Chapter 5 of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Pineville, December 27th, 1842. Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded. You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus. Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’. But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
Chapter 5 of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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 soft white limestone used for marking doors, stone walls, and slate.
From this reading “You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.”
a condition that accompanies or influences some event or activity
From this reading “But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.”
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading “Pineville, December 27th, 1842.”
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading “Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.”
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading “Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.”
a slippery smoothness
From this reading “Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.”
possessive form of “thing” — a special situation
make whistling sounds
From this reading “Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.”
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 “Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.”
In this reading “You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pineville, December 27th, 1842.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pineville, December 27th, 1842.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
A soft white limestone used for marking doors, stone walls, and slate.
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
a condition that accompanies or influences some event or activity
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
dearly loved
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading Pineville, December 27th, 1842.
a doctor's degree in education
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
immediately past
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
above and across; more than
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pineville, December 27th, 1842.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
term of address for a man
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
a slippery smoothness
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
express in words
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
possessive form of “thing” — a special situation
From this reading Dear Sir, Crismus is over, and the thing’s ded.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
make whistling sounds
From this reading Well, I done it, slick as a whistle, though it come mighty nigh bein’ a serious undertakin’.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading But I’ll tell you all about the whole circumstance.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You know I told you in my last letter I was gwine to bring Miss Mary up to the chalk a Crismus.
Chapter 5 of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 by Thomas Chandler [Editor] Haliburton holds 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 93 sentences of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 by Thomas Chandler [Editor] Haliburton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 by Thomas Chandler [Editor] Haliburton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3082 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49865 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49865, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 256 minutes of reading across 617 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3 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 Traits of American Humour, Vol. 3 of 3, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
