Chapter 4 of The Playboy of the Western World is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Playboy of the Western World is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHRISTY. _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls. PEGEEN. _sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls. [_Goes to counter right._] CHRISTY.
Chapter 4 of The Playboy of the Western World is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading “[_Goes to counter right._] CHRISTY.”
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading “_very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.”
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “_very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.”
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading “_very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.”
in a submissive or spiritless manner
From this reading “_very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.”
in an aggressive manner
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading “_sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls.”
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 _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHRISTY.
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading [_Goes to counter right._] CHRISTY.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading [_Goes to counter right._] CHRISTY.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
in a submissive or spiritless manner
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls.
and nothing more
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PEGEEN.
precisely, exactly
From this reading [_Goes to counter right._] CHRISTY.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading _sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading _sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [_Goes to counter right._] CHRISTY.
precisely as stated
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading _very meekly._—I was making myself decent only, and this a fine country for young lovely girls.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _sharply._—Whisht your talking of girls.
Chapter 4 of The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. (John Millington) Synge holds 257 sentences, grouped into 52 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 257 sentences of The Playboy of the Western World, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. (John Millington) Synge exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 257 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 4 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 Playboy of the Western World by J. M. (John Millington) Synge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1807 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1240 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1240, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 150 minutes of reading across 362 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Playboy of the Western World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Playboy of the Western World 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 Playboy of the Western World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
