Chapter 8 of The well in the wood is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The well in the wood is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two. “Pooh!” said the Donkey. “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please. Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?” Buddie shook her head.
Chapter 8 of The well in the wood is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading “OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.”
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading ““They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.”
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading ““They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.”
the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
From this reading ““Pooh!” said the Donkey.”
causing great physical or mental suffering
From this reading “OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.”
plural of “saw” — a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
From this reading “OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.”
plural of “setting” — the context and environment in which something is set
From this reading “OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading ““They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.”
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 “OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.”
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 OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
later than; following
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
From this reading “Pooh!” said the Donkey.
at any time
From this reading Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?”
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Buddie shook her head.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
not any; not one
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?”
go across or through
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Pooh!” said the Donkey.
causing great physical or mental suffering
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
To recall to mind.
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
plural of “saw” — a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
plural of “setting” — the context and environment in which something is set
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Buddie shook her head.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Pooh!” said the Donkey.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They’re as common as, Pass the butter, or, Some more tea, please.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading OLD SAWS IN NEW SETTINGS “No; I don’t believe I can remember any more old saws,” said Buddie, after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?”
Chapter 8 of The well in the wood by Bert Leston Taylor holds 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 8 holds 98 sentences of The well in the wood, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The well in the wood by Bert Leston Taylor exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 8 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 well in the wood by Bert Leston Taylor 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 well in the wood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The well in the wood 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 well in the wood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
