Chapter 14 of The Buttoned Sky is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Buttoned Sky is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!" The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck! --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet. "Brother! Maybe I was wrong.
Chapter 14 of The Buttoned Sky is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
wildly; without self-control
From this reading “The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!”
a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “--Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.”
furnished or closed with buttons or something buttonlike
From this reading “The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!”
the most powerful members of a society
From this reading “The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!”
the expensive fur of a mink
From this reading “The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"”
a crowd especially of ordinary or undistinguished persons or things
From this reading “The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!”
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “--Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.”
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 “The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
wildly; without self-control
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.
shining intensely
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading "Brother!
furnished or closed with buttons or something buttonlike
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
opinion or judgment
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
the most powerful members of a society
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
destroyed or killed
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Maybe I was wrong.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
by chance
From this reading Maybe I was wrong.
the expensive fur of a mink
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
plural of “priest” — a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
plural of “rank” — a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
a crowd especially of ordinary or undistinguished persons or things
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading --Ruck's Ballad of the Mink John staggered to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
separate or cause to separate abruptly
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
in or at that place or location
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Maybe I was wrong.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading Maybe I was wrong.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading The Mink he turns his blazing eyes Up to the buttoned sky: "This night I'll tear ye down from there To see if gods can die!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The gentry mass in stallioned ranks, The priests have gone amuck; The orbs and zanphs they now descend, All-armed against the ruck!
Chapter 14 of The Buttoned Sky by Robert W. Krepps holds 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 182 sentences of The Buttoned Sky, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Buttoned Sky by Robert W. Krepps exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Buttoned Sky by Robert W. Krepps on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2582 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32473 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32473, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 215 minutes of reading across 517 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Buttoned Sky section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Buttoned Sky 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 Buttoned Sky, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
