Chapter 3 of The birds of Shakespeare is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The birds of Shakespeare is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[97] II. iii. 82. [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted: O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw. [99] _Hamlet_, IV. v.
Chapter 3 of The birds of Shakespeare is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading “[98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:”
command against
From this reading “O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.”
a community of people smaller than a village
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading “[98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:”
a worthless lazy fellow
From this reading “O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.”
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading “O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.”
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading “O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.”
compress into a wad
From this reading “O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 82.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [97] II. iii.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [99] _Hamlet_, IV. v.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
command against
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
a community of people smaller than a village
From this reading [99] _Hamlet_, IV. v.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading [97] II. iii.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading [97] II. iii.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading [99] _Hamlet_, IV. v.
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
a worthless lazy fellow
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
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 O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
in spite of the fact that
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading [99] _Hamlet_, IV. v.
compress into a wad
From this reading O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
(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 O had I but the loon that did it, I hae sworn as well as said it, Though the parson should forbid it I wad gie his neck a thraw.
a midwestern state in north central United States
From this reading [98] Thus in the song of the “Ewie wi’ the crooked horn” the knave that did the mischief is thus maledicted:
Chapter 3 of The birds of Shakespeare by Archibald Geikie holds 387 sentences, grouped into 78 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 3 holds 387 sentences of The birds of Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The birds of Shakespeare by Archibald Geikie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 387 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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.
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About 95 minutes of reading across 228 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The birds of Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The birds of Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
