Chapter 3 of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song. He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door. It was locked. He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn. “Bah! what’s _up_ with ’em?”
Chapter 3 of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
inflected form of “eavesdrop” — listen without the speaker's knowledge
From this reading “He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.”
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading “He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.”
a humming noise
From this reading “He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “It was locked.”
a female domestic
From this reading “He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.”
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading “He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
anew
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Bah! what’s _up_ with ’em?”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
inflected form of “eavesdrop” — listen without the speaker's knowledge
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
a quad with a square body
From this reading “Bah! what’s _up_ with ’em?”
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
a humming noise
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was locked.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading It was locked.
a female domestic
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
with speed
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He heard the maid come stepping up the stairway again, humming her silly song.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading He did not want a scene, or to be caught eavesdropping, and so turned quickly to another door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was locked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Bah! what’s _up_ with ’em?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Bah! what’s _up_ with ’em?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He sprang to one beyond it; the handle would not turn.
Chapter 3 of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me by A. E. (Alfred Edgar) Coppard holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 3 holds 417 sentences of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me by A. E. (Alfred Edgar) Coppard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 3 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 Adam & Eve & Pinch Me by A. E. (Alfred Edgar) Coppard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3932 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60792 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60792, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 327 minutes of reading across 787 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Adam & Eve & Pinch Me section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Adam & Eve & Pinch Me 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 Adam & Eve & Pinch Me, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
