Chapter 9 of The day's play is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The day's play is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher. Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished. We saluted, and I settled down to work. "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry. "It must be nearly that now."
Chapter 9 of The day's play is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.”
confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading “ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “"There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.”
plural of “excursion” — a journey taken for pleasure
From this reading “ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.”
according to the clock
From this reading “"There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.”
a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert)
From this reading “"There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.”
past form of “salute” — propose a toast to
From this reading “We saluted, and I settled down to work.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “We saluted, and I settled down to work.”
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 “ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.”
In this reading “Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.”
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 ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
(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 Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading We saluted, and I settled down to work.
being one more than ten
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
divisible by two
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
plural of “excursion” — a journey taken for pleasure
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
the act of departing
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It must be nearly that now."
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "It must be nearly that now."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading "It must be nearly that now."
immediately following in time or order
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "It must be nearly that now."
according to the clock
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr Derry was in the middle of his breakfast; all the others had finished.
a workman employed to destroy or drive away vermin
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert)
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
past form of “salute” — propose a toast to
From this reading We saluted, and I settled down to work.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading We saluted, and I settled down to work.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "It must be nearly that now."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There is going to be a rehearsal at eleven o'clock, I believe," said Derry.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We saluted, and I settled down to work.
precisely as stated
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS I was, I confess, very late the next morning, even for a rat-catcher.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We saluted, and I settled down to work.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading We saluted, and I settled down to work.
Chapter 9 of The day's play by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 9 holds 119 sentences of The day's play, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The day's play by A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 9 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.
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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.
