Chapter 8 of The O'Ruddy: A Romance is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The O'Ruddy: A Romance is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall. "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather. I would indeed." "Never fear me," said I. "I shall pink him well."
Chapter 8 of The O'Ruddy: A Romance is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
without compunction or human feeling
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
the father of your father or mother
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
with passion
From this reading “As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.”
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading “"O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.”
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.
choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
without compunction or human feeling
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading "Never fear me," said I.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
the father of your father or mother
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I shall pink him well."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading I would indeed."
of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Never fear me," said I.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Never fear me," said I.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
with passion
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
a light shade of red
From this reading "I shall pink him well."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Never fear me," said I.
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "I shall pink him well."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading As the door closed upon Forister, Colonel Royale beat his hand passionately against the wall.
(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 "I shall pink him well."
disposed or inclined toward
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "O'Ruddy," he cried, "if you could severely maim that cold-blooded bully, I would be willing to adopt you as my legitimate grandfather.
Chapter 8 of The O'Ruddy: A Romance by Stephen Crane holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 168 sentences of The O'Ruddy: A Romance, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The O'Ruddy: A Romance by Stephen Crane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 O'Ruddy: A Romance by Stephen Crane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5713 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29573 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29573, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 476 minutes of reading across 1143 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The O'Ruddy: A Romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The O'Ruddy: A Romance 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 O'Ruddy: A Romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
