Chapter 12 of Dry Fish and Wet is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Dry Fish and Wet is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Am I, though? Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are! Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth. "To-day? Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
Chapter 12 of Dry Fish and Wet 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.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."”
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading “Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."”
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading “Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.”
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!”
plural of “return” — document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability
From this reading “Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."”
a ray of sunlight
From this reading “Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!”
a fact that has been verified
From this reading “Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.”
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading “Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.”
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 “Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.”
a man who is very old
In this reading “Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!”
introducing a different topic
In this reading “Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "Am I, though?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
at any time
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Am I, though?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
plural of “return” — document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
being seven more than sixty
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
a ray of sunlight
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
in spite of the fact that
From this reading "Am I, though?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading Oh, then I must wish you many happy returns--and here, let me give you these flowers."
a late time of life
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Oh, you know how to get at an old man's heart, little sunbeam that you are!
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading Looking younger than ever, eh--and I'm sixty-seven to-day," which, by the way, was three years less than the truth.
Chapter 12 of Dry Fish and Wet by Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen 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 Dry Fish and Wet, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Dry Fish and Wet by Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen 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 Dry Fish and Wet by Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5059 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35918 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35918, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 421 minutes of reading across 1012 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dry Fish and Wet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Dry Fish and Wet 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 Dry Fish and Wet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
