Chapter 5 of The Long Trick is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Long Trick is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WAR BABIES "Properly at ease.... Class, 'Shun! Left turn! Dismiss!" The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
Chapter 5 of The Long Trick is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
plural of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....”
in a brisk manner
From this reading “The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.”
the spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole
From this reading “The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.”
bar from attention or consideration
From this reading “Dismiss!"”
plural of “midshipman” — a temporary rank held by young naval officers in training
From this reading “The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.”
in the right manner; correctly; suitably
From this reading “WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....”
avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
From this reading “Class, 'Shun!”
in a stiff manner
From this reading “The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.”
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 dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
plural of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....
in a brisk manner
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading Class, 'Shun!
the spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
bar from attention or consideration
From this reading Dismiss!"
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
move gently or carefully
From this reading WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
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 Left turn!
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
plural of “midshipman” — a temporary rank held by young naval officers in training
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
in the right manner; correctly; suitably
From this reading WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....
avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
From this reading Class, 'Shun!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
in a stiff manner
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading Left turn!
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The dozen or so of flannel-dad Midshipmen composing the class sprang stiffly to attention, turned forward, and made off briskly in the direction of the hatchway.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading WAR BABIES "Properly at ease....
Chapter 5 of The Long Trick by Bartimeus holds 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 392 sentences of The Long Trick, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Long Trick by Bartimeus exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Long Trick by Bartimeus on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4150 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25921 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25921, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 830 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Long Trick section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Long Trick 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 Long Trick, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
