Chapter 17 of The best short stories of 1921, and is here in full — 543 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The best short stories of 1921, and is here in full — 543 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Bum! If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat. Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service. But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye. "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
Chapter 17 of The best short stories of 1921, and is here in full — 543 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/108 · 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.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “"Bum!”
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading “But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.”
take in solid food
From this reading “If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.”
the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
From this reading “But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.”
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading “Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.”
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.”
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading “If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.”
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading “Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.”
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 Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading "Bum!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
take in solid food
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
the organ of sight
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
the quality of shining with a bright reflected light
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
and nothing more
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading But he's got a kind o' crazy glitter in his eye.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
cut with a saw
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading Almost a Jew-lookin' guy, and he'd saw hard service.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If he wasn't the father and mother and brother and sister of the original bum, I'll eat my hat.
(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,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "'Well,' says I, just like that, 'Well, what do you want?'
Chapter 17 of The best short stories of 1921, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 543 sentences, grouped into 109 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 17 holds 543 sentences of The best short stories of 1921, and, unabridged, divided into 109 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The best short stories of 1921, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 543 sentences, grouped into 109 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 109 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 109 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 17 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 best short stories of 1921, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 20672 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18709 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18709, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 4135 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1921, and section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The best short stories of 1921, and 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 best short stories of 1921, and, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
