Chapter 14 of The Briary Bush: A Novel is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Briary Bush: A Novel is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron. Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas. It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision. Was that himself? “That’s all for today,” said the painter.
Chapter 14 of The Briary Bush: A Novel is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
lacking or showing a lack of due concern
From this reading “It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.”
represent in or produce a caricature of
From this reading “It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.”
writing implement consisting of a colored stick of composition wax used for writing and drawing
From this reading “Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.”
having a sophisticated charm
From this reading “It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.”
with hesitation; in a hesitant manner
From this reading “It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.”
doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
From this reading “It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.”
with indifference; in an indifferent manner
From this reading ““If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.”
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading “It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.”
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 It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
(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 It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
lacking or showing a lack of due concern
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
fearless and daring
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
represent in or produce a caricature of
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
writing implement consisting of a colored stick of composition wax used for writing and drawing
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
having a sophisticated charm
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “That’s all for today,” said the painter.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
with hesitation; in a hesitant manner
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
with indifference; in an indifferent manner
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
above and across; more than
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
an artist who paints
From this reading “That’s all for today,” said the painter.
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
preliminary drawing for later elaboration
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
past form of “stroll” — walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Was that himself?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s all for today,” said the painter.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Felix strolled over and looked at the crayon sketch on the canvas.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
the present time or age
From this reading “That’s all for today,” said the painter.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was a bold caricature of himself, poised hesitantly with stick and cigarette, blithe, debonair, and above all a figure of indecision.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “If you want to,” she said indifferently, taking off her apron.
Chapter 14 of The Briary Bush: A Novel by Floyd Dell holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of The Briary Bush: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Briary Bush: A Novel by Floyd Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Briary Bush: A Novel by Floyd Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9096 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58622 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58622, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1820 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Briary Bush: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Briary Bush: A Novel 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 Briary Bush: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
