Chapter 8 of Blister Jones is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Blister Jones is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness. A boy dodged his way to where we stood. His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt. "You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting. "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
Chapter 8 of Blister Jones is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
to come to rest, settle
From this reading “Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.”
the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock
From this reading “His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.”
past form of “dodge” — make a sudden movement in a new direction so as to avoid
From this reading “A boy dodged his way to where we stood.”
having a hardened crust as a covering
From this reading “His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.”
past form of “pipe” — utter a shrill cry
From this reading “"Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.”
expressing extreme contempt
From this reading “"You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting.”
-ing form of “sniffle” — cry or whine with snuffling
From this reading “"Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.”
a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed
From this reading “Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.”
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 Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
to come to rest, settle
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
a youthful male person
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
past form of “dodge” — make a sudden movement in a new direction so as to avoid
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
having a hardened crust as a covering
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
coins made of gold
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
(usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting)
From this reading "You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
a short coat
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
past form of “pipe” — utter a shrill cry
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
expressing extreme contempt
From this reading "You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting.
-ing form of “sniffle” — cry or whine with snuffling
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
a compartment in a stable where a single animal is confined and fed
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Honest to Gawd it wasn't my fault, Judge," the boy piped, sniffling.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His face and the front of his blue and gold jacket were encrusted with dirt.
in or at the place that
From this reading A boy dodged his way to where we stood.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mrs. Dillon's face as she, too, entered the stall was tear-wet and alight with a great tenderness.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You shoe-maker!" was Blister's scornful greeting.
Chapter 8 of Blister Jones by John Taintor Foote holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 8 holds 423 sentences of Blister Jones, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Blister Jones by John Taintor Foote exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 8 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 Blister Jones by John Taintor Foote on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4424 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19041 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19041, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 368 minutes of reading across 885 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blister Jones section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Blister Jones 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 Blister Jones, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
