Chapter 20 of Lady Good-for-Nothing is here in full — 335 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Lady Good-for-Nothing is here in full — 335 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. SILK PROPOSES. Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen. All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth. They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
Chapter 20 of Lady Good-for-Nothing is here in full — 335 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/67 · 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.
first in order of birth
From this reading “Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.”
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading “Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.”
red late-ripening apple; primarily eaten raw
From this reading “Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.”
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading “They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.”
third-person singular of “propose” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading “SILK PROPOSES.”
being one more than fifteen
From this reading “Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.”
muscular and heavily built
From this reading “All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.”
superlative of “young” — (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.”
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 All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
(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 All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
first in order of birth
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
a person who operates a farm
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
plural of “fellow” — a boy or man
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
a quantity that is added
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
red late-ripening apple; primarily eaten raw
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
above and across; more than
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
third-person singular of “propose” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading SILK PROPOSES.
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading SILK PROPOSES.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
being one more than fifteen
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
muscular and heavily built
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They were good lads and knew it to be hopeless.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
in the company of; together with
From this reading All were strapping fellows, and each as a matter of course had fallen over head and ears in love with Ruth.
superlative of “young” — (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Farmer Cordery had six grown sons--Jonathan, George, William, Increase, Homer, and Lemuel--the eldest eight-and-twenty, the youngest sixteen.
Chapter 20 of Lady Good-for-Nothing by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 335 sentences, grouped into 67 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 20 holds 335 sentences of Lady Good-for-Nothing, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Lady Good-for-Nothing by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 335 sentences, grouped into 67 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 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 67 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 20 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 Lady Good-for-Nothing by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7355 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15228 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15228, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1471 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lady Good-for-Nothing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Lady Good-for-Nothing 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 Lady Good-for-Nothing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
