Chapter 1 of Lady Luck is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Lady Luck is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now. Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now. "Gimme back a nickel! How come coffee ten cents? Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
Chapter 1 of Lady Luck is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading “How come coffee ten cents?”
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading “How come coffee ten cents?”
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading “Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."”
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading “Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.”
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
From this reading “Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.”
take the midday meal
From this reading “Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."”
a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
From this reading “"Gimme back a nickel!”
past form of “sail” — traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading “Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.”
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 “Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."”
In this reading “Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."”
In this reading “How come coffee ten cents?”
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 Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Gimme back a nickel!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading How come coffee ten cents?
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading How come coffee ten cents?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading How come coffee ten cents?
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
an officer holding the rank of major or lieutenant colonel or colonel
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gimme back a nickel!
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
cause to move by striking
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How come coffee ten cents?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
take the midday meal
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
engage in
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
From this reading "Gimme back a nickel!
not any; not one
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
a major river of western Siberia; flows generally northward and westward to the Gulf of Ob and the Kara Sea
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
past form of “sail” — traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading How come coffee ten cents?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Gimme back 'at nickel befo' bofe ob us is on de same side ob de lunch counter."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dis konk'rin' hero business don' make no hit wid me-- Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah wuz a fiel' han' fo' Ah sailed de sea, Wisht Ah wuz a fiel' han' now.
Chapter 1 of Lady Luck by Hugh Wiley holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 1 holds 400 sentences of Lady Luck, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Lady Luck by Hugh Wiley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 1 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 Luck by Hugh Wiley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4131 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26165 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26165, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 827 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lady Luck section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Lady Luck 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 Luck, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
