Chapter 21 of The Irrational Knot is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Irrational Knot is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said: “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly. She’s rasin ructions above stairs.” “Oh dear, oh dear!” said Mrs. Myers. “Cant you keep her quiet?”
Chapter 21 of The Irrational Knot is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading “She’s rasin ructions above stairs.””
stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
From this reading ““Cant you keep her quiet?””
dearly loved
From this reading ““Oh dear, oh dear!” said Mrs. Myers.”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading ““Cant you keep her quiet?””
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading “One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading ““Cant you keep her quiet?””
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “She’s rasin ructions above stairs.””
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading ““A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.”
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 “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading She’s rasin ructions above stairs.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
From this reading “Cant you keep her quiet?”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
dearly loved
From this reading “Oh dear, oh dear!” said Mrs. Myers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Cant you keep her quiet?”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “Cant you keep her quiet?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh dear, oh dear!” said Mrs. Myers.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “Cant you keep her quiet?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s rasin ructions above stairs.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s rasin ructions above stairs.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s rasin ructions above stairs.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading She’s rasin ructions above stairs.”
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One day Eliza, out of patience, came to Mrs. Myers, and said:
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “A’ thin, maam, will you come up and spake to Miss Conolly.
Chapter 21 of The Irrational Knot by Bernard Shaw holds 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 21 holds 453 sentences of The Irrational Knot, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Irrational Knot by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 21 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 Irrational Knot by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8934 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11354 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11354, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1787 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Irrational Knot section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Irrational Knot 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 Irrational Knot, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
