Chapter 3 of Humbug is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Humbug is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Philip made a politely acquiescent sound. "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games. It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies. Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke. And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
Chapter 3 of Humbug is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
willing to carry out the orders or wishes of another without protest
From this reading “Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.”
the act of drilling
From this reading “"Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.”
plural of “game” — a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading “"Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.”
a game resembling ice hockey that is played on an open field; two opposing teams use curved hockey sticks try to drive a ball into the opponents' net
From this reading “And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."”
poke or thrust abruptly
From this reading “Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.”
in a polite manner
From this reading “Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.”
a discussion intended to produce an agreement
From this reading “And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."”
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading “And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."”
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 “Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.”
In this reading “It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.”
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 Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.
willing to carry out the orders or wishes of another without protest
From this reading Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.
later than; following
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
the act of drilling
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
plural of “game” — a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
a game resembling ice hockey that is played on an open field; two opposing teams use curved hockey sticks try to drive a ball into the opponents' net
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
the act of retaining something
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
(often followed by “to”) having a preference, disposition, or tendency
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.
poke or thrust abruptly
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
in a polite manner
From this reading Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.
on the contrary
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Philip made a politely acquiescent sound.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
a discussion intended to produce an agreement
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading And after one term at Bridgecrap she's holding her head up, and her shoulders back, and talks of nothing but hockey."
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
(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 Little Sylvia, now, didn't hold herself as well as the other two--was rather inclined to poke.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Drilling is what she wants, drilling and games.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading It's done everything in the world for my kiddie-widdies.
Chapter 3 of Humbug by E. M. Delafield holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 3 holds 432 sentences of Humbug, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Humbug by E. M. Delafield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 3 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 Humbug by E. M. Delafield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5539 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74452 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74452, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 461 minutes of reading across 1108 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Humbug section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Humbug 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 Humbug, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
