Chapter 4 of The Impudent Comedian, & Others is here in full — 471 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Impudent Comedian, & Others is here in full — 471 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well, sir?” It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him. He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out: “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom! Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
Chapter 4 of The Impudent Comedian, & Others is here in full — 471 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
contrived by art rather than nature
From this reading “He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:”
someone with an assured and ingratiating manner
From this reading ““Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!”
hold firmly and tightly
From this reading ““Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!”
a female deity
From this reading ““Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!”
muscular and heavily built
From this reading “He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:”
past form of “pipe” — utter a shrill cry
From this reading “He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:”
get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading “It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.”
smile affectedly or derisively
From this reading “He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:”
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.
In this reading “It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.”
In this reading “Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?””
In this reading “It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
contrived by art rather than nature
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
someone with an assured and ingratiating manner
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
hold firmly and tightly
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
rid of objects or obstructions such as e.g. trees and brush
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
a female deity
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
muscular and heavily built
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
a woman of refinement
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
past form of “pipe” — utter a shrill cry
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
done under pressure
From this reading “Madam--ah, my charmer, I have rushed to clasp my goddess to my bosom!
term of address for a man
From this reading “Well, sir?”
smile affectedly or derisively
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
(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, sir?”
which person or people
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading He cleared his throat--it was somewhat husky--and with an artificial smirk he piped out:
the words that are spoken
From this reading It took him some moments to recover from the effect the words produced upon him.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Ah, fair creature, who could resist your appeal?”
Chapter 4 of The Impudent Comedian, & Others by Frank Frankfort Moore holds 471 sentences, grouped into 95 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 4 holds 471 sentences of The Impudent Comedian, & Others, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Impudent Comedian, & Others by Frank Frankfort Moore exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 471 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 4 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 Impudent Comedian, & Others by Frank Frankfort Moore on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2370 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 197 minutes of reading across 474 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Impudent Comedian, & Others section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Impudent Comedian, & Others 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 Impudent Comedian, & Others, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
