Chapter 20 of The lazy detective is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The lazy detective is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Allow me, madam." Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand. He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him. Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head. He showed his white teeth in a smile.
Chapter 20 of The lazy detective is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading “"Allow me, madam."”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.”
in a delicate manner
From this reading “Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.”
English poet (born in 1930)
From this reading “Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “"Allow me, madam."”
(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them
From this reading “Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.”
chosen in preference to another
From this reading “Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.”
without speaking
From this reading “He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.”
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 “He showed his white teeth in a smile.”
a small flat case for holding cigarettes; can be carried in a purse or a pocket
In this reading “Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.”
In this reading “Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open 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 Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading "Allow me, madam."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
in a delicate manner
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
coins made of gold
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
English poet (born in 1930)
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "Allow me, madam."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Allow me, madam."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
chosen in preference to another
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading He showed his white teeth in a smile.
without speaking
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He showed his white teeth in a smile.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading He showed his white teeth in a smile.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had entered so silently that neither of them had heard him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Larry Hughes stood beside them, a gold cigarette case open in his hand.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
a Caucasian
From this reading He showed his white teeth in a smile.
which person or people
From this reading Mrs. Gertstein delicately selected a cigarette, and he offered the case to Penelope who shook her head.
Chapter 20 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot holds 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 20 holds 294 sentences of The lazy detective, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The lazy detective by George Dilnot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 20 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.
