Chapter 21 of Strictly Business is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Strictly Business is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am? Say, who do you think you are talking to? What?” She was pretty to look at. Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
Chapter 21 of Strictly Business is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.”
shining intensely
From this reading ““Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?”
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.”
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading “Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.”
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading ““Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?”
invulnerable to fear or intimidation
From this reading “Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.”
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “She was pretty to look at.”
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading “Say, who do you think you are talking to?”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Say, who do you think you are talking to?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She was pretty to look at.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
shining intensely
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
a young female
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
invulnerable to fear or intimidation
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She was pretty to look at.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading She was pretty to look at.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
express in words
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was pretty to look at.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading Say, who do you think you are talking to?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Say, who do you think you are talking to?
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was pretty to look at.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her eyes were big, brown, intrepid and bright.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
which person or people
From this reading Say, who do you think you are talking to?
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Say,” said the girl, blazing upon him with low-voiced indignation, “what do you think I am?
Chapter 21 of Strictly Business by O. Henry holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 21 holds 207 sentences of Strictly Business, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Strictly Business by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 21 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 Strictly Business by O. Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4844 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2141 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2141, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 403 minutes of reading across 969 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Strictly Business section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Strictly Business 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 Strictly Business, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
