Chapter 1 of The American Joe Miller is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The American Joe Miller is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AMERICAN JOE MILLER. A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour. ROBERT KEMPT. "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!" _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
Chapter 1 of The American Joe Miller is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 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.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading “_Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.”
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading “A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.”
English dramatist and poet who was the first real poet laureate of England (1572-1637)
From this reading “"I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"”
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading “AMERICAN JOE MILLER.”
a source of materials to nourish the body
From this reading “"I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"”
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
abundantly filled with especially living things
From this reading “"I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"”
an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
From this reading “A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading AMERICAN JOE MILLER.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
From this reading _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AMERICAN JOE MILLER.
English dramatist and poet who was the first real poet laureate of England (1572-1637)
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
(of hair) neat and tidy
From this reading ROBERT KEMPT.
set down according to a plan
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
the sound of laughing
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading AMERICAN JOE MILLER.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
a source of materials to nourish the body
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading ROBERT KEMPT.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading _Shakespeare._ ADAMS AND FRANCIS, 59, FLEET STREET.
abundantly filled with especially living things
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
up to a particular time
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
From this reading A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humour.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I love a teeming wit as I love my nourishment."--_Ben Jonson._ "Oh, you shall see him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up!"
Chapter 1 of The American Joe Miller by Robert [Compiler] Kempt holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 1 holds 440 sentences of The American Joe Miller, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The American Joe Miller by Robert [Compiler] Kempt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 1 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 The American Joe Miller by Robert [Compiler] Kempt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4132 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43996 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43996, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 827 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 10 chapters of The American Joe Miller to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The American Joe Miller, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
