Chapter 2 of Messalina of the suburbs is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Messalina of the suburbs is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.” “I don’t, mother.” “Yes, you do. And don’t contradict. Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
Chapter 2 of Messalina of the suburbs is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading “Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.”
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.”
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading ““Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.””
be in contradiction with
From this reading “And don’t contradict.”
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading “Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.”
social deportment
From this reading “Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.”
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading ““I don’t, mother.””
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.”
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.
impoliteness resulting from ignorance
In this reading “Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And don’t contradict.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
be in contradiction with
From this reading And don’t contradict.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Yes, you do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t, mother.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
the act of departing
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
that which is pleasing or valuable or useful
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
social deportment
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “I don’t, mother.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, you do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Surely to goodness you’re aware by this time that it’s the heighth of bad manners to contradict.
Chapter 2 of Messalina of the suburbs by E. M. Delafield holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 2 holds 414 sentences of Messalina of the suburbs, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Messalina of the suburbs by E. M. Delafield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 2 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 Messalina of the suburbs by E. M. Delafield 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 Messalina of the suburbs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Messalina of the suburbs 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 Messalina of the suburbs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
