Chapter XVIII of Billy Topsail, M.D., “265,” is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XVIII of Billy Topsail, M.D., “265,” is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it." "You won't!" said Billy. "I will!" "You won't!" Archie looked Billy in the eye.
Chapter XVIII of Billy Topsail, M.D., “265,” is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
a loud laugh that sounds like a horse neighing
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
-ing form of “snatch” — to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
make an effort or attempt
From this reading “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
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 “_In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
the organ of sight
From this reading Archie looked Billy in the eye.
a loud laugh that sounds like a horse neighing
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I will!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Archie looked Billy in the eye.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
-ing form of “snatch” — to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
a sail (or either of a pair of sails) immediately above the lowermost sail of a mast and supported by a topmast
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
make an effort or attempt
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "I will!"
in the company of; together with
From this reading _In Which Billy Topsail Takes His Life in His Hands and Ha-Ha Shallow Lays Hold of It With the Object of Snatching It Away_ "Well," said Archie, "I'll try it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You won't!" said Billy.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You won't!" said Billy.
Chapter 18 of Billy Topsail, M.D. by Norman Duncan holds 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 18 holds 187 sentences of Billy Topsail, M.D., unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Billy Topsail, M.D. by Norman Duncan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 18 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 Topsail, M.D. by Norman Duncan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4201 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47128 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47128, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 350 minutes of reading across 841 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Billy Topsail, M.D. section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Billy Topsail, M.D. 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 Topsail, M.D., each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
