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The diary of Delia
The diary of Delia

Chapter XX

Chapter 20 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 14 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The diary of Delia
Context Illustration Reading 1/2 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.
Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.
She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.
Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.
Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The diary of Delia

Chapter XX

Chapter 20 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 14 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/2 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.
Line 2
Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.
Line 3
She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.
Line 4
Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.
Line 5
Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

Learner Dictionary

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.

auld adjective US /ɔːld/

a Scottish word

From this reading “She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.”

brest noun US /brest/

a port city in northwestern France (in Brittany); the chief naval station of France

From this reading “Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.”

cam noun US /kæm/

a river in east central England that flows past Cambridge to join the Ouse River

From this reading “A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.”

cum noun US /kʌm/

the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract

From this reading “Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.”

lives noun US /lɪvz/

plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading “Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.”

nose noun US /noʊz/

the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals

From this reading “She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.”

peace noun US /piːs/

the state prevailing during the absence of war

From this reading “Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.”

sum noun US /sʌm/

a quantity of money

From this reading “Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

after making preposition + noun

In this reading “Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.”

All words in this reading · 64

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

auldadjectiveUS /ɔːld/

a Scottish word

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

brestnounUS /brest/

a port city in northwestern France (in Brittany); the chief naval station of France

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

camnounUS /kæm/

a river in east central England that flows past Cambridge to join the Ouse River

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

Carnavan

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

convysashun

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

crachure

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

crachures

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

cumnounUS /kʌm/

the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

cumfort

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

disthress

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

disthressful

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

innersint

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

interfeering

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

ItsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

Ivery

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

ivvrywan's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

LATERadverbUS /ˈleɪtər/

happening at a time subsequent to a reference time

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

livesnounUS /lɪvz/

plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

makingnounUS /ˈmeɪkɪŋ/

the act that results in something coming to be

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

Minnie

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

mischiff

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

mostadverbUS /moʊst/

used to form the superlative

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

nite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

nosenounUS /noʊz/

the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

obstreprus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

onhappy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

peacenounUS /piːs/

the state prevailing during the absence of war

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

pooradjectiveUS /puːr/

deserving or inciting pity

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

ristliss

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

shes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

shsticking

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

Shure

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

sorrer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

sortnounUS /sɔːrt/

a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

sumnounUS /sʌm/

a quantity of money

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

theres

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shure theres been no more peace or cumfort in me brest.

thrubble

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ivery nite since Minnie cum there do be thrubble of sum sort.

thrubbles

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

visitverbUS /ˈvɪzɪt/

go to see a place, as for entertainment

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

warld

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

WEEKnounUS /wiːk/

any period of seven consecutive days

From this reading A WEEK LATER Its been a week of sorrer and disthress since Minnie Carnavan cam to visit me.

widout

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She do be the most obstreprus crachure in the warld, shsticking her auld nose into ivvrywan’s thrubbles and ristliss and onhappy widout shes making mischiff.

yung

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Shes after making the lives of the poor yung crachures disthressful, by interfeering in their innersint convysashun.

Chapter 20 of The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna holds 14 sentences, grouped into 3 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.

What does chapter 20 of The diary of Delia contain?

Chapter 20 holds 14 sentences of The diary of Delia, unabridged, divided into 3 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 20 of The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 14 sentences, grouped into 3 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.

How do I study chapter 20 of The diary of Delia?

Work through the 3 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 3 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.

Can chapter 20 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 20 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.

Questions about reading The diary of Delia

Common questions about reading The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The diary of Delia?

Yes. All 2061 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61238 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The diary of Delia is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #61238, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The diary of Delia take to read?

About 171 minutes of reading across 413 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The diary of Delia section by section

How to work through The diary of Delia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 30 chapters of The diary of Delia to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The diary of Delia

Words and structures a reader meets early in The diary of Delia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Siven
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The diary of Delia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Washed
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The diary of Delia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Dressed
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The diary of Delia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Kittle
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The diary of Delia; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.