Chapter 9 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Then, why don't we go and fight them?" "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance. We're fencing, lad. What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves." "But the glory, Barney."
Chapter 9 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
inflected form of “chop” — cut into pieces
From this reading “"Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.”
an opposing military force
From this reading “What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."”
a barrier that serves to enclose an area
From this reading “"Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.”
a state of high honor
From this reading “"But the glory, Barney."”
a boy or man
From this reading “We're fencing, lad.”
used when we are both doing the action and receiving it
From this reading “What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."”
fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."”
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 "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
(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 What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But the glory, Barney."
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
inflected form of “chop” — cut into pieces
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
an opposing military force
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
a barrier that serves to enclose an area
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
a state of high honor
From this reading "But the glory, Barney."
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
the act of departing
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
a boy or man
From this reading We're fencing, lad.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
used when we are both doing the action and receiving it
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
doomed to extinction
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
carry out
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
up to a particular time
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We're fencing, lad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What we've got to do is to take or sink all the enemy we can, not get took or sunk ourselves."
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Then, why don't we go and fight them?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Good sword-play don't mean going and blunder-headed chopping at a man like one goes at a tree, but fencing a bit till you get your chance.
Chapter 9 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea by George Manville Fenn holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 9 holds 405 sentences of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 9 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 Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21373 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21373, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 571 minutes of reading across 1372 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea 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 Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
