Chapter 13 of The Swoop! is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Swoop! is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet. He was no lobster, no flat-fish. He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite. By midnight his staff had their orders. Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
Chapter 13 of The Swoop! is here in full — 238 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.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading “He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.”
flesh of a lobster
From this reading “He was no lobster, no flat-fish.”
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading “By midnight his staff had their orders.”
a colorless or pale brown mica with potassium
From this reading “He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.”
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading “By midnight his staff had their orders.”
a farm building for housing horses or other livestock
From this reading “Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.”
moving very fast
From this reading “He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.”
exhibiting the qualities or characteristics that identify a group or kind or category
From this reading “He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.”
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 He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By midnight his staff had their orders.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was no lobster, no flat-fish.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading By midnight his staff had their orders.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was no lobster, no flat-fish.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
any plant or flower of the genus Lobelia
From this reading Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
flesh of a lobster
From this reading He was no lobster, no flat-fish.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading By midnight his staff had their orders.
a colorless or pale brown mica with potassium
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
not any; not one
From this reading He was no lobster, no flat-fish.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading By midnight his staff had their orders.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading By midnight his staff had their orders.
a farm building for housing horses or other livestock
From this reading Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
moving very fast
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading By midnight his staff had their orders.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
exhibiting the qualities or characteristics that identify a group or kind or category
From this reading He did it now--swift, secret, deadly--a typical Muscovite.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE BIRD The Grand Duke Vodkakoff was not the man to let the grass grow under his feet.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Those orders were for the stalls at the Lobelia.
Chapter 13 of The Swoop! by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 238 sentences, grouped into 48 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 13 holds 238 sentences of The Swoop!, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Swoop! by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 238 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 13 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 Swoop! by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1462 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7050 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7050, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 121 minutes of reading across 293 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Swoop! section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Swoop! 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 Swoop!, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
