used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A STRANGE LETTER FROM MEXICO.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
anew
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
boy'snounUS /bɔɪz/
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
brushverbUS /brʌʃ/
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
captureverbUS /ˈkæptʃər/
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
critternounUS /ˈkrɪtər/
a regional term for “creature” (especially for domestic animals)
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
the organ of sight
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A STRANGE LETTER FROM MEXICO.
gal's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
hawknounUS /hɔːk/
diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
HerricknounUS /ˈherɪk/
English lyric poet (1591-1674)
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
how
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
humanelyadverbUS /hjuːˈmeɪnli/
in a humane manner
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading A STRANGE LETTER FROM MEXICO.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The boy's a game little critter, and the gal's got an eye like a hawk."
MEXICOnounUS /ˈmeksəkoʊ/
a republic in southern North America; became independent from Spain in 1810
From this reading A STRANGE LETTER FROM MEXICO.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
on one occasion
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
PingverbUS /pɪŋ/
hit with a pinging noise
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
PreciselyadverbUS /prɪˈsaɪsli/
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
puzzleverbUS /ˈpʌzəl/
be a mystery or bewildering to
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
sage-hens
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
stakedverbUS /steɪkt/
past form of “stake” — put at risk
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading A STRANGE LETTER FROM MEXICO.
Tah-nu-nu
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Ping and Tah-nu-nu had not been staked out that first night after their capture.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
they'd
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
(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 "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
but in spite of that
From this reading Precisely how to keep them safely, yet humanely, had at first been a puzzle.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "If they once got away into the brush," said Sam Herrick, "you might as well hunt for a pair of sage-hens, and they'd about die before they'd be caught again.
