Chapter 20 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SIR T. What, gone! Upon my life, they did mistrust. MEAN. They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder. SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
Chapter 20 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
formed or made thin by hammering
From this reading “They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.”
plural of “crow” — black birds having a raucous call
From this reading “They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.”
an opening that permits escape or release
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading “SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.”
regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in
From this reading “Upon my life, they did mistrust.”
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles; a solid that has been pulverized
From this reading “They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.”
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading “They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.”
a guard who keeps watch
From this reading “SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.”
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.
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
formed or made thin by hammering
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
plural of “crow” — black birds having a raucous call
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Upon my life, they did mistrust.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
destroyed or killed
From this reading SIR T. What, gone!
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Upon my life, they did mistrust.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading MEAN.
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in
From this reading Upon my life, they did mistrust.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Upon my life, they did mistrust.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles; a solid that has been pulverized
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
term of address for a man
From this reading SIR T. What, gone!
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading SIR T. What, gone!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading They are so beaten, that they smell an officer, As crows do powder.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Upon my life, they did mistrust.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Upon my life, they did mistrust.
a guard who keeps watch
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading SIR T. What, gone!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading SIR T. Watchman, call you forth The mistress of the house _imprimis_; for [_Exit_ OFFICER.
Chapter 20 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 by Robert Dodsley holds 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 20 holds 390 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 by Robert Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 20 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 Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 by Robert Dodsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13539 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46791 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46791, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 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 Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
