Chapter XVI of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger, “Through the Skylight,” is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XVI
Chapter XVI of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger, “Through the Skylight,” is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper. He had to pull himself together. _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry. They were coming back in an hour. Would they take the hamper and all?
Chapter XVI of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger, “Through the Skylight,” is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
of an obscure nature
From this reading “_That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.”
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading “Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.”
prevent the progress or free movement of
From this reading “Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.”
possessive form of “johnson” — English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering
From this reading “_That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.”
a fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant
From this reading “Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.”
plural of “remark” — a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information
From this reading “_That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.”
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading “_That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.”
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.
personal matters that could be embarrassing if made public
In this reading “Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.”
as might be expected
In this reading “_That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.”
reach the point where one should be after a delay
In this reading “Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
(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 Would they take the hamper and all?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
of an obscure nature
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had to pull himself together.
prevent the progress or free movement of
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had to pull himself together.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had to pull himself together.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
possessive form of “johnson” — English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
a fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading He had to pull himself together.
plural of “remark” — a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
in a swift manner
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
carry out
From this reading Would they take the hamper and all?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had to pull himself together.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading He had to pull himself together.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Bill bent swiftly, caught up some of the dirty linen and flung it into the hamper.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _That_—that was the explanation, of course, for Slim Johnson’s cryptic remarks about the laundry.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were coming back in an hour.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Would they take the hamper and all?
Chapter 16 of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger by Noel Sainsbury holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 16 holds 192 sentences of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger by Noel Sainsbury exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 16 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.
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Yes. All 2889 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54413 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54413, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 240 minutes of reading across 578 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger 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 Bill Bolton and Hidden Danger, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
