Chapter 14 of The lazy detective is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The lazy detective is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand. He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle. "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically. "What's the tiff about?" Labar measured his distance.
Chapter 14 of The lazy detective is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
past form of “dangle” — hang freely
From this reading “Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.”
English poet (born in 1930)
From this reading “Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.”
having notes of fixed rhythmic value
From this reading “Labar measured his distance.”
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.”
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading “Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.”
in a sarcastic manner
From this reading “"I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.”
a quarrel about petty points
From this reading “"What's the tiff about?"”
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.”
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 “Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.”
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 "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "What's the tiff about?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
past form of “dangle” — hang freely
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading Labar measured his distance.
fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
a long fixed look
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
English poet (born in 1930)
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Labar measured his distance.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
having notes of fixed rhythmic value
From this reading Labar measured his distance.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
in a sarcastic manner
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading He could not fail to observe the signs of the struggle.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
a quarrel about petty points
From this reading "What's the tiff about?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I seem to have interrupted a tête-à-tête," he said sardonically.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's the tiff about?"
during the time that
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Hughes leaned his back to the wall near the window and his gaze wandered from one to the other while the pistol dangled in his hand.
Chapter 14 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot holds 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 14 holds 187 sentences of The lazy detective, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 14 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 lazy detective by George Dilnot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The lazy detective section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The lazy detective 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 lazy detective, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
