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The diary of Delia
The diary of Delia

Chapter XXIII

Chapter 23 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

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Context Illustration Reading 1/23 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.
I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.
By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.
I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.
But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The diary of Delia

Chapter XXIII

Chapter 23 of The diary of Delia is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/23 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.
Line 2
I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.
Line 3
By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.
Line 4
I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.
Line 5
But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

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.

blaming verb US /ˈbleɪmɪŋ/

-ing form of “blame” — put or pin the blame on

From this reading “By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.”

crying adjective US /ˈkraɪɪŋ/

demanding attention

From this reading “But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.”

foolish adjective US /ˈfuːlɪʃ/

devoid of good sense or judgment

From this reading “I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.”

hart noun US /hɑːrt/

United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)

From this reading “NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.”

loving adjective US /ˈlʌvɪŋ/

feeling or showing love and affection

From this reading “I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.”

sinful adjective US /ˈsɪnfəl/

characterized by iniquity; wicked because it is believed to be a sin

From this reading “I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.”

victim noun US /ˈvɪktəm/

an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance

From this reading “I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.”

weeping adjective US /ˈwiːpɪŋ/

showing sorrow

From this reading “I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.”

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.

NEXT DAY adjective + noun

In this reading “NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.”

look at verb + particle

take into consideration for exemplifying purposes

In this reading “But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.”

blaming for verb + particle counted as “blame for”

In this reading “By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.”

worked upon verb + particle counted as “work upon”

In this reading “By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.”

All words in this reading · 73

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 NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

ackshons

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

AfterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

ake

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

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

bitnounUS /bɪt/

a small piece or quantity of something

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

blamingverbUS /ˈbleɪmɪŋ/

-ing form of “blame” — put or pin the blame on

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

ByprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

Claire

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

cryingadjectiveUS /ˈkraɪɪŋ/

demanding attention

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

cuming

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

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

DAYnounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

desateful

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

disthressful

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

dreamnounUS /driːm/

A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

drimt

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

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

familynounUS /ˈfæməli/

a social unit living together

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

feelingsnounUS /ˈfiːlɪŋz/

emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

fitverbUS /fɪt/

be agreeable or acceptable to

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

foolishadjectiveUS /ˈfuːlɪʃ/

devoid of good sense or judgment

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

getverbUS /ɡet/

come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

girlnounUS /ɡɜːrl/

a young female

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

hartnounUS /hɑːrt/

United States playwright who collaborated with George S. Kaufman (1904-1961)

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

hevvy

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

ivints

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

lovingadjectiveUS /ˈlʌvɪŋ/

feeling or showing love and affection

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

makeverbUS /meɪk/

engage in

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

Minnie

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

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

MissverbUS /mɪs/

fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

NEXTadjectiveUS /nekst/

immediately following in time or order

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

paceful

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

placenounUS /pleɪs/

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

refoosed

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

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

sadadjectiveUS /sæd/

experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

sinfuladjectiveUS /ˈsɪnfəl/

characterized by iniquity; wicked because it is believed to be a sin

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

sleepnounUS /sliːp/

a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

sorrer

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

stonenounUS /stoʊn/

a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

tak

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

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

tellingadjectiveUS /ˈtelɪŋ/

disclosing unintentionally something concealed

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

thats

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

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

thrubbles

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

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

trueadjectiveUS /truː/

consistent with fact or reality; not false

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

victimnounUS /ˈvɪktəm/

an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

weepingadjectiveUS /ˈwiːpɪŋ/

showing sorrow

From this reading I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie.

wid

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

wint

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

From this reading NEXT DAY After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get.

wirrah

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

From this reading But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep.

Wolley

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

From this reading I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family.

wordsnounUS /wɜːrdz/

the words that are spoken

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

workedverbUS /wɜːrkt/

past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity

From this reading By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles.

Chapter 23 of The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna holds 118 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.

What does chapter 23 of The diary of Delia contain?

Chapter 23 holds 118 sentences of The diary of Delia, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 23 of The diary of Delia by Onoto Watanna exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 118 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.

How do I study chapter 23 of The diary of Delia?

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.

Can chapter 23 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 23 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.