Chapter 21 of Original Plays, Second Series is here in full — 373 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Original Plays, Second Series is here in full — 373 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_All._ And he that lowly suitor! [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you. Will she, lads? _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands. _All_ (_recoiling from him_).
Chapter 21 of Original Plays, Second Series is here in full — 373 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
any of various plants of the genus Ranunculus
From this reading “[_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.”
possessive form of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
plural of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading “_Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.”
plural of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading “_Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.”
an opening that permits escape or release
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading “Will she, lads?”
low or inferior in station or quality
From this reading “_All._ And he that lowly suitor!”
a man who courts a woman
From this reading “_All._ And he that lowly suitor!”
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 “[_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.”
In this reading “[_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.”
In this reading “[_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.”
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 [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading _All._ And he that lowly suitor!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _All._ And he that lowly suitor!
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
any of various plants of the genus Ranunculus
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
possessive form of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
plural of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
a boy or man
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
a young person of either sex
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
plural of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
someone who is a detective
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
the mast nearest the bow in vessels with two or more masts
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading _All_ (_recoiling from him_).
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _All._ And he that lowly suitor!
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _All_ (_recoiling from him_).
a boy or man
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading Will she, lads?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
low or inferior in station or quality
From this reading _All._ And he that lowly suitor!
take in marriage
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
not any; not one
From this reading _Dick._ No, no, captains’ daughters don’t marry foremast hands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _All_ (_recoiling from him_).
express in words
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Will she, lads?
a man who courts a woman
From this reading _All._ And he that lowly suitor!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _All._ And he that lowly suitor!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Will she, lads?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
Having or showing the qualities or abilities that merit recognition in character or magic.
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_Exit LITTLE BUTTERCUP._ _Boat._ Ah, my poor lad, you’ve climbed too high: our worthy captain’s child won’t have nothin’ to say to a poor chap like you.
Chapter 21 of Original Plays, Second Series by W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert holds 373 sentences, grouped into 75 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 21 holds 373 sentences of Original Plays, Second Series, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Original Plays, Second Series by W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 373 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 21 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.
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Yes. All 12140 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59685 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59685, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2428 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Original Plays, Second Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Original Plays, Second Series 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 Original Plays, Second Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
