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The Twickenham Peerage
The Twickenham Peerage

Chapter XXI

Cover illustration for The Twickenham Peerage
Context Illustration Reading 1/52 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.
A remark which is not original.
Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.
For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.
Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Twickenham Peerage

Chapter XXI

Reading 1/52 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.
Line 2
A remark which is not original.
Line 3
Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.
Line 4
For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.
Line 5
Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?”

Itself pronoun US /ˌɪtˈself/

used when the thing doing the action is also its object

From this reading “For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?”

All words in this reading · 53

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

ass

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

attention

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

conspicuous

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.

EMBRYO

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

engaged

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

Extraordinary

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

fact

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.

ForprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

force

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

how

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

Isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

itselfpronounUS /ˌɪtˈself/

used when the thing doing the action is also its object

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

lying

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

making

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.

more

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading A remark which is not original.

obvious

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

ordinary

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

original

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A remark which is not original.

PEER

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

perversion

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

remark

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A remark which is not original.

scamp

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

small

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.

supposed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

telling

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

Thus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Thus making the fact still more conspicuous.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

truth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

usually

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

very

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading For a thing must be very obvious to force itself on the attention of the ordinary ass.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading A remark which is not original.

WhopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?

world

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A PEER IN EMBRYO Extraordinary how small the world Is.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading Who would have thought that a lying scamp was telling the truth when I supposed him to be more than usually engaged in its perversion?