It yields useful timber, tanbark, medicinal products, and edible pods. The timber is used for fencing and flooring, and burned in barbecues as flavoring.
example: "The fence was just an old remnant, three wires strung on mesquite posts" (58).
sipe
(noun) a groove or channel in the tread of a tire to improve its grip
example: "It’s the same tire tread comin back as was goin down. Made about the same time. You can see the sipes real clear" (71).
grackles
(noun) a songbird of the American blackbird family, the male of which has shiny black plumage with a blue-green sheen
example: "The evening was soft and warm and in the little alameda grackles were settling in the trees and calling to one another" (85).
shuck
(noun) an outer covering such as a husk or pod especially the husk of an ear of corn
example: "I believe they’ve done lit a shuck" (93).
slipstream
(noun) 1. a current of air or water driven back by a revolving propeller or jet engine
2. the partial vacuum created in the wake of a moving vehicle, often used by other vehicles in a race to assist in passing
example: "The shot had hit the rail and caromed off into the night and the rail hummed dully in the slipstream and ceased" (99).
chenille
(noun) a tufted velvety cord or yarn, used for trimming furniture and making carpets and clothing
example: "He took the screwdriver and got the chair from the desk and stood on it and unscrewed the airduct grille and stepped down and laid it dustside up on the cheap chenille bedspread" (100).
parkerized
(adjective) describing iron or steel that has been rustproofed by brief immersion in a hot acidic solution of a metal phosphate
example: "The shotgun was a twelve gauge Remington automatic with a plastic military stock and a parkerized finish. It was fitted with a shopmade silencer fully a foot long and big around as a beercan" (103).
guayabera
(noun) a lightweight open-necked Cuban or Mexican shirt with two breast pockets and two pockets over the hips, typically having short sleeves and worn untucked
example: "A Mexican in a green guayabera had sat up on the bed and was reaching for a small machinegun beside him" (103).
transom
(noun) a strengthening crossbar, in particular one set above a window or door
example: "He paid and put the key in his pocket and climbed the stairs and walked down the old hotel corridor. Dead quiet. No lights in the transoms" (107).
zocalo
(noun) (in Mexico) a public square or plaza
example: "He made his way up the street to a small park or zocalo where the grackles in the eucalyptus trees were waking and calling" (118).
wainscot
(noun) an area of wooden paneling on the lower part of the walls of a room
example: "The trees were painted white to the height of a wainscot and from a distance the park seemed set with white posts arrayed at random" (118).
pianola
(noun) a piano equipped to be played automatically using a piano roll
example: "He stood until his eyes were accustomed to the dimness. A parlor. A pianola or small organ against the far wall" (147).
transcend
(verb) be or go beyond the range or limits of (something abstract, typically a conceptual field or division)
example: "He’s a peculiar man. You could even say that he has principles. Principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that" (153).
transponder
(noun) a device for receiving a radio signal and automatically transmitting a different signal
lave
(verb) wash against or over (something)
example: "He laved water over the wounds with a washcloth. He turned his leg in the water and studied the exit wound" (164).
lozenge
(noun) 1. a rhombus or diamond shape
2. a small medicinal tablet, originally in the shape of a lozenge, taken for sore throats and dissolved in the mouth
example: "He sat on the bed turning it in his hand. Small lozenge of burnished metal the size of a domino" (172).
paunch
(noun) a large protruding abdomen or stomach
example: "A pale dried blood was crusted across his sallow sunken paunch" (191).
formica
(noun) a hard durable plastic laminate used for countertops, cupboard doors, and other surfaces
example: "A bare formica and chrome table in the center of the room with a box of cereal standing on it" (203).
