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.
It is essentially _outré_. No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees. Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk. They never go out shooting unless with the long bow. Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
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 4/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 16–20
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.
in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature
From this reading “It is essentially _outré_.”
unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
From this reading “No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.”
extravagant exaggeration
From this reading “Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.”
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading “No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.”
communicated in the form of words
From this reading “Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.”
plural of “yankee” — an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
From this reading “No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.”
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.
move out of or depart from
In this reading “They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.”
In this reading “Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.”
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 Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
anew
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature
From this reading It is essentially _outré_.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
extravagant exaggeration
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is essentially _outré_.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is essentially _outré_.
the sound of laughing
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
not any; not one
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It is essentially _outré_.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
on the contrary
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
try to get or reach
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their ordinary speech is hyperbole, or tall talk.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
except if; if not
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
communicated in the form of words
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They never go out shooting unless with the long bow.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Again, their humour comes from without, rather than from within, and is less a matter of thought than of verbal expression.
plural of “yankee” — an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
From this reading No people seek to raise the laugh by such extravagant means as the Yankees.
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.
How to work through The American Joe Miller section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The American Joe Miller 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 The American Joe Miller, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
