Chapter 23 of Lefty o' the Big League is here in full — 75 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Lefty o' the Big League is here in full — 75 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?” Jack Stillman demanded pettishly. “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity. He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it. “Don’t be a fool, Jack.
Chapter 23 of Lefty o' the Big League is here in full — 75 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
something hard to endure
From this reading ““Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “Jack Stillman demanded pettishly.”
wanted intensely
From this reading “He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.”
a tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game
From this reading “GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?””
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading ““Don’t be a fool, Jack.”
-ing form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading “GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?””
a person who uses the left hand with greater skill than the right
From this reading ““Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.”
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading ““Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.”
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 ““Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.”
obtain advantages, such as points, etc.
In this reading “GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?””
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 “Don’t be a fool, Jack.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
something hard to endure
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Don’t be a fool, Jack.
for the reason that
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading Jack Stillman demanded pettishly.
wanted intensely
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
a tie in tennis or table tennis that requires winning two successive points to win the game
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Don’t be a fool, Jack.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “Don’t be a fool, Jack.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
-ing form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Jack Stillman demanded pettishly.
a person who uses the left hand with greater skill than the right
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
in a petulant manner
From this reading Jack Stillman demanded pettishly.
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jack Stillman demanded pettishly.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
express in words
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading He was tired of the whole subject, and desired to forget it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Because I had to,” retorted Lefty, with some asperity.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading GAINING GROUND “What the deuce did you go and tell him for?”
Chapter 23 of Lefty o' the Big League by Burt L. Standish holds 75 sentences, grouped into 15 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 23 holds 75 sentences of Lefty o' the Big League, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Lefty o' the Big League by Burt L. Standish exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 75 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 23 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 Lefty o' the Big League by Burt L. Standish on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3773 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75250 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75250, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 314 minutes of reading across 755 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lefty o' the Big League section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Lefty o' the Big League 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 Lefty o' the Big League, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
