Chapter 18 of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare is here in full — 588 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare is here in full — 588 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Alas! I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips. _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc. 4 (89). The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
Chapter 18 of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare is here in full — 588 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/117 · 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.
for the most part
From this reading “The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.”
not invading healthy tissue
From this reading “The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.”
socialization through training and education to develop one's mind or manners
From this reading “The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.”
plural of “garden” — a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading “The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.”
possessive form of “shakespeare” — English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading “The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.”
plural of “turnip” — widely cultivated plant having a large fleshy edible white or yellow root
From this reading “I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.”
a city in southeastern Ontario on the Detroit River opposite Detroit
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “_Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4 (89).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4 (89).
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
for the most part
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
not invading healthy tissue
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
socialization through training and education to develop one's mind or manners
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
plural of “garden” — a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
the one or ones belonging to us
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
on the contrary
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
a white trivalent metallic element; sometimes classified in the rare earth group; occurs in the Scandinavian mineral thortveitite
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
possessive form of “shakespeare” — English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
plural of “turnip” — widely cultivated plant having a large fleshy edible white or yellow root
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Turnips of Shakespeare's time were like ours, and probably as good, though their cultivation seems to have been chiefly confined to gardens.
a city in southeastern Ontario on the Detroit River opposite Detroit
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I had rather be set quick i' the earth And boul'd to death with Turnips.
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act iii, sc.
Chapter 18 of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe holds 588 sentences, grouped into 118 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 18 holds 588 sentences of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 118 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 588 sentences, grouped into 118 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 118 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 118 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 18 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 Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9187 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28407 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28407, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1838 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare 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 Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
