Chapter 1 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself! Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by. How're they runnin', eh? Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together. You've seen me, eh?
Chapter 1 of Shorty McCabe is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!”
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)
From this reading “Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!”
cause to move by striking
From this reading “Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!”
an educational institution
From this reading “Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How're they runnin', eh?
accept an excuse for
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
an expression of greeting
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
cause to move by striking
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How're they runnin', eh?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
a form of address for a man
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How're they runnin', eh?
express in words
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
an educational institution
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How're they runnin', eh?
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Blamed if I didn't think there was somethin' kind of natural about the looks, as you come pikin' by.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Well say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
(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 say, I ain't seen you since we used to hit up the grammar school together.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You've seen me, eh?
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Excuse me, mister man, but ain't you--Hello, yourself!
Chapter 1 of Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of Shorty McCabe, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Shorty McCabe by Sewell Ford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4792 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22249 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22249, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 959 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shorty McCabe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Shorty McCabe 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 Shorty McCabe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
