Chapter 7 of The Playboy of the Western World is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Playboy of the Western World is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHRISTY. _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead. MAHON. Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all? PEGEEN.
Chapter 7 of The Playboy of the Western World is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading “Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?”
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading “_dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.”
a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
From this reading “_dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.”
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading “_dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.”
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading “Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?”
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading “_dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.”
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 _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHRISTY.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MAHON.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PEGEEN.
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
in the company of; together with
From this reading _dumbfounded._—It’s himself was a liar, lying stretched out with an open head on him, letting on he was dead.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Weren’t you off racing the hills before I got my breath with the start I had seeing you turn on me at all?
Chapter 7 of The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. (John Millington) Synge holds 239 sentences, grouped into 48 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 7 holds 239 sentences of The Playboy of the Western World, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 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 239 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 7 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.
