Chapter 23 of Murder by the clock is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Murder by the clock is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.” “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant. It would have disappointed me if you had. Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.” Lieutenant Valcour stood up.
Chapter 23 of Murder by the clock is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.””
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading “It would have disappointed me if you had.”
furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
From this reading “Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.””
born in England; in 1629 he became the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1588-1665)
From this reading “4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.””
a group of symbols that make a mathematical statement
From this reading ““I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.”
a commissioned military officer
From this reading ““I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading “4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.””
lacking spontaneity or originality or individuality
From this reading ““I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.”
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 “Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.””
In this reading “Lieutenant Valcour stood up.”
In this reading “Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.””
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 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
any thing at all
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
born in England; in 1629 he became the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1588-1665)
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
a group of symbols that make a mathematical statement
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
a commissioned military officer
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
above and across; more than
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
express in words
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
lacking spontaneity or originality or individuality
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour stood up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading Get me a cigarette, please; there are some over there on the dresser.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour stood up.
the act of using
From this reading “I’m glad you didn’t use the stereotyped formula, Lieutenant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lieutenant Valcour stood up.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would have disappointed me if you had.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 4:29 a. m.—A Turn of the Screw “You needn’t say anything you don’t care to, Mrs. Endicott.”
Chapter 23 of Murder by the clock by Rufus King holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 23 holds 146 sentences of Murder by the clock, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Murder by the clock by Rufus King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 23 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.
