Chapter 9 of A Man's Man is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of A Man's Man is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?" "No." "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently. He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck. Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
Chapter 9 of A Man's Man is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
a stairway or ladder that leads from one deck to another on a ship
From this reading “He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.”
in a self-satisfied manner
From this reading “"Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.”
a pouch in many birds and some lower animals that resembles a stomach for storage and preliminary maceration of food
From this reading “_LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"”
past form of “crawl” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.”
beyond normal limits
From this reading “Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.”
a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual
From this reading “Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.”
French painter whose work influenced the impressionists (1832-1883)
become destroyed by water, air, or a corrosive such as an acid
From this reading “Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.”
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 “He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.”
In this reading “He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.”
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 _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
a stairway or ladder that leads from one deck to another on a ship
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
in a self-satisfied manner
From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
a pouch in many birds and some lower animals that resembles a stomach for storage and preliminary maceration of food
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
past form of “crawl” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
at any time
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
beyond normal limits
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
French painter whose work influenced the impressionists (1832-1883)
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
a form of address for a man
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
not any; not one
From this reading "No."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
become destroyed by water, air, or a corrosive such as an acid
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
the state of being neat and smart and trim
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
defying recognition as e.g. because of damage or alteration
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
Chapter 9 of A Man's Man by Ian Hay holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 9 holds 123 sentences of A Man's Man, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of A Man's Man by Ian Hay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 9 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 Man's Man by Ian Hay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4766 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41574 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41574, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 397 minutes of reading across 954 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Man's Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of A Man's Man 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 Man's Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
