The call of the wild: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Jack London uses again and again in The call of the wild that are outside the 4,000 most common in English. Learn them first and the opening chapters read much more easily. Each comes with its pronunciation and a sentence from the book.
sled/ˈsɫɛd/69× in the book
And as he had seen horses work, so he was set to work, hauling François on a sled to the forest that fringed the valley, and returning with a load of firewood.
till/ˈtɪɫ/38× in the book
His jaws closed on the hand, nor did they relax till his senses were choked out of him once more.
lek/ˈɫɛk/30× in the book
He was called Sol-leks, which means the Angry One.
husky/ˈhəski/30× in the book
They were camped near the log store, where she, in her friendly way, made advances to a husky dog the size of a full-grown wolf, though not half so large as she.
wolf/ˈwʊɫf/27× in the book
It was the wolf manner of fighting, to strike and leap away; but there was more to it than this.
mat/ˈmæt/25× in the book
Buck learned easily, and under the combined tuition of his two mates and François made remarkable progress.
whip/ˈhwɪp/24× in the book
As Buck sprang to punish him, the lash of François’s whip sang through the air, reaching the culprit first; and nothing remained to Buck but to recover the bone.
harness/ˈhɑɹnəs/22× in the book
It was a harness, such as he had seen the grooms put on the horses at home.
breed/ˈbɹid/20× in the book
Perrault was a French-Canadian, and swarthy; but François was a French-Canadian half-breed, and twice as swarthy.
mil/ˈmɪɫ/19× in the book
That day they made forty miles, the trail being packed; but the next day, and for many days to follow, they broke their own trail, worked harder, and made poorer time.
snarl/ˈsnɑɹɫ/19× in the book
… he was there on the inside, snarling and growling, as furiously anxious to get out as the man in the red sweater was calmly intent on getting him out.
howl/ˈhaʊɫ/18× in the book
… on the still cold nights, he pointed his nose at a star and howled long and wolflike, it was his ancestors …
toil/ˈtɔɪɫ/16× in the book
These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to toil, and furry coats to protect them from the frost.
limp/ˈɫɪmp/16× in the book
He staggered limply about, the blood flowing from nose and mouth and ears, his beautiful coat sprayed and flecked with bloody slaver.
bull/ˈbʊɫ/16× in the book
A band of twenty moose had crossed over from the land of streams and timber, and chief among them was a great bull.
bristle/ˈbɹɪsəɫ/15× in the book
And Buck was truly a red-eyed devil, as he drew himself together for the spring, hair bristling, mouth foaming, a mad glitter in his blood-shot eyes.
yelp/ˈjɛɫp/14× in the book
… a score of them at least, who yelped fearful promises at Toots and Ysabel looking out of the windows at them and protected by a legion of housemaids armed with brooms and mops.
fang/ˈfæŋ/13× in the book
They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang.
growl/ˈɡɹaʊɫ/13× in the book
But when the ends of the rope were placed in the stranger’s hands, he growled menacingly.
fore/ˈfɔɹ/12× in the book
Suddenly the snow gave way beneath his fore legs and he sank down.
stagger/ˈstæɡɝ/12× in the book
Buck staggered over against the sled, exhausted, sobbing for breath, helpless.
jerk/ˈdʒɝk/12× in the book
He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial.
sweater/ˈswɛtɝ/12× in the book
A stout man, with a red sweater that sagged generously at the neck, came out and signed the book for the driver.
cunning/ˈkənɪŋ/11× in the book
The facts of life took on a fiercer aspect; and while he faced that aspect uncowed, he faced it with all the latent cunning of his nature aroused.
lash/ˈɫæʃ/11× in the book
They had eaten a pair of Perrault’s moose-hide moccasins, chunks out of the leather traces, and even two feet of lash from the end of François’s whip.
instant/ˈɪnstənt/11× in the book
It bit like fire, and the next instant was gone.
frost/ˈfɹɔst/10× in the book
He lay down on the snow and attempted to sleep, but the frost soon drove him shivering to his feet.
quarrel/ˈkwɔɹəɫ/10× in the book
… for the dog-driver was in constant apprehension of the life-and-death struggle between the two which he knew must take place sooner or later; and on more than one night the sounds of quarrelling and strife among the other dogs turned him out of his sleeping robe, fearful that Buck and Spitz were at it.
moose/ˈmus/10× in the book
The gold was sacked in moose-hide bags, fifty pounds to the bag, and piled like so much firewood outside the spruce-bough lodge.
whine/ˈhwaɪn/10× in the book
He whined placatingly, squirmed and wriggled to show his good will and intentions, and even ventured, as a bribe for peace, to lick Buck’s face with his warm wet tongue.
roar/ˈɹɔɹ/10× in the book
With a roar that was almost lionlike in its ferocity, he again hurled himself at the man.
timber/ˈtɪmbɝ/10× in the book
… through Sheep Camp, past the Scales and the timber line, across glaciers and snowdrifts hundreds of feet deep …
sack/ˈsæk/10× in the book
When they put a clothes-sack on the front of the sled, she suggested it should go on the back …
hairy/ˈhɛɹi/9× in the book
At other times this hairy man squatted by the fire with head between his legs and slept.
delight/dɪˈɫaɪt/9× in the book
Hunting and kindred outdoor delights had kept down the fat and hardened his muscles; and to him …
fierce/ˈfɪɹs/9× in the book
After a particularly fierce blow, he crawled to his feet, too dazed to rush.
nest/ˈnɛst/9× in the book
No matter how breathless the air when he dug his nest by tree or bank, the wind that later blew inevitably found him to leeward, sheltered and snug.
pole/ˈpoʊɫ/8× in the book
François, guiding the sled at the gee-pole, sometimes exchanged places with him, but not often.
ration/ˈɹæʃən/8× in the book
The pound and a half of sun-dried salmon, which was his ration for each day, seemed to go nowhere.
inch/ˈɪntʃ/8× in the book
Of this offence Buck was unwittingly guilty, and the first knowledge he had of his indiscretion was when Sol-leks whirled upon him and slashed his shoulder to the bone for three inches up and down.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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