adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
abstractionnounUS /æbˈstrækʃən/
a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
BlakenounUS /bleɪk/
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
blueprintnounUS /ˈbluːprɪnt/
something intended as a guide for making something else
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
bowedadjectiveUS /baʊd/
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
causedverbUS /kɑːzd/
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
crackleverbUS /ˈkrækəl/
make a crackling sound
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
crossverbUS /krɔːs/
travel across or pass over
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
demandedverbUS /dɪˈmændəd/
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Well?" demanded Griffith.
desknounUS /desk/
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
doornounUS /dɔːr/
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
droppedverbUS /drɑːpt/
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
EXPLAINSverbUS /ɪkˈspleɪnz/
third-person singular of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
fingersnounUS /ˈfɪŋɡərz/
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
ForprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
formeradjectiveUS /ˈfɔːrmər/
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
friendnounUS /frend/
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
gloweringadjectiveUS /ˈɡlaʊərɪŋ/
showing a brooding ill humor
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
GriffithnounUS /ˈɡrɪfəθ/
United States film maker who was the first to use flashbacks and fade-outs (1875-1948)
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
halfadjectiveUS /hæf/
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
heavilyadverbUS /ˈhevəli/
to a considerable degree
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
HEROnounUS /ˈhɪroʊ/
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Out with it."
minutenounUS /ˈmɪnət/
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
outadjectiveUS /aʊt/
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
seatnounUS /siːt/
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
sharpadjectiveUS /ʃɑːrp/
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
startverbUS /stɑːrt/
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
stoodverbUS /stʊd/
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
thrumming
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
titledadjectiveUS /ˈtaɪtəld/
belonging to the peerage
From this reading THE HERO EXPLAINS For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blake stood glowering at the door.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
WelladverbUS /wel/
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well?" demanded Griffith.
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "With what?"
whereconjunctionUS /wer/
in or at the place that
From this reading The sharp crackle of a blueprint under the thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from his abstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into his former seat.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Out with it."
