Chapter 12 of Billy Budd is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Billy Budd is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table. I have put a stop to all that.’ ‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity. ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking. Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’
Chapter 12 of Billy Budd is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 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.
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.”
doubt about the truth of something
From this reading “‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “I have put a stop to all that.’”
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading “‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.”
a metallic tapping sound
From this reading “‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’”
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading “‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.”
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 “‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.”
be contingent on
In this reading “Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’”
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 I have put a stop to all that.’
(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 I have put a stop to all that.’
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have put a stop to all that.’
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading ‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
doubt about the truth of something
From this reading ‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading ‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
not any; not one
From this reading Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
by chance
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading I have put a stop to all that.’
euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb)
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading ‘Indeed, husband,’ said she, with some incredulity.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading I have put a stop to all that.’
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I have put a stop to all that.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’
a metallic tapping sound
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I have put a stop to all that.’
a source of difficulty
From this reading Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more.’
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
in the company of; together with
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
an affirmative
From this reading ‘Yes, wife,’ returned I, perhaps a little vaingloriously, ‘I have put a quietus upon that ticking.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Wife,’ said I, next morning, ‘you will not be troubled with any more ticking in our table.
Chapter 12 of Billy Budd by Herman Melville holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 12 holds 394 sentences of Billy Budd, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Billy Budd by Herman Melville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 12 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 Billy Budd by Herman Melville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5450 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76513 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76513, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 454 minutes of reading across 1090 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Billy Budd section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Billy Budd 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 Billy Budd, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
