Chapter 1 of Nuts to Crack is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Nuts to Crack is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS. BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC. ETC. ETC. _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
Chapter 1 of Nuts to Crack is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading “NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.”
a university in England
From this reading “NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.”
United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)
From this reading “_PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.”
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading “NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.”
the largest city in Pennsylvania; located in the southeastern part of the state on the Delaware river; site of Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed; site of the University of Pennsylvania
plural of “quip” — a witty saying
From this reading “NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.”
plural of “quirk” — a strange attitude or habit
From this reading “NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.”
plural of “scholar” — a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines
From this reading “NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.”
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 “BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.”
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 _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
a university in England
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)
From this reading _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
the largest city in Pennsylvania; located in the southeastern part of the state on the Delaware river; site of Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed; site of the University of Pennsylvania
From this reading _PHILADELPHIA_: E. L. CAREY & A. HART.
plural of “quip” — a witty saying
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
plural of “quirk” — a strange attitude or habit
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
plural of “scholar” — a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BY THE AUTHOR OF "FACETIÆ CANTABRIGIENSES," ETC.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading NUTS TO CRACK; OR, Quips, Quirks, Anecdote and Facete OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS.
Chapter 1 of Nuts to Crack by Richard Gooch holds 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 1 holds 390 sentences of Nuts to Crack, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Nuts to Crack by Richard Gooch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 1 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 Nuts to Crack by Richard Gooch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2509 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42247 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42247, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 209 minutes of reading across 502 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nuts to Crack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Nuts to Crack 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 Nuts to Crack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
