Chapter 8 of Honest Wullie is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Honest Wullie is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NEW TIES. One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony. "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie. "And what for no? Is it no a gude fashion?
Chapter 8 of Honest Wullie is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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 “ail” — aromatic bulb used as seasoning
From this reading “"Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.”
a small house with a single story
From this reading “One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “"Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.”
a loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
From this reading “"Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.”
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading “One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.”
the act of spending or disbursing money
From this reading “One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.”
plural of “tie” — neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading “NEW TIES.”
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 “One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.”
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 Is it no a gude fashion?
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
later than; following
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
plural of “ail” — aromatic bulb used as seasoning
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And what for no?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
a small house with a single story
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "And what for no?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Is it no a gude fashion?
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
a loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is it no a gude fashion?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW TIES.
not any; not one
From this reading "And what for no?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
the act of spending or disbursing money
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
plural of “tie” — neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading NEW TIES.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
at the time that
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening, when the McPhersons were spending an hour or two at the cottage, Donald took it into his head to joke Wullie about matrimony.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "Hoot, man, what ails ye, to talk after that fashion?" exclaimed Wullie.
Chapter 8 of Honest Wullie by Lydia L. Rouse holds 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 8 holds 57 sentences of Honest Wullie, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Honest Wullie by Lydia L. Rouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 8 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 Honest Wullie by Lydia L. Rouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3781 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49671 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49671, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 315 minutes of reading across 757 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Honest Wullie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Honest Wullie 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 Honest Wullie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
