Chapter 2 of Stingaree is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Stingaree is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head. "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man. There are some it sets talking. Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see." Fergus waited in increasing excitement.
Chapter 2 of Stingaree is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading “Fergus waited in increasing excitement.”
becoming greater or larger
From this reading “Fergus waited in increasing excitement.”
the act of mixing together
From this reading “"A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.”
plural of “set” — a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
From this reading “There are some it sets talking.”
a total abstainer
From this reading “"A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.”
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading “Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."”
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Fergus waited in increasing excitement.”
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading “"A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.”
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 “Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."”
your own wife
In this reading “Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."”
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 teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
how long something has existed
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Fergus waited in increasing excitement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fergus waited in increasing excitement.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
becoming greater or larger
From this reading Fergus waited in increasing excitement.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There are some it sets talking.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
the act of mixing together
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
plural of “set” — a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
From this reading There are some it sets talking.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading There are some it sets talking.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading There are some it sets talking.
a total abstainer
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are some it sets talking.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
up to a particular time
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
precisely as stated
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Fergus waited in increasing excitement.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "A teetotaler, are ye?" said Macbean, mixing a third glass of whiskey, with the skull-cap on the back of his head.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Wait till the old lady turns in, and then you shall see what you shall see."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "And so was I at your age; but you're my very man.
Chapter 2 of Stingaree by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung holds 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 443 sentences of Stingaree, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Stingaree by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Stingaree by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3574 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26526 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26526, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 297 minutes of reading across 715 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stingaree section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Stingaree 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 Stingaree, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
