Chapter 5 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"That's understood. My word, though, it is hard to believe!" "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop. Well, I did not like it. I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
Chapter 5 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “"You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.”
past form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “"You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.”
do one's shopping
From this reading “"You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.”
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading “I walked to the door and watched him down the street.”
to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
From this reading “"You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.”
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading “"That's understood.”
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading “I walked to the door and watched him down the street.”
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading “I walked to the door and watched him down the street.”
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 "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Well, I did not like it.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Well, I did not like it.
past form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Well, I did not like it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
extremely modest or shy
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
do one's shopping
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's understood.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading "That's understood.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading I walked to the door and watched him down the street.
(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, I did not like it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading My word, though, it is hard to believe!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You had best believe it, anyway," said I; and with a sort of shamefaced swagger he lurched out of the shop.
Chapter 5 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 5 holds 423 sentences of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4193 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales 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 Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
