Chapter 16 of The barber's chair is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The barber's chair is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends. _Tickle._ Hallo, Nutts! Why, what’s the matter with the shop? As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden! Well, I’m sure!
Chapter 16 of The barber's chair is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!”
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading “As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!”
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading “_Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.”
reflecting light
From this reading “As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!”
do one's shopping
From this reading “Why, what’s the matter with the shop?”
the act of perceiving the odor of something
From this reading “As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!”
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading “As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!”
touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements
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.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Tickle._ Hallo, Nutts!
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I’m sure!
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Why, what’s the matter with the shop?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
reflecting light
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
do one's shopping
From this reading Why, what’s the matter with the shop?
the act of perceiving the odor of something
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Well, I’m sure!
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading As fine and as shiny, and smelling as sweet as Covent Garden!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Why, what’s the matter with the shop?
touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements
From this reading _Tickle._ Hallo, Nutts!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
(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 Well, I’m sure!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why, what’s the matter with the shop?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, what’s the matter with the shop?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Why, what’s the matter with the shop?
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading _Nutts._ (_Stropping razor._) Happy new year to ye, my friends.
Chapter 16 of The barber's chair by Douglas William Jerrold holds 106 sentences, grouped into 22 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 16 holds 106 sentences of The barber's chair, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The barber's chair by Douglas William Jerrold exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 106 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 16 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 barber's chair by Douglas William Jerrold on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3759 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69868 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69868, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 313 minutes of reading across 752 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The barber's chair section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The barber's chair 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 barber's chair, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
