Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door. An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry. “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise. “What can I do for you?” The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 91/95 · 5 reading units · Lines 451–455
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.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading “An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.”
tending to diminish or disparage
From this reading “An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.”
in a feverish manner
From this reading “The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.”
a search for knowledge
From this reading “An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.”
past form of “shuffle” — walk by dragging one's feet
From this reading “The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.”
push forcefully
From this reading “An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.”
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 Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
anew
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “What can I do for you?”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
tending to diminish or disparage
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What can I do for you?”
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
in a feverish manner
From this reading The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “What can I do for you?”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “What can I do for you?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
a search for knowledge
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.
and nothing more
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
resembling an owl; solemn and wise in appearance
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
past form of “shuffle” — walk by dragging one's feet
From this reading The Major shuffled feverishly into the room.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Just as the laugh echoed away, there came a sharp knock at the door.
push forcefully
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What! back again, Major?” cried Northover in surprise.
in the company of; together with
From this reading An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What can I do for you?”
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton holds 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 1 holds 476 sentences of The Club of Queer Trades, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 1 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 Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2767 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1696 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1696, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 230 minutes of reading across 554 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Club of Queer Trades section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Club of Queer Trades 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 Club of Queer Trades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
