Chapter 6 of Idle Ideas in 1905 is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Idle Ideas in 1905 is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Nice little house, ain’t it? What I call well built.” Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me. I recognised it. It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
Chapter 6 of Idle Ideas in 1905 is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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 “break” — some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
From this reading “It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.”
a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
From this reading “It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.”
(used of color) artificially produced; not natural
From this reading “Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.”
join tongue and groove, in carpentry
From this reading “Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.”
tastelessly showy
From this reading “Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.”
plural of “ornament” — something used to beautify
From this reading “It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.”
provided with a secure reputation
From this reading “I recognised it.”
any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading “Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.”
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 Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Nice little house, ain’t it?
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
plural of “break” — some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading What I call well built.”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading What I call well built.”
a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
(used of color) artificially produced; not natural
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
join tongue and groove, in carpentry
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
tastelessly showy
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
a young female
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “Nice little house, ain’t it?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading What I call well built.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Nice little house, ain’t it?
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Nice little house, ain’t it?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “Nice little house, ain’t it?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
plural of “ornament” — something used to beautify
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
provided with a secure reputation
From this reading I recognised it.
any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It had come out of the brush with which the girl breaks the china ornaments in our drawing-room.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
(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 What I call well built.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What I call well built.”
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mr. Sparrow then flew up with a gaudy feather, dyed blue, which belonged to me.
Chapter 6 of Idle Ideas in 1905 by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 6 holds 192 sentences of Idle Ideas in 1905, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Idle Ideas in 1905 by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 6 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 Idle Ideas in 1905 by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3270 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3140 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3140, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 272 minutes of reading across 654 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Idle Ideas in 1905 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Idle Ideas in 1905 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 Idle Ideas in 1905, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
