Chapter III · What Dave Had to Tell

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

later than; following

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

at or in the front

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

accept as true; take to be true

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry

From this reading “Here!” cried the shipowner’s son.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

has a good chance of being the case or of coming about

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

on the contrary

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

a rational motive for a belief or action

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

precisely, exactly

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

only a very short time before

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Here!” cried the shipowner’s son.

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

past form of “skate” — move along on skates

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

a male human offspring

From this reading “Here!” cried the shipowner’s son.

a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

express in words

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

in or at the place that

From this reading “It’s rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin,” said Dave, after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where the others were not likely to overhear the conversation.

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.

in the company of; together with

From this reading “But, to begin with, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here in such a hurry, and—I have some reason to believe—they have been here in town, too.”

an affirmative

From this reading “Yes.”

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Why didn’t you tell us of this before?” asked Roger.