Chapter 12 of Tarr is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Tarr is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell. It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room. Kreisler still stood safely outside the door. There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue. Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
Chapter 12 of Tarr is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
make a strident sound
From this reading “It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.”
a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
From this reading “There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.”
deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion
From this reading “It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.”
not capable of being separated
From this reading “There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.”
United States violinist (born in Austria) (1875-1962)
From this reading “BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell.”
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.”
the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva)
From this reading “There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.”
having or making a high-pitched sound such as that made by a mouse or a rusty hinge
From this reading “Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.”
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 “It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.”
In this reading “There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.”
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 It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell.
make a strident sound
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Kreisler still stood safely outside the door.
without liveliness
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
a person of German nationality
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
not capable of being separated
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
United States violinist (born in Austria) (1875-1962)
From this reading BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell.
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Kreisler still stood safely outside the door.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
compacted by ironing
From this reading BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
move hurridly
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading Kreisler still stood safely outside the door.
with low volume
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva)
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
having or making a high-pitched sound such as that made by a mouse or a rusty hinge
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
not in physical motion
From this reading Kreisler still stood safely outside the door.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Kreisler still stood safely outside the door.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BOURGEOIS-BOHEMIANS Kreisler pressed the bell.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading There was a rush in the passage: the hissing and spitting sounds inseparable from the speaking of the German tongue.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
(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 Some one was spitting louder than the rest, and squealing dully as well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a hoarse low z-like blast, braying softly into the crowded room.
Chapter 12 of Tarr by Wyndham Lewis holds 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 12 holds 289 sentences of Tarr, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Tarr by Wyndham Lewis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 12 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 Tarr by Wyndham Lewis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8072 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58340 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58340, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tarr section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Tarr 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 Tarr, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
