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Pee-Wee Harris in Luck
Pee-Wee Harris in Luck

Chapter XXIII

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Context Illustration Reading 1/17 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.
It rumbled and jerked along, unashamed.
The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.
The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.
It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Pee-Wee Harris in Luck

Chapter XXIII

Reading 1/17 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.
Line 2
It rumbled and jerked along, unashamed.
Line 3
The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.
Line 4
The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.
Line 5
It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.”

Along preposition US /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading “EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.”

Even noun US /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.”

Point noun US /pɔɪnt/

the main matter or purpose being discussed

From this reading “The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.”

Standing noun US /ˈstanding/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.”

Waiting noun US /ˈwaiting/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.”

All words in this reading · 99

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

AlongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

any

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

boiler

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

bracket

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

branch

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

broke

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

bulging

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

cautious

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

collision

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

compact

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

concentrated

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

condense

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

crawled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

distance

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

Drerie

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

eager

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

embarrassed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

EN

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

engineer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

engineer's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

fifty-seven

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

five

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

fog

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

forever

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

forty-two

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

funny

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

gaze

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

headlight

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

hours

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

instantly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

issuance

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It rumbled and jerked along, unashamed.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

jerked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It rumbled and jerked along, unashamed.

kerosene

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

kind

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

late

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

locomotive

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

lonely

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

mass

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

minutes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

mist

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

moving

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

noise

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

odd

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

old

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

out

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

pointnounUS /pɔɪnt/

the main matter or purpose being discussed

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

poured

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

primitive

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

Railroad

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

restless

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

ROUTE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

rumbled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It rumbled and jerked along, unashamed.

searching

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

seen

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

smoke

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

smoke-stack

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

Snailsdale

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

solid

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

stack

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

standingnounUS /ˈstanding/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

swallowed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

thicker

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

three

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading EN ROUTE Along the lonely Snailsdale branch of the Drerie Railroad crawled the five forty-two, three hours and fifty-seven minutes late.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

two

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

unashamed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It rumbled and jerked along, unashamed.

waiting

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading The smoke which poured out of the funny old bulging smoke-stack was instantly swallowed in the thicker fog; it could be seen only as a kind of restless mass at its point of issuance from the stack.

whiteness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading It must have seemed odd to the cautious engineer that his locomotive could be forever moving into this solid mass without any noise of the collision.

yard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old kerosene headlight, standing out before the boiler on its primitive bracket, broke the compact whiteness for only a yard or two and even to that distance the engineer’s concentrated, searching gaze was embarrassed by the mist which seemed waiting, eager to condense again.