Chapter 4 of My Wayward Pardner is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of My Wayward Pardner is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’. I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to. It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice. The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice. But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
Chapter 4 of My Wayward Pardner is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading “My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.”
gotten under control
From this reading “The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.”
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading “The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.”
declare untrue; contradict
From this reading “I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.”
in fancy clothing
From this reading “It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.”
plural of “penny” — a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading “The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.”
for each
From this reading “The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.”
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 “The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.”
In this reading “But none too good for me, my Josiah said.”
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 The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.
gotten under control
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
declare untrue; contradict
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
in fancy clothing
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
not one, and not any
From this reading But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
above and across; more than
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
plural of “penny” — a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
for each
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading But none too good for me, my Josiah said.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading I couldn’t deny it, and didn’t try to.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
precisely as stated
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My cap _wuz_ middlin’-foamin’ lookin’.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading The ribbin on it cost me 18 pence per yard, and the cap contained two yards and a half; it was _very_ nice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading It wuzn’t what you might call over and above dressy, but it was handsome, and _very_ nice.
Chapter 4 of My Wayward Pardner by Marietta Holley holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 4 holds 402 sentences of My Wayward Pardner, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of My Wayward Pardner by Marietta Holley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 4 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 My Wayward Pardner by Marietta Holley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4805 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63859 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63859, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 400 minutes of reading across 961 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Wayward Pardner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of My Wayward Pardner 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 My Wayward Pardner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
