Chapter 14 of The Big Time is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Big Time is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust. --Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?" Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers. Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby. It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
Chapter 14 of The Big Time is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.”
plural of “entertainer” — a person who tries to please or amuse
From this reading “Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.”
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
From this reading “It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.”
providing assistance or serving a useful function
From this reading “Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.”
past form of “sicken” — cause aversion in; offend the moral sense of
From this reading “It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.”
past form of “weave” — interlace by or as if by weaving
From this reading “Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.”
English playwright (1580-1625)
From this reading “--Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?"”
an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
From this reading “It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.”
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.
In this reading “Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.”
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 Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
remove the dust from
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
plural of “entertainer” — a person who tries to please or amuse
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
the act of departing
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
providing assistance or serving a useful function
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading --Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?"
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
past form of “sicken” — cause aversion in; offend the moral sense of
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
carry out
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading --Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Cretans have eyes under their back hair, or let's face it, Entertainers aren't Soldiers.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
past form of “weave” — interlace by or as if by weaving
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
English playwright (1580-1625)
From this reading --Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?"
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
in or at the place that
From this reading Kaby weaved to one side and flicked a helpful hand and poor old Maud went where she'd been going to send Kaby.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading --Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.
an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
From this reading It sickened me to see the gravity take hold and yank her down.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading --Webster "NOW WILL YOU TALK?"
Chapter 14 of The Big Time by Fritz Leiber holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 14 holds 79 sentences of The Big Time, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Big Time by Fritz Leiber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 14 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 Big Time by Fritz Leiber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1875 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32256 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32256, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 156 minutes of reading across 375 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Big Time section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Big Time 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 Big Time, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
