Chapter 5 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist is here in full — 890 sentences across 178 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist is here in full — 890 sentences across 178 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach. The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street. Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said: “Bully, old man; you’re good. It’s a great scheme.”
Chapter 5 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist is here in full — 890 sentences across 178 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/178 · 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.
move towards
From this reading “Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.”
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading ““Bully, old man; you’re good.”
an old word for “before”
From this reading “Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:”
look with amazement; look stupidly
From this reading “Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.”
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.”
United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany; 34th President of the United States (1890-1961)
From this reading “Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.”
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading “It’s a great scheme.””
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.”
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.
a man who is very old
In this reading ““Bully, old man; you’re good.”
In this reading “Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and 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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
united by being of the same opinion
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
move towards
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading “Bully, old man; you’re good.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
an old word for “before”
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
look with amazement; look stupidly
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Bully, old man; you’re good.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading It’s a great scheme.”
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany; 34th President of the United States (1890-1961)
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s a great scheme.”
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Bully, old man; you’re good.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Bully, old man; you’re good.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
cut with a saw
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
From this reading It’s a great scheme.”
having a supporting base
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading Ike was thrown off for an instant, but ere he answered he fell to the truth and said:
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The latter stepped up to our hero and asked for a certain street.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
at the time that
From this reading Half an hour later Ike was standing on the corner agreed upon when he saw a country gawk approach.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Bully, old man; you’re good.
Chapter 5 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist by Old Sleuth holds 890 sentences, grouped into 178 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 890 sentences of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist, unabridged, divided into 178 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist by Old Sleuth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 890 sentences, grouped into 178 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 178 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 178 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 Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist by Old Sleuth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3071 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67179 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67179, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist 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 Nimble Ike, the Trick Ventriloquist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
