Chapter 5 of Murder by the clock is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Murder by the clock is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead? Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so. He knew that the two rarely overlapped. He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
Chapter 5 of Murder by the clock is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 “class” — a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading “He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.”
-ing form of “divide” — separate into parts or portions
From this reading “He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.”
a deliberate act of omission
From this reading “He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.”
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading “He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.”
reduced in size as by squeezing together
From this reading “Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly.”
inflected form of “overlap” — coincide partially or wholly
From this reading “He knew that the two rarely overlapped.”
glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism
From this reading “He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.”
plural of “suicide” — the act of killing yourself
From this reading “He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.”
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.
to consider or examine in speech or writing
In this reading “He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
an occurrence of something
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
plural of “class” — a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
-ing form of “divide” — separate into parts or portions
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
a deliberate act of omission
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
an established custom
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He knew that the two rarely overlapped.
a commissioned military officer
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
reduced in size as by squeezing together
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
inflected form of “overlap” — coincide partially or wholly
From this reading He knew that the two rarely overlapped.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading 10:17 p. m.—Living or Dead?
established beyond doubt
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
not often
From this reading He knew that the two rarely overlapped.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
plural of “suicide” — the act of killing yourself
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He knew that the two rarely overlapped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He knew that the two rarely overlapped.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour’s eyes narrowed slightly.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He felt a shocking conviction that in Mrs. Endicott’s case she might well have been the exception which proved the rule.
which person or people
From this reading He had a habit of dividing suicides into two classes—those who talked about killing themselves, and those who did so.
Chapter 5 of Murder by the clock by Rufus King holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 5 holds 161 sentences of Murder by the clock, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Murder by the clock by Rufus King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 5 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 Murder by the clock by Rufus King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4710 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75500, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 942 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Murder by the clock section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Murder by the clock 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 Murder by the clock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
