Chapter 8 of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep is here in full — 684 sentences across 137 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep is here in full — 684 sentences across 137 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille. I had felt the thing coming, for weeks. But I had apparently been afraid to face it. I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal. Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
Chapter 8 of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep is here in full — 684 sentences across 137 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/136 · 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 “advance” — a movement forward
From this reading “Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.”
exert pressure on someone through threats
From this reading “Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.”
inflected form of “dally” — behave carelessly or indifferently
From this reading “I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.”
-ing form of “dread” — be afraid or scared of; be frightened of
From this reading “I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.”
of very great significance
From this reading “THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.”
a severe or trying experience
From this reading “I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.”
implied by or inferred from actions or statements
From this reading “Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.”
without question
From this reading “THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.”
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 “Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.”
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 THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
plural of “advance” — a movement forward
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading But I had apparently been afraid to face it.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.
from appearances alone
From this reading But I had apparently been afraid to face it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading But I had apparently been afraid to face it.
exert pressure on someone through threats
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I had apparently been afraid to face it.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading I had felt the thing coming, for weeks.
inflected form of “dally” — behave carelessly or indifferently
From this reading I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.
having lost your job
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
having its true character concealed with the intent of misleading
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
-ing form of “dread” — be afraid or scared of; be frightened of
From this reading I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
divisible by two
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading But I had apparently been afraid to face it.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I had felt the thing coming, for weeks.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I had felt the thing coming, for weeks.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had felt the thing coming, for weeks.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
being nothing more than specified
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
of very great significance
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
a severe or trying experience
From this reading I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.
something that remunerates
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
with suavity; in a suave manner
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
implied by or inferred from actions or statements
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I had temporized and dallied along, dreading the ordeal.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
a special situation
From this reading I had felt the thing coming, for weeks.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But I had apparently been afraid to face it.
two times
From this reading Twice I had even bowed to tacit blackmail, suavely disguised as mere advances of salary.
without question
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE DUMMY-CHUCKER It was unquestionably a momentous night, that night I discharged Latreille.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading I had felt the thing coming, for weeks.
Chapter 8 of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep by Arthur Stringer holds 684 sentences, grouped into 137 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 8 holds 684 sentences of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep, unabridged, divided into 137 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep by Arthur Stringer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 684 sentences, grouped into 137 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 137 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 137 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 8 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 Man Who Couldn't Sleep by Arthur Stringer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6719 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33645 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33645, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 559 minutes of reading across 1344 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man Who Couldn't Sleep section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Man Who Couldn't Sleep 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 Man Who Couldn't Sleep, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
