Chapter 2 of The Tinker's Wedding is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Tinker's Wedding is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II. SCENE: _The same. Early morning. Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair. Michael is tidying himself also.
Chapter 2 of The Tinker's Wedding is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top
From this reading “Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.”
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “[_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.”
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading “Michael is tidying himself also.”
plural of “plait” — a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
From this reading “Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.”
(Old Testament) the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac
From this reading “Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.”
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “[_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.”
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading “[_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.”
the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)
From this reading “Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.”
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.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
in addition
From this reading Michael is tidying himself also.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading Early morning.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Michael is tidying himself also.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading Michael is tidying himself also.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Early morning.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
plural of “plait” — a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
Identical; not different.
From this reading SCENE: _The same.
(Old Testament) the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading SCENE: _The same.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Michael is tidying himself also.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [_She goes out singing “The night before Larry was stretched.”_ CURTAIN ACT II.
the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)
From this reading Sarah is washing her face in an old bucket; then plaits her hair.
Chapter 2 of The Tinker's Wedding by J. M. (John Millington) Synge holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 2 holds 183 sentences of The Tinker's Wedding, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Tinker's Wedding by J. M. (John Millington) Synge exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 2 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 Tinker's Wedding by J. M. (John Millington) Synge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 362 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1328 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1328, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 30 minutes of reading across 73 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tinker's Wedding section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Tinker's Wedding 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 Tinker's Wedding, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
