Chapter 5 of A Book of Burlesque is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of A Book of Burlesque is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Arth._ Why be so boisterous? I will hold my mug. For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say. Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw! _Hub._ (_to Ruffian_).
Chapter 5 of A Book of Burlesque is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
From this reading “_Arth._ Why be so boisterous?”
possessive form of “heaven” — any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.”
the central part of a car wheel (or fan or propeller etc) through which the shaft or axle passes
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!”
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading “Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!”
the quantity that can be held in a mug
From this reading “I will hold my mug.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.”
hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense
From this reading “Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Arth._ Why be so boisterous?
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading _Arth._ Why be so boisterous?
noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
From this reading _Arth._ Why be so boisterous?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
possessive form of “heaven” — any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading I will hold my mug.
the central part of a car wheel (or fan or propeller etc) through which the shaft or axle passes
From this reading _Hub._ (_to Ruffian_).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I will hold my mug.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
the quantity that can be held in a mug
From this reading I will hold my mug.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I will hold my mug.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading _Hub._ (_to Ruffian_).
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
express in words
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
cause to go somewhere
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading _Arth._ Why be so boisterous?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Hub._ (_to Ruffian_).
hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense
From this reading Hubert, thy word indeed shall be my law; My tooth is out: see, I will hold my jaw!
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading _Arth._ Why be so boisterous?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will hold my mug.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading For Heaven's sake, Hubert, send that man away, And not a word against it I will say.
Chapter 5 of A Book of Burlesque by William Davenport Adams holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 5 holds 418 sentences of A Book of Burlesque, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of A Book of Burlesque by William Davenport Adams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 5 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Book of Burlesque by William Davenport Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2939 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47150 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47150, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 244 minutes of reading across 588 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Book of Burlesque section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of A Book of Burlesque to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Book of Burlesque, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
