Chapter 11 of Jack Derringer is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Jack Derringer is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis. The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word. "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate. "Aye, aye, sir!" "Haul away!" came the order.
Chapter 11 of Jack Derringer is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
in a clumsy manner
From this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
English navigator who explored the Arctic while searching for the Northwest Passage (1550-1605)
From this reading “"THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.”
past form of “grope” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
draw slowly or heavily
From this reading “"Haul away!" came the order.”
plural of “rope” — a strong line
From this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
fasten with tacks
From this reading “"Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.”
plural of “team” — a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
From this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
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 “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
In this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
take away by means of a vehicle
In this reading “"Haul away!" came the order.”
In this reading “The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Haul away!" came the order.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aye, aye, sir!"
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Haul away!" came the order.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
in a clumsy manner
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
English navigator who explored the Arctic while searching for the Northwest Passage (1550-1605)
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
past form of “grope” — feel about uncertainly or blindly
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
draw slowly or heavily
From this reading "Haul away!" came the order.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
the officer below the master on a commercial ship
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
the force of workers available
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading "Haul away!" came the order.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
precisely, exactly
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
past form of “roar” — make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
plural of “rope” — a strong line
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Aye, aye, sir!"
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
fasten with tacks
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
plural of “team” — a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "THE STORMFIEND" "Crojjick buntlines and clew-garnets!" roared Black Davis.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
any hard struggle between equally matched groups
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading The men stumbled clumsily round the fife-rail and groped about in the darkness for the right ropes; then, like sundry tug-of-war teams, stood waiting for the word.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Ready with your tack there, bosun?" called the mate.
Chapter 11 of Jack Derringer by Basil Lubbock holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 11 holds 178 sentences of Jack Derringer, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Jack Derringer by Basil Lubbock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 11 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 Jack Derringer by Basil Lubbock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jack Derringer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Jack Derringer 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 Jack Derringer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
