Chapter 12 of The House of Torchy is here in full — 327 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The House of Torchy is here in full — 327 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I. "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?" "At least we can try," says Vee. "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous. Eggs ninety cents!"
Chapter 12 of The House of Torchy is here in full — 327 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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 “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading “Eggs ninety cents!"”
-ing form of “charge” — to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading “"The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.”
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading “Eggs ninety cents!"”
United States industrialist who manufactured vacuum cleaners (1849-1932)
From this reading “"If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"”
being ten more than eighty
From this reading “Eggs ninety cents!"”
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading “"The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.”
plural of “price” — the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading “"The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.”
cause to move by pulling
From this reading “"If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"”
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 "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
(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 "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "At least we can try," says Vee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "At least we can try," says Vee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading Eggs ninety cents!"
-ing form of “charge” — to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading Eggs ninety cents!"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
United States industrialist who manufactured vacuum cleaners (1849-1932)
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "At least we can try," says Vee.
hear with intention
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
being ten more than eighty
From this reading Eggs ninety cents!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
above and across; more than
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
a human being
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
plural of “price” — the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "The prices this Belcher person is charging are something outrageous.
the upper part of anything
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading "At least we can try," says Vee.
the act of using
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VEE GOES OVER THE TOP "But listen, Vee," says I.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "At least we can try," says Vee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "If Hoover can't pull it off, with all the backin' he's got, what's the use of a few of you women mixin' in?"
Chapter 12 of The House of Torchy by Sewell Ford holds 327 sentences, grouped into 66 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 12 holds 327 sentences of The House of Torchy, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The House of Torchy by Sewell Ford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 327 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 12 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 House of Torchy by Sewell Ford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5426 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21882 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21882, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 452 minutes of reading across 1086 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of Torchy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The House of Torchy 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 House of Torchy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
