Chapter 1 of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RIDDLE-BOOK. Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_. Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale. Homer. Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
Chapter 1 of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
From this reading “Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.”
plural of “cake” — a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading “Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.”
past form of “compile” — get or gather together
From this reading “Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.”
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading “Homer.”
plural of “mug” — the quantity that can be held in a mug
From this reading “Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.”
pierce with many holes
From this reading “RIDDLE-BOOK.”
plural of “riddle” — a difficult problem
From this reading “Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.”
an established custom
From this reading “Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.”
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 “Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.”
In this reading “Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.”
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.
a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
plural of “cake” — a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
past form of “compile” — get or gather together
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading Homer.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1921
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
plural of “mug” — the quantity that can be held in a mug
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
not one, and not any
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
throughout a period of time
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
pierce with many holes
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading RIDDLE-BOOK.
plural of “riddle” — a difficult problem
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
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 Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
plural of “tell” — a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
the act of using
From this reading Compiled for the Use of The Great and the Little GOOD BOYS and GIRLS In _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_.
which person or people
From this reading Who Riddles tells, and merry Tale, O'er nut-brown Cakes and Mugs of Ale.
an established custom
From this reading Come riddle me riddle me riddle me Ree, None are so blind as they that wont see.
Chapter 1 of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book by John-the-Giant-Killer holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 1 holds 161 sentences of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book by John-the-Giant-Killer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 1 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 Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book by John-the-Giant-Killer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 161 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47335 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47335, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 13 minutes of reading across 33 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book 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 Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
