Chapter 18 of Squire Phin is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Squire Phin is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
EVEN BY ITS POSSESSORS. “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go. He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines. He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue. He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
Chapter 18 of Squire Phin is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
past form of “ache” — feel physical pain
From this reading ““Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.”
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
From this reading “He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.”
perennial plants having thick branching aromatic rhizomes and leafy reedlike stems
From this reading ““Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.”
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading “He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.”
a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball
From this reading “He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.”
hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading “He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!”
(British informal) exhausted or worn out
From this reading “He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!”
a pile or stack of wood to be used for fuel
From this reading “He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.”
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 “He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.”
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 “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
past form of “ache” — feel physical pain
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading EVEN BY ITS POSSESSORS.
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
divisible by two
From this reading EVEN BY ITS POSSESSORS.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
perennial plants having thick branching aromatic rhizomes and leafy reedlike stems
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
(Greek mythology) a mythical Trojan who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading EVEN BY ITS POSSESSORS.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading EVEN BY ITS POSSESSORS.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
past form of “reckon” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
inflected form of “swear” — utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He reckoned that toe had all them pains Jest for to hector old Zibe Haines.
one of the digits of the foot
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
(British informal) exhausted or worn out
From this reading He put that toe on the choppin’ block And off he whacked it, slap, ker-chock!
a pile or stack of wood to be used for fuel
From this reading He grabbed up a mallet and a chisel, too, And clear’n to the woodpile swore things blue.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Old Zibe Haines had a corn on his toe And it ached like ginger ev’ry step he’d go.
Chapter 18 of Squire Phin by Holman Day holds 211 sentences, grouped into 43 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 18 holds 211 sentences of Squire Phin, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Squire Phin by Holman Day exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 211 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 18 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 Squire Phin by Holman Day on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5616 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55340 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55340, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 468 minutes of reading across 1124 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Squire Phin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Squire Phin 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 Squire Phin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
