Chapter 5 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat." She looked at me stricken stupid. I had to repeat the words. "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered. "I wish to God it were not true!"
Chapter 5 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “"Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.”
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading “"Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."”
to say, state, or perform again
From this reading “I had to repeat the words.”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “"Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."”
grievously affected especially by disease
From this reading “She looked at me stricken stupid.”
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading “She looked at me stricken stupid.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “"Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “"I wish to God it were not true!"”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “She looked at me stricken stupid.”
In this reading “I had to repeat the words.”
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 "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She looked at me stricken stupid.
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "I wish to God it were not true!"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had to repeat the words.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had to repeat the words.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "I wish to God it were not true!"
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She looked at me stricken stupid.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She looked at me stricken stupid.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
to say, state, or perform again
From this reading I had to repeat the words.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading "Out of a safe in Mr. Quarles' flat."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She looked at me stricken stupid.
grievously affected especially by disease
From this reading She looked at me stricken stupid.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading She looked at me stricken stupid.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I had to repeat the words.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I had to repeat the words.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading "I wish to God it were not true!"
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "I wish to God it were not true!"
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading "I wish to God it were not true!"
the words that are spoken
From this reading I had to repeat the words.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Oh!--you would not deceive me?" she whispered.
Chapter 5 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 5 holds 394 sentences of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story by Hulbert Footner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 5 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.
