Chapter 4 of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HORACE. [_To her._] Yes, I see.... Professor, I'm sorry. I--I never thought you'd be annoyed. All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
Chapter 4 of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
aroused to impatience or anger
From this reading “I--I never thought you'd be annoyed.”
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading “All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.”
(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech
From this reading “All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.”
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading “HORACE.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “Professor, I'm sorry.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “Professor, I'm sorry.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
aroused to impatience or anger
From this reading I--I never thought you'd be annoyed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I--I never thought you'd be annoyed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading [_To her._] Yes, I see....
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading HORACE.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading [_To her._] Yes, I see....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Professor, I'm sorry.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
immediately past
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I--I never thought you'd be annoyed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading Professor, I'm sorry.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading [_To her._] Yes, I see....
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading Professor, I'm sorry.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
express in words
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I--I never thought you'd be annoyed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [_To her._] Yes, I see....
moved around an axis or center
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
an affirmative
From this reading [_To her._] Yes, I see....
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading All I _really_ meant by--by my feeble little joke was to tell you--in a sort of figurative way, do you see?--that--that my luck has turned at last.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I--I never thought you'd be annoyed.
Chapter 4 of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts by F. Anstey holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 4 holds 434 sentences of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts by F. Anstey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 4 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 Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts by F. Anstey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4338 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37685 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37685, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 361 minutes of reading across 868 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts 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 Brass Bottle — A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
