Chapter 12 of The small bachelor is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The small bachelor is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt. "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?" "Eh?" His lordship's jaw fell an inch. "Not eat?"
Chapter 12 of The small bachelor is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
having a border especially of a specified kind; sometimes used as a combining term
From this reading “Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.”
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading “Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.”
a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading “Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.”
the act of consuming food
From this reading “"You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading “Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.”
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading “His lordship's jaw fell an inch.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “His lordship's jaw fell an inch.”
make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading “"You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"”
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 “"You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"”
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 Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading His lordship's jaw fell an inch.
having a border especially of a specified kind; sometimes used as a combining term
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
take in solid food
From this reading "Not eat?"
the act of consuming food
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Eh?"
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading His lordship's jaw fell an inch.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His lordship's jaw fell an inch.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading His lordship's jaw fell an inch.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading His lordship's jaw fell an inch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His lordship's jaw fell an inch.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mrs. Waddington eyed him with a distaste that bordered on contempt.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You surely do not imagine that I propose to waste time eating?"
Chapter 12 of The small bachelor by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 12 holds 407 sentences of The small bachelor, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The small bachelor by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 12 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 small bachelor by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The small bachelor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The small bachelor 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 small bachelor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
