Chapter 5 of Gadsby is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Gadsby is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"... and that Hopkins back yard stunt! Ridiculous! Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying. Bah! And _did_ I block it?
Chapter 5 of Gadsby is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading “And _did_ I block it?”
the act of buying
From this reading “Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.”
a body serving in an administrative capacity
From this reading “Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.”
United States educator and theologian (1802-1887)
From this reading “"... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!”
tell false information to for fun
From this reading “Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.”
inspiring scornful pity
From this reading “Ridiculous!”
a difficult or unusual or dangerous feat; usually done to gain attention
From this reading “"... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “"... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!”
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.
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 Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bah!
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading And _did_ I block it?
the act of buying
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
a body serving in an administrative capacity
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading And _did_ I block it?
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
United States educator and theologian (1802-1887)
From this reading "... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And _did_ I block it?
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
tell false information to for fun
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
inspiring scornful pity
From this reading Ridiculous!
a difficult or unusual or dangerous feat; usually done to gain attention
From this reading "... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
hard to endure
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, his kid was out, trying to find all of our Council to talk it into buying.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading "... and that Hopkins back yard stunt!
Chapter 5 of Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 5 holds 429 sentences of Gadsby, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 5 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 Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2656 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47342 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47342, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 221 minutes of reading across 532 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Gadsby section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Gadsby 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 Gadsby, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
