Chapter 14 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably. The duke was no mean antagonist. As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little. “And now?” I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
Chapter 14 of The Clock and the Key is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
altered to accommodate to certain requirements or bring into a proper relation
From this reading “As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.”
in an admirable manner
From this reading “St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.”
someone who offers opposition
From this reading “The duke was no mean antagonist.”
plural of “bond” — an electrical force linking atoms
From this reading “As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.”
make a mess of, destroy or ruin
From this reading “St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.”
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading “I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.”
prevent from speaking out
From this reading “As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.”
the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
From this reading “As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.”
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 As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
altered to accommodate to certain requirements or bring into a proper relation
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
in an admirable manner
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
(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 I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
someone who offers opposition
From this reading The duke was no mean antagonist.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
plural of “bond” — an electrical force linking atoms
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
make a mess of, destroy or ruin
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading The duke was no mean antagonist.
having an (over)abundance of flesh
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
prevent from speaking out
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading The duke was no mean antagonist.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
not any; not one
From this reading The duke was no mean antagonist.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “And now?”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading St. Hilary did not bungle; and the cloak served admirably.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
create by training and teaching
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
bound or secured closely
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The duke was no mean antagonist.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
at the time that
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
during the time that
From this reading As I placed my knee on his spine and twisted his arms back, while St. Hilary adjusted the bonds and the gag, I made up my mind that I should have to train down a little.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading I whispered, when we had trussed him up, for all the world like a fat fowl.
Chapter 14 of The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey holds 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 124 sentences of The Clock and the Key, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 Clock and the Key by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Vesey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4970 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54888 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54888, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 414 minutes of reading across 994 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Clock and the Key section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Clock and the Key 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 Clock and the Key, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
