Chapter 2 of Poems — Volume 3 is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Poems — Volume 3 is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
III Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider. If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder. But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider. So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
Chapter 2 of Poems — Volume 3 is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
an agent who conducts an auction
From this reading “If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.”
someone who makes an offer
From this reading “If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.”
plural of “clip” — a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun
From this reading “But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!”
A person who does not belong to a particular group or community; a stranger.
From this reading “But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.”
possessive form of “rover” — someone who leads a wandering unsettled life
plural of “trump” — a playing card in the suit that has been declared trumps
From this reading “But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.”
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading “But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.”
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 Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
an agent who conducts an auction
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
someone who makes an offer
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
plural of “clip” — a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
deem to be
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
plural of “cry” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
plural of “fight” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading III
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
look suggestively or obliquely; look or gaze with a sly, immodest, or malign expression
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
engage in
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
A person who does not belong to a particular group or community; a stranger.
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
participate in games or sport
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
obtain or seize by violence
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
possessive form of “rover” — someone who leads a wandering unsettled life
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
separate into parts or portions
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
plural of “trick” — a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
plural of “trump” — a playing card in the suit that has been declared trumps
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
at the time that
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
a movable organ for flying (one of a pair)
From this reading But wedlock clips the rover’s wing; She tricks him fly to spider; And when we get to fights in the Ring, It’s trumps when you play outsider.
in the company of; together with
From this reading If you were up with the auctioneer, I’d be a handsome bidder.
twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
From this reading So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim, And croak, my jolly raven!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer, To make a man consider.
Chapter 2 of Poems — Volume 3 by George Meredith holds 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 2 holds 114 sentences of Poems — Volume 3, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Poems — Volume 3 by George Meredith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 2 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 Poems — Volume 3 by George Meredith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2059 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1383 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1383, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 171 minutes of reading across 412 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems — Volume 3 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Poems — Volume 3 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 Poems — Volume 3, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
