Chapter 3 of The New Pun Book is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The New Pun Book is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is? JOHNNY--The conductor of a sleeping-car. * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'" * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section." "Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."
Chapter 3 of The New Pun Book is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?”
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading “JOHNNY--The conductor of a sleeping-car.”
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?”
move in loops
From this reading “"Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."”
putting a person to death by mob action without due process of law
From this reading “* * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."”
a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)
From this reading “* * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."”
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)
From this reading “TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?”
a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading “TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?”
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 TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."
according with custom or propriety
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading JOHNNY--The conductor of a sleeping-car.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."
a man of refinement
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
move in loops
From this reading "Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."
putting a person to death by mob action without due process of law
From this reading * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
come together
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
sporadically and infrequently
From this reading "Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading JOHNNY--The conductor of a sleeping-car.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)
From this reading * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."
concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JOHNNY--The conductor of a sleeping-car.
a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
express in words
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading JOHNNY--The conductor of a sleeping-car.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading * * * * * "I am told lynching is a pastime in this section."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, we do loop the loop occasionally."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
the time of a woman's life when she is a widow
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading TEACHER--Johnny, can you tell me what a section boss is?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading * * * * * PERSONAL--"'A young woman, to whom black is particularly becoming, would like to meet a gentleman in poor health; object, widowhood.'"
Chapter 3 of The New Pun Book by Thomas A.[Compiler] Brown holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 3 holds 396 sentences of The New Pun Book, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The New Pun Book by Thomas A.[Compiler] Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 3 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 New Pun Book by Thomas A.[Compiler] Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2042 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22495 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22495, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 170 minutes of reading across 409 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The New Pun Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The New Pun Book 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 New Pun Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
