Chapter 31 of Lincoln's yarns and stories is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Lincoln's yarns and stories is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ONLY LEVEL-HEADED MEN WANTED. Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands. Not infrequently he gave his generals advice. He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.” This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:
Chapter 31 of Lincoln's yarns and stories is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
fully understood or grasped
From this reading “He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.””
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading “He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.””
past form of “denominate” — assign a name or title to
From this reading “He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.””
plural of “general” — a general officer of the highest rank
From this reading “Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.”
United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)
From this reading “He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.””
possessive form of “hooker” — United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)
not many times
From this reading “Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.”
plural of “telegram” — a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:”
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.
any specific behavior
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
a proposal for an appropriate course of action
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
fully understood or grasped
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
plural of “command” — an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
run or move very quickly or hastily
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
past form of “denominate” — assign a name or title to
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
plural of “general” — a general officer of the highest rank
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)
From this reading This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:
possessive form of “hooker” — United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
of great significance or value
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
not many times
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
exercising or showing good judgment
From this reading ONLY LEVEL-HEADED MEN WANTED.
16th President of the United States; saved the Union during the American Civil War and emancipated the slaves; was assassinated by Booth (1809-1865)
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
the force of workers available
From this reading ONLY LEVEL-HEADED MEN WANTED.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not infrequently he gave his generals advice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:
and nothing more
From this reading ONLY LEVEL-HEADED MEN WANTED.
plural of “result” — a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
plural of “telegram” — a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This was one of his telegrams to Hooker:
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading ONLY LEVEL-HEADED MEN WANTED.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He appreciated Hooker’s bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of the results of what he denominated “swashing around.”
Chapter 31 of Lincoln's yarns and stories by Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly) McClure holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 31 holds 173 sentences of Lincoln's yarns and stories, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Lincoln's yarns and stories by Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly) McClure exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 31 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 Lincoln's yarns and stories by Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly) McClure on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6584 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2517 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2517, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 548 minutes of reading across 1317 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lincoln's yarns and stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Lincoln's yarns and stories 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 Lincoln's yarns and stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
