Chapter 31 of A Poached Peerage is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of A Poached Peerage is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation. "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed. "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay. And we have been waiting nearly four hours." "You've had tea?"
Chapter 31 of A Poached Peerage is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading “"We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.”
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading “"We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.”
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading “"We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.”
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading “"We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.”
putting the wrong interpretation on
From this reading “"We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.”
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading “Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “"You've had tea?"”
past form of “tinge” — affect as in thought or feeling
From this reading “Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.”
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 “And we have been waiting nearly four hours."”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “"We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.”
In this reading “Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.”
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 Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
eagerly desirous
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "You've had tea?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
and nothing more
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
putting the wrong interpretation on
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading "You've had tea?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
past form of “tinge” — affect as in thought or feeling
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
anger produced by some annoying irritation
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading And we have been waiting nearly four hours."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Lady Ormstork received them with pleasure tinged with just a shade of vexation.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "We heard this morning of an absurd misunderstanding which we were anxious to set right without delay.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "We were so disappointed at not finding you at home to-day of all days," she exclaimed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You've had tea?"
Chapter 31 of A Poached Peerage by William, Sir Magnay holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 31 holds 145 sentences of A Poached Peerage, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of A Poached Peerage by William, Sir Magnay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 31 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 Poached Peerage by William, Sir Magnay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5783 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34088 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34088, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 481 minutes of reading across 1157 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Poached Peerage section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Poached Peerage 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 Poached Peerage, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
