Chapter 1 of Absurd Ditties is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Absurd Ditties is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER. G. E. F. _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!" Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.' This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
Chapter 1 of Absurd Ditties is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
state emphatically and authoritatively
From this reading “This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.”
promote the growth of
From this reading “THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.”
plural of “glove” — the handwear used by fielders in playing baseball
From this reading “This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.”
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading “Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'”
tell false information to for fun
From this reading “This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.”
one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “_Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"”
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.
a glove made of fine soft leather (as kidskin)
In this reading “This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.”
In this reading “_Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"”
In this reading “Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single '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 Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
an occurrence of something
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
dearly loved
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
state emphatically and authoritatively
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading G. E. F.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
a degree on the Fahrenheit scale of temperature
From this reading G. E. F.
promote the growth of
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading G. E. F.
plural of “glove” — the handwear used by fielders in playing baseball
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
tell false information to for fun
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
coming next after the twenty-first in position
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THESE TO MY FRIEND T. FRANCIS VERE FOSTER.
precisely as stated
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
a Caucasian
From this reading This is the twenty-second pair Of white kid gloves, I do declare, I've had this month.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading _Author of "The Wallypug of Why" etc._ "'Tis really very, _very_ queer!"
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Ejaculated Justice Dear, "That, day by day, I'm sitting here Without a single 'case.'
Chapter 1 of Absurd Ditties by G. E. (George Edward) Farrow holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 1 holds 413 sentences of Absurd Ditties, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Absurd Ditties by G. E. (George Edward) Farrow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 1 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 Absurd Ditties by G. E. (George Edward) Farrow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1229 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53190 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53190, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 102 minutes of reading across 246 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Absurd Ditties section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Absurd Ditties 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 Absurd Ditties, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
