Chapter 5 of The Fatal Boots is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Fatal Boots is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it. “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?” “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.” “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?” (A laugh.)
Chapter 5 of The Fatal Boots is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading ““So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?””
a government administrator
From this reading “Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.”
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading ““What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?””
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “(A laugh.)”
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading ““No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.””
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
From this reading ““No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.””
presiding officer of a school
From this reading ““No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.””
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 “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
unproductive of success
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
a youthful male person
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
a government administrator
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
destroyed or killed
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
the sound of laughing
From this reading (A laugh.)
a form of address for a man
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
not any; not one
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
presiding officer of a school
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
term of address for a man
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
precisely as stated
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Commissioner Dubobwig was very funny about it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What! then you came on a BOOTLESS errand, ay, sir?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No: he said, ven I asked him for payment, dey was ordered by a yong boy, and I ought to have gone to his schoolmaster.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “So Doctor Swishtail would not pay you for the boots, eh, Mr. Stiffelkind?”
Chapter 5 of The Fatal Boots by William Makepeace Thackeray holds 167 sentences, grouped into 34 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 5 holds 167 sentences of The Fatal Boots, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Fatal Boots by William Makepeace Thackeray exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 5 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 Fatal Boots by William Makepeace Thackeray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 897 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2844 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2844, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 74 minutes of reading across 180 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fatal Boots section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Fatal Boots 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 Fatal Boots, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
