Chapter 8 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LUCY. Ah, the devil is not so cunning. You know my easy nature. Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you! BELL.
Chapter 8 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “BELL.”
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading “Ah, the devil is not so cunning.”
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!”
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “Ah, the devil is not so cunning.”
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading “LUCY.”
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading “Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!”
any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
From this reading “Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
(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 Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading BELL.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading You know my easy nature.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know my easy nature.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading LUCY.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You know my easy nature.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading You know my easy nature.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
on one occasion
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ah, the devil is not so cunning.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Well, for once I'll venture to serve you; but if you do deceive me, the curse of all kind, tender-hearted women light upon you!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You know my easy nature.
Chapter 8 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 by William Congreve holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 8 holds 396 sentences of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 by William Congreve exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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.
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