Chapter 39 of Snarled Identities is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of Snarled Identities is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
UP AGAINST IT. A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden. Gordon nodded impassively. “Very well,” he said. “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
Chapter 39 of Snarled Identities is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
cause to be bored
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
a person or firm that employs workers
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
in an impassive manner
From this reading “Gordon nodded impassively.”
past form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
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 “A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.”
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 A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
anew
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading UP AGAINST IT.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
cause to be bored
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
a person or firm that employs workers
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gordon nodded impassively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Very well,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
in an impassive manner
From this reading Gordon nodded impassively.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading UP AGAINST IT.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Gordon nodded impassively.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
and nothing more
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
past form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
be shown or be found to be
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Very well,” he said.
a tray (or large plate) for serving food or drinks; usually made of silver
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
required or under orders
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
a source of difficulty
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading UP AGAINST IT.
precisely as stated
From this reading “Very well,” he said.
(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 “Very well,” he said.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A few minutes later, the front-door bell rang again, and this time the salver which the butler presented to his supposed employer bore the card of Harold Lumsden.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading “I only hope he’ll prove worth the trouble,” he told himself, as the butler left the room.
Chapter 39 of Snarled Identities by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 115 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 39 holds 115 sentences of Snarled Identities, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of Snarled Identities by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 115 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 39 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 Snarled Identities by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3247 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63977 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63977, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 270 minutes of reading across 650 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Snarled Identities section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Snarled Identities 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 Snarled Identities, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
