Chapter 2 of The Cynic's Word Book is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Cynic's Word Book is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BRANDY, n. A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan. Dose, a headful all the time. Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes. Only a hero will venture to drink it.
Chapter 2 of The Cynic's Word Book is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice
From this reading “BRANDY, n.”
Scottish historian who wrote about the French Revolution (1795-1881)
From this reading “Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.”
inflected form of “clarify” — make clear and (more) comprehensible
From this reading “A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.”
diffusing warmth and friendliness
From this reading “A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.”
a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
From this reading “Dose, a headful all the time.”
plural of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.”
a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)
From this reading “A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.”
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 “A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.”
In this reading “A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.”
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 A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
(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 Dose, a headful all the time.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice
From this reading BRANDY, n.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
Scottish historian who wrote about the French Revolution (1795-1881)
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
inflected form of “clarify” — make clear and (more) comprehensible
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
diffusing warmth and friendliness
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
From this reading Dose, a headful all the time.
take in liquids
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
the quantity of information that a head will hold
From this reading Dose, a headful all the time.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading Only a hero will venture to drink it.
plural of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Only a hero will venture to drink it.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading BRANDY, n.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
and nothing more
From this reading Only a hero will venture to drink it.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
the local environment
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dose, a headful all the time.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Dose, a headful all the time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Brandy is said, by Carlyle, I think, to be the drink of heroes.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody murder, one part death-hell-and-thegrave and four parts clarified Satan.
any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome
From this reading Only a hero will venture to drink it.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Only a hero will venture to drink it.
Chapter 2 of The Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 2 holds 445 sentences of The Cynic's Word Book, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 2 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 Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2202 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43951 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43951, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 183 minutes of reading across 441 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cynic's Word Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Cynic's Word Book 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 Cynic's Word Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
