Chapter 5 of The Punster's Pocket-Book is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Punster's Pocket-Book is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A MANAGER'S PUN. A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war. "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_." THE ANTIGALLICAN PUN. A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
Chapter 5 of The Punster's Pocket-Book is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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.
light and humorous drama with a happy ending
From this reading “A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.”
a person of French nationality
From this reading “A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.”
a British imperial capacity unit (liquid or dry) equal to 5 fluid ounces or 142.066 cubic centimeters
From this reading “A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.”
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “A MANAGER'S PUN.”
possessive form of “manager” — someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “A MANAGER'S PUN.”
a humorous play on words
From this reading “A MANAGER'S PUN.”
a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image
From this reading “A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.”
without force or sincere effort
From this reading “A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.”
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.
In this reading “A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.”
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 A MANAGER'S PUN.
(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 A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE ANTIGALLICAN PUN.
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
light and humorous drama with a happy ending
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
a person of French nationality
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
a British imperial capacity unit (liquid or dry) equal to 5 fluid ounces or 142.066 cubic centimeters
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
possessive form of “manager” — someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading A MANAGER'S PUN.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
not any; not one
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
owed as a debt
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
a humorous play on words
From this reading A MANAGER'S PUN.
a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "No (said the manager) I fear it is owing to the _piece_."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
without force or sincere effort
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A new comedy, on its third representation, being thinly attended, the author observed that it was all owing to the war.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
fermented juice (of grapes especially)
From this reading A Frenchman in a coffee-house called for a gill of wine, which was brought him in a glass.
Chapter 5 of The Punster's Pocket-Book by C. M. (Charles Molloy) Westmacott holds 363 sentences, grouped into 73 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 5 holds 363 sentences of The Punster's Pocket-Book, unabridged, divided into 73 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Punster's Pocket-Book by C. M. (Charles Molloy) Westmacott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 363 sentences, grouped into 73 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 73 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 73 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 5 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.
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Yes. All 1856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40266 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40266, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 154 minutes of reading across 372 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Punster's Pocket-Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Punster's Pocket-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 Punster's Pocket-Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
