Chapter 4 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I found out something interesting to-day," she said. "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles." "I guessed that long ago," I said calmly. Sadie was much taken aback. Evidently she had expected to stun me.
Chapter 4 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 the wind against the forward side of the sails
From this reading “Sadie was much taken aback.”
in the past
From this reading “"I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.”
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “"I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “Evidently she had expected to stun me.”
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading “Evidently she had expected to stun me.”
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “"I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.”
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading “"I found out something interesting to-day," she said.”
make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
From this reading “Evidently she had expected to stun me.”
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 “"I found out something interesting to-day," she said.”
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.
having the wind against the forward side of the sails
From this reading Sadie was much taken aback.
in the past
From this reading "I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading "I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading Evidently she had expected to stun me.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading Evidently she had expected to stun me.
set up or found
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading "I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Evidently she had expected to stun me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Evidently she had expected to stun me.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Sadie was much taken aback.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sadie was much taken aback.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
From this reading Evidently she had expected to stun me.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Sadie was much taken aback.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I guessed that long ago," I said calmly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Evidently she had expected to stun me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I found out something interesting to-day," she said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sadie was much taken aback.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Miss Hamerton's in love with Roland Quarles."
Chapter 4 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 4 holds 411 sentences of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 4 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 Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6984 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57236 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57236, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 582 minutes of reading across 1397 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story 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 Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
