Chapter 5 of The day's play is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The day's play is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast. As I opened the door there was a sudden hush. Everybody looked eagerly at me. Then Miss Fortescue tittered. Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
Chapter 5 of The day's play is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading “AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.”
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading “Everybody looked eagerly at me.”
plural of “feel” — an intuitive awareness
From this reading “Well, you know how one feels when that happens.”
a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory
From this reading “AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.”
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “Well, you know how one feels when that happens.”
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading “As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.”
chosen in preference to another
From this reading “AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.”
In this reading “Everybody looked eagerly at me.”
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 AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading Everybody looked eagerly at me.
every person
From this reading Everybody looked eagerly at me.
plural of “feel” — an intuitive awareness
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Miss Fortescue tittered.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
immediately past
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Everybody looked eagerly at me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Everybody looked eagerly at me.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Then Miss Fortescue tittered.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.
participate in games or sport
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
chosen in preference to another
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then Miss Fortescue tittered.
in or at that place or location
From this reading As I opened the door there was a sudden hush.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Miss Fortescue tittered.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
precisely as stated
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
(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, you know how one feels when that happens.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
at the time that
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading AT PLAY I selected a handkerchief, gave a last look at the weather, which was beastly, and went down (very late) to breakfast.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Well, you know how one feels when that happens.
Chapter 5 of The day's play by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 5 holds 128 sentences of The day's play, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The day's play by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 5 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 day's play by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The day's play section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The day's play 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 day's play, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
