Chapter 16 of The lazy detective is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The lazy detective is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They had been out-witted. The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them. "There are two turnings. They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily. He descended to examine the tracks.
Chapter 16 of The lazy detective is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration
From this reading “The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.”
with firmness
From this reading “The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “He descended to examine the tracks.”
past form of “evade” — avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading “The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.”
consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading “He descended to examine the tracks.”
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading “The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.”
with gloom
From this reading “They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.”
plural of “track” — a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading “He descended to examine the tracks.”
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.
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "There are two turnings.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading They had been out-witted.
a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
with firmness
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading He descended to examine the tracks.
past form of “evade” — avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading He descended to examine the tracks.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
with gloom
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
destroyed or killed
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had been out-witted.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He descended to examine the tracks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had been out-witted.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
precisely, exactly
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading They might have gone right or left," said Labar gloomily.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There are two turnings.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had been out-witted.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
plural of “track” — a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading He descended to examine the tracks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There are two turnings.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "There are two turnings.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The conclusion was forced decisively upon them as they returned to the road at which Larry and the others had evaded them.
Chapter 16 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 16 holds 144 sentences of The lazy detective, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 16 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The lazy detective, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
