Chapter 2 of More Portmanteau Plays is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of More Portmanteau Plays is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me? THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call. [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai! Hai! Hai THE GAKI You can not feed me now.
Chapter 2 of More Portmanteau Plays is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.”
an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
From this reading “[_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!”
provide as food
From this reading “Hai THE GAKI You can not feed me now.”
third-person singular of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading “[_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!”
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
From this reading “OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?”
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “[_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!”
up to a particular time
From this reading “THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.”
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading “[_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!”
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.
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 [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Hai THE GAKI You can not feed me now.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
From this reading [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
provide as food
From this reading Hai THE GAKI You can not feed me now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
engage in
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Hai THE GAKI You can not feed me now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
third-person singular of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
up to a particular time
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading [_Obaa-San obeys under a strange compulsion._ THE TREE Hai!
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading OBAA-SAN Why do you, too, make sport of me?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE GAKI Go you into your house and come not till I call.
Chapter 2 of More Portmanteau Plays by Stuart Walker holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of More Portmanteau Plays, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of More Portmanteau Plays by Stuart Walker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 More Portmanteau Plays by Stuart Walker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3495 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37967 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37967, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 291 minutes of reading across 699 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through More Portmanteau Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of More Portmanteau Plays 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 More Portmanteau Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
