Chapter 17 of A Sharper's Downfall is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of A Sharper's Downfall is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PATSY’S POINTER. Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn. He was thoughtful and perplexed. Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place. “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
Chapter 17 of A Sharper's Downfall is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 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.
further or added
From this reading “Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.”
plural of “assistant” — a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.”
bestow a quality on
From this reading “Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.”
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading “Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.”
full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment
From this reading “He was thoughtful and perplexed.”
a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading “PATSY’S POINTER.”
(especially of eyes) bulging or protruding as with fear
From this reading “Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.”
having intellectual depth
From this reading “He was thoughtful and perplexed.”
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 “Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.”
In this reading ““In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.”
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 Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
further or added
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
later than; following
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
(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 “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was thoughtful and perplexed.
plural of “assistant” — a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
an occurrence of something
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
bestow a quality on
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was thoughtful and perplexed.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
a message received and understood
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
and nothing more
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
cut slightly, with a razor
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PATSY’S POINTER.
full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment
From this reading He was thoughtful and perplexed.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading PATSY’S POINTER.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
(especially of eyes) bulging or protruding as with fear
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “In all my experience,” said Nick, “I have never met with just such a case.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
having intellectual depth
From this reading He was thoughtful and perplexed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
(usually followed by “to”) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was thoughtful and perplexed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Nick returned to his assistants after his interview with Mr. Sanborn.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Mr. Sanborn had been unable to contribute a single idea or additional bit of information that would help Nick to a starting place.
Chapter 17 of A Sharper's Downfall by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 17 holds 146 sentences of A Sharper's Downfall, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of A Sharper's Downfall by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 17 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 Sharper's Downfall by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3920 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66718 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66718, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 326 minutes of reading across 784 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Sharper's Downfall section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of A Sharper's Downfall 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 Sharper's Downfall, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
