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"Me and Vinnie from New Jersey as told by Google’s Oxford English Language…" by Lisa Thornton


Me and Vinnie from New Jersey as told by Google’s Oxford English Language Dictionary


want v. have a desire to possess

n. a lack


intention n. an aim or plan

n. a person’s designs

n. the healing process of a wound


feel v. be aware through touching

n. experience of sensation or emotion


partner n. either of a pair

n. any of a number among whom losses are shared

n. a lover


lust n. a sensual appetite regarded as sinful

v. have a strong sexual desire


curiosity n. a desire to know or learn

n. a strange or unusual object


connection n. the action of linking one thing with another

n. a person with whom one has contact

n. a supplier of narcotics


have v. to own; to hold

n. someone with plenty


communion n. common participation in a mental or emotional experience

n. the service of worship

(similar: fellowship)


sweat n. moisture exuded through the pores of the skin, typically in profuse

quantities as a reaction to heat, physical exertion, fever or fear

n. a state of flustered anxiety or distress

n. hard work, effort

v. get rid of something

v. worry

v. to heat (chopped vegetables) slowly in a pan with a small amount of fat so that

they cook in their own juices



climax n. the most intense, exciting, or important point of something

n. the final stage in a succession of which a state of equilibrium is reached

v. culminate

v. peak


fleet n. a group of ships sailing together

v. move or pass quickly

v. fade away


cold adj. lacking warmth

adj. objective, not affected by emotion

adj. depressing or dispiriting

adj. of the scent or trail of a human or animal no longer fresh and easy to follow

adj. without rehearsal, unawares

adj. completely, entirely


shame n. a powerful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of

wrong or foolish behavior

v. to cause someone to feel inadequate


loss n. the feeling of grief when deprived of something of value

n. a reduction of power within or among circuits


alone adj. having no one else present

adv. used to emphasize that only one factor out of several is being considered

and that the whole is greater or more extreme


release v. enable to escape from confinement; set free

v. remove restrictions or obligations from someone so that they become

available for another activity

v. allow something to return to its resting position by ceasing to put pressure

on it

v. discharge a debt

v. surrender




Lisa Thornton is a writer and nurse living in Illinois. She has work in SmokeLong Quarterly, Bending Genres, Roi Faineant, Cowboy Jamboree and more. She was a finalist for the 2022 SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She can be found on Twitter @thorntonforreal.

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