used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THE CIPHER Here was a discovery!
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
(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 And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
Caldershaw's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
an occurrence of something
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
CIPHERnounUS /ˈsaɪ.fər/
A secret or disguised way of writing; a code used to conceal ancient secrets.
From this reading THE CIPHER Here was a discovery!
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
disappearingnounUS /ˌdɪsəˈpɪrɪŋ/
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
the act of discovering something
From this reading THE CIPHER Here was a discovery!
drawing-room
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
the organ of sight
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
finaladjectiveUS /ˈfaɪnəl/
occurring at or forming an end or termination
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
set up or found
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading THE CIPHER Here was a discovery!
how
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
MonknounUS /mʌŋk/
a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
a form of address for a man
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
murderedadjectiveUS /ˈmɜːrdərd/
killed unlawfully
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/
from a time in the past until now
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
strangestadjectiveUS /ˈstreɪndʒɪst/
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
takenadjectiveUS /ˈteɪkən/
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CIPHER Here was a discovery!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading I could not understand how it had taken place since I was in the room and the closed case was on the table all the time.
having passed out of existence
From this reading Well might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
vanishingnounUS /ˈvænɪʃɪŋ/
a sudden or mysterious disappearance
From this reading And this final vanishing seemed to be the strangest of all.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE CIPHER Here was a discovery!
look attentively
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
(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 might I talk about the disappearing eye, for it vanished every time it was found.
at the time that
From this reading It had disappeared out of Mrs. Caldershaw's head when she was murdered; it had disappeared from the drawing-room table, and now it had disappeared from the watch case of Mr. Walter Monk.
