Chapter 23 of Dad is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Dad is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage. “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously. “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful. He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.” But she marched into the cottage.
Chapter 23 of Dad is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading “He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.””
an outpouring of gossip
From this reading ““James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.”
nervous and unable to relax
From this reading “He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.””
past form of “march” — march in a procession
From this reading “But she marched into the cottage.”
habitually complaining
From this reading “THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.”
United States composer who promoted 20th century music (1896-1985)
From this reading ““Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.”
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading “He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.””
in a vicious manner
From this reading ““Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.”
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 “THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.”
sound loudly
In this reading “THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.”
In this reading “But she marched into the cottage.”
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 THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
a youthful male person
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she marched into the cottage.
a young person of either sex
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
a small house with a single story
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
an outpouring of gossip
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
a boy or man
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
nervous and unable to relax
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading But she marched into the cottage.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
past form of “march” — march in a procession
From this reading But she marched into the cottage.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
habitually complaining
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
United States composer who promoted 20th century music (1896-1985)
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But she marched into the cottage.
a male human offspring
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
in a vicious manner
From this reading “Drat that child!” said Mrs. Sessions almost viciously.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading THE ATTACK “Fa-ather!” rang out a querulous voice from the cottage.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He’s a fretful, suspicious fellow, and if ’twa’n’t for his father and his son I’d nurse him with a field battery, I would.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “James, I’ll give your boy Joseph an earful.
Chapter 23 of Dad by Albert Payson Terhune holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 23 holds 130 sentences of Dad, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Dad by Albert Payson Terhune exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 23 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 Dad by Albert Payson Terhune on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65641 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65641, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 415 minutes of reading across 998 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dad section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Dad 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 Dad, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
