Chapter 21 of Esther Waters is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Esther Waters is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else. We'd all get well if we could get out there." William told him how much he stood to win. "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight. You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
Chapter 21 of Esther Waters is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
having a back or backing, usually of a specified type
From this reading “You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.”
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “"Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.”
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading “"Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.”
possessive form of “mare” — female equine animal
From this reading “You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “"That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading “You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading “You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.”
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading “William told him how much he stood to win.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
having a back or backing, usually of a specified type
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
the act of departing
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
ten 10s
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
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 "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
possessive form of “mare” — female equine animal
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
express in words
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
successive (without a break)
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
in or at that place or location
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading You say the mare's backed at ten to one--two hundred to twenty.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'd all get well if we could get out there."
(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 "Them that has money can buy health as well as everything else.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading William told him how much he stood to win.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "That'll keep you going long enough to set you straight.
Chapter 21 of Esther Waters by George Moore holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 21 holds 405 sentences of Esther Waters, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Esther Waters by George Moore exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 21 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 Esther Waters by George Moore on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8819 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8157 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8157, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1764 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Esther Waters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Esther Waters 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 Esther Waters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
