Chapter 6 of Modern Street Ballads is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Modern Street Ballads is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O! Three potatoes half a crown, At the diggins, O! Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O! A Crown a pound for Steaks, At the diggins, O! Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
Chapter 6 of Modern Street Ballads is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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 “buy” — an advantageous purchase
From this reading “Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!”
plural of “chop” — the irregular motion of waves (usually caused by wind blowing in a direction opposite to the tide)
From this reading “Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!”
a mark used to indicate the word above it should be repeated
From this reading “Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!”
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading “Three potatoes half a crown, At the diggins, O!”
plural of “shake” — building material used as siding or roofing
From this reading “Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!”
plural of “shilling” — the basic unit of money in Uganda; equal to 100 cents
From this reading “Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!”
plural of “steak” — a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
From this reading “A Crown a pound for Steaks, At the diggins, O!”
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 “Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!”
In this reading “Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!”
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 I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
plural of “buy” — an advantageous purchase
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
plural of “chop” — the irregular motion of waves (usually caused by wind blowing in a direction opposite to the tide)
From this reading Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading Three potatoes half a crown, At the diggins, O!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
a mark used to indicate the word above it should be repeated
From this reading Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
plural of “dollar” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
of or relating to the Netherlands or its people or culture
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Three potatoes half a crown, At the diggins, O!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
not any; not one
From this reading Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
marked by the reception of pay
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
flesh of large European flatfish
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading Three potatoes half a crown, At the diggins, O!
hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading A Crown a pound for Steaks, At the diggins, O!
plural of “shake” — building material used as siding or roofing
From this reading Ditto Chops, and no great shakes, At the diggins, O!
plural of “shilling” — the basic unit of money in Uganda; equal to 100 cents
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
plural of “steak” — a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
From this reading A Crown a pound for Steaks, At the diggins, O!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Three potatoes half a crown, At the diggins, O!
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
a stock or supply of foods
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
hope for; have a wish
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
in the company of; together with
From this reading I paid for victuals with a frown, At the diggins, O!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Sprats five shillings a dish, If for Dutch Plaice you wish, Two dollars buys that fish, At the diggins, O!
Chapter 6 of Modern Street Ballads by John [Compiler] Ashton holds 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 6 holds 360 sentences of Modern Street Ballads, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Modern Street Ballads by John [Compiler] Ashton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 6 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 Modern Street Ballads by John [Compiler] Ashton 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 Modern Street Ballads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Modern Street Ballads 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 Modern Street Ballads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
