Chapter 36 of The Bars of Iron is here in full — 322 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of The Bars of Iron is here in full — 322 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther. You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology." Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately. "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily. Piers laughed.
Chapter 36 of The Bars of Iron is here in full — 322 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/64 · 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.
with affection
From this reading “Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.”
used as intensifiers
From this reading “You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."”
a boy or man
From this reading “You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."”
past form of “clasp” — hold firmly and tightly
From this reading “Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.”
plural of “pier” — a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.”
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading “You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."”
the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth
From this reading “You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."”
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading “You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."”
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 THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
with affection
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
used as intensifiers
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
a boy or man
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
past form of “clasp” — hold firmly and tightly
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily.
in a dry laconic manner
From this reading "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
and nothing more
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Piers laughed.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily.
engage in
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
plural of “pier” — a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading Piers clasped his hands behind his head, and regarded his friend affectionately.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily.
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Do you think so?" said Crowther a little drily.
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
in or at the place that
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE DESERT ROAD "That is just where you make a mistake, my good Crowther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're an awfully shrewd chap in some ways, but you understand women just about as thoroughly as I understand theology."
Chapter 36 of The Bars of Iron by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 322 sentences, grouped into 65 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 36 holds 322 sentences of The Bars of Iron, unabridged, divided into 65 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of The Bars of Iron by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 322 sentences, grouped into 65 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 65 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 65 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 36 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 Bars of Iron by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13358 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10509 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10509, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2672 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bars of Iron section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Bars of Iron 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 Bars of Iron, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
