Chapter 21 of The Diary of a Nobody is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Diary of a Nobody is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lupin is discharged. We are in great trouble. Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary. MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary. I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
Chapter 21 of The Diary of a Nobody is here in full — 117 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.
not being in a specified place
From this reading “I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.”
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.”
having lost your job
From this reading “Lupin is discharged.”
in or to another place
From this reading “Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.”
impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism
From this reading “I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.”
any plant of the genus Lupinus; bearing erect spikes of usually purplish-blue flowers
From this reading “Lupin is discharged.”
unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
From this reading “MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.”
something that remunerates
From this reading “Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.”
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 MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
not being in a specified place
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We are in great trouble.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
having lost your job
From this reading Lupin is discharged.
in or to another place
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading We are in great trouble.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We are in great trouble.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lupin is discharged.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
immediately past
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
any plant of the genus Lupinus; bearing erect spikes of usually purplish-blue flowers
From this reading Lupin is discharged.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
something that remunerates
From this reading Lupin gets engaged elsewhere at a handsome salary.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
only a very short time before
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
a source of difficulty
From this reading We are in great trouble.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We are in great trouble.
the act of creating written works
From this reading MAY 13.—A terrible misfortune has happened: Lupin is discharged from Mr. Perkupp’s office; and I scarcely know how I am writing my diary.
a late time of life
From this reading I was away from office last Sat., the first time I have been absent through illness for twenty years.
Chapter 21 of The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith holds 117 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 21 holds 117 sentences of The Diary of a Nobody, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 117 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 21 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.
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Yes. All 2463 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1026 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1026, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 205 minutes of reading across 493 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Diary of a Nobody section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Diary of a Nobody 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 Diary of a Nobody, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
