Ochre, mint, hazel

Two bear cubs playing near the feet of their mother caught his eye, ochre, mint and hazel tumbling as they rolled and laughed in their native tongue. [2, p. 201]

Ochre is a shade of brown, while mint is a light shade of green, and hazel is, well, it's supposed to be a "golden brown" color as per definition. Hazel is supposed to be the color of a hazelnut, but a Google image search for hazel eyes reveals images of eyes that look a little more green than hazel to me. I dasnt try to settle the situation.

Shaomai, ugali, nipla, kori bananje

"And I enjoy food--a lot. Nothing like a little shaomai, ugali, nipla, or kori bananje to make your taste buds happy..." [2, p. 201]

Shaomai are Chinese dumplings served in dim sum, ugali is an East African food item made of maize that can have the consistency of porridge or dough. I could not find definitive answers on what nipla or kori bananje are. I think kori bananje is some type of Indian dish with curry and chicken, and I can only guess that nipla is some kind of African dish.

Chided

"Mackenzie!" she chided, her words flowing with affection. [2, p. 199]

To chide is to show disapproval of or to scold.

Eddies, whorls, prow

At one point he turned to watch eddies and whorls made by the oar blade and stern and when he turned back, Sarayu was sitting in the prow, looking at him. [2, p. 197]

An eddy is a current that's going in a different direction from the main current within a medium, such as water in a lake or even a body of gas. Just think of a small whirlpool, if you like.

A whorl is something with radial symmetry, but the things arranged along the central axis need not be perpendicular to the axis. Think of a pinwheel. Whorl is also associated with things in a spiral formation. Another word for a whorl is a verticil.

The prow is simply the front part of a boat or ship. In this context, it is also also known as the bow.

Countermand

So whose choices should we countermand, Mackenzie? [2, p. 193]

To countermand means to put a stop to something by an order contradictory to the action that initiated the thing that is being stopped. Bit confusing? It just means to put a stop to something.

Grotto

He now realized that the walls of the cave had dissolved around him, and he was standing in a grotto behind the waterfall. [2, p. 171]

A grotto is a cave or cavern; I'm not sure if there is an actual distinction between a regular old cave and a grotto, though. But if you do a Google image search, it mostly turns up images of caves that are next to shorelines and filled with water. I suppose it is safe to assume that a grotto is a watery cave due to being near a body of water.

Luciano Pavarotti

He thought, I'm Mickey Mouse about to speak to Pavarotti. [2, p. 155]

Luciano Pavarotti is probably the most famous operatic singer of all time. I'm sure he's been caricatured countless times by numerous cartoons and artists, as he is the quintessential image of an opera singer. If I say opera singer, you will probably think of Luciano Pavarotti, or at least a caricature of him. I feel like listening to some of his music now :)

Coalesced, regal

And then he jumped when the light coalesced on one spot, and he finally saw her. Behind the desk sat a tall, beautiful, olive-skinned woman with chiseled Hispanic features, clothed in a dark-colored flowing robe. She sat as straight and regal as a high court judge. [2, p. 154]

Coalescing is when things grow or come together to form one mass or body.

Regal refers to kingly or royal-appearing, or stately and refined looking things or persons.

Mica

He looked down and was relieved to see a faint reflection off a surface--not the dirt and rock of the tunnel, but a floor; smooth and dark like polished mica. [2, p. 154]

Mica is a type of rock made up of hydrous silicates of aluminum, and it is usually translucent. It is also known as isinglass. Just think of Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

Impasse

Mack followed the trail that wound past the waterfall, away from the lake, and through a dense patch of cedar trees. It took less than five minutes to reach an impasse. [2, p. 153]

An impasse is a situation with no way out, be it because of a physical or rhetorical barrier.

Osprey

Jesus paused to watch an osprey dive into the lake not fifty feet from them and slowly take flight again, talons gripping a large lake trout still struggling to escape. [2, p. 148]

An osprey is a large type of hawk that feeds on fish.

Orchard

They were in an area that could have been an orchard, but not really. [2, p. 132]

An orchard is a plot of land devoted to growing fruit or nut trees.

Currant, vermilion, tangerine, chartreuse, platinum, fuchsia

Without speaking a word, he tried to follow Sarayu from place to place within the garden but found himself easily distracted by the blends of colors: currant and vermilion reds, tangerine and chartreuse divided by platinum and fuchsia, as well as innumerable shades of greens and browns. [2, pp. 131-132]

A currant is a little round berry of maroon-ish pink-ish color that grows on shrubs of the genus Ribes. In the case above, however, they are clearly referring to the color of currants.

This is what the colors look like:

Currant
Vermilion
Tangerine
Chartreuse		or
Platinum
Fuchsia

Somehow, this table doesn't do any of those colors any justice. Seeing these colors in real life is quite a different experience, as they are all colors I consider to be dramatic. Note, also, that there is a distinction between "web chartreuse" (which appears lime green-ish), and traditional chartreuse, which is more yellow.

Transfixed

Mack sat transfixed as he watched Jesus kiss his Father's hands and then look deeply into his Father's eyes and finally say,"Papa, I loved watching you today as you made yourself fully available to take Mack's pain into yourself and then gave him space to choose his own timing." [2, p. 109]

Being transfixed means not moving because you've been struck by awe, and are unable to do anything but look.

Gardenia, jasmine, precariously

It was the smell of flowers with overtones of gardenia and jasmine, unmistakably his mother's perfume that he kept hidden away in his little tin box. He had already been perched precariously on the precipice of emotion, and now the flooding scent and attendant memories staggered him. [2, p. 85]

Gardenia refers to any tree or shrub that belongs to the genus Gardenia, or the flowers that grow from them. I don't know that they have one characteristic smell, but a Google search turns up pictures of white flowers. So if they all produce white flowers for the most part, then maybe they smell similar, too?

Jasmine refers to any of various plants belonging to the genus Jasminum. They usually have fragrant flowers.

Precarious refers to something that is uncertain--as in, something that may be arbitrary.