Chapter 1 of Further Foolishness is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Further Foolishness is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As a child. Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch. In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid. Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife. The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
Chapter 1 of Further Foolishness is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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 “border” — a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading “The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.”
prepare a hot meal
From this reading “Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.”
scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
From this reading “Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.”
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.”
a female domestic
From this reading “In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.”
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading “The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.”
a twilled woolen fabric
From this reading “Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.”
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading “In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.”
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 As a child.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As a child.
plural of “border” — a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
a young person of either sex
From this reading As a child.
prepare a hot meal
From this reading Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
From this reading Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
a female domestic
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
a twilled woolen fabric
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The house stood on the borders of a Russian town.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In the house, too were Nitska, the serving maid.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Serge lived with his father--Ivan Ivanovitch --and his mother--Katrina Katerinavitch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Itch, the serving man, and Yump, the cook, his wife.
Chapter 1 of Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock holds 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 444 sentences of Further Foolishness, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3524 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11504 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11504, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 293 minutes of reading across 705 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Further Foolishness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Further Foolishness 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 Further Foolishness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
