Chapter 3 of Twelve Times Zero is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Twelve Times Zero is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!" Troy snarled. "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff. Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street. And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
Chapter 3 of Twelve Times Zero is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"”
used as expletives
From this reading “"I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"”
a commissioned military officer
From this reading “Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.”
possessive form of “nobody” — a person of no influence
From this reading “"Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.”
the final payment of a debt
From this reading “"Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.”
tangled in knots or snarls
From this reading “Troy snarled.”
a system of weights used for precious metals and gemstones; based on a 12-ounce pound and an ounce of 480 grains
From this reading “Troy snarled.”
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 “Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.”
In this reading “Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.”
In this reading “"Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.”
In this reading “Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.”
In this reading “And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"”
In this reading “"Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.”
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 "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
(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 And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
used as expletives
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
a quad with a square body
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
a young female
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
a commissioned military officer
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
engage in
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
the force of workers available
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
possessive form of “nobody” — a person of no influence
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
the final payment of a debt
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
express in words
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
be seated
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
tangled in knots or snarls
From this reading Troy snarled.
a person, without saying who
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
express in words
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Five men, Lieutenant--five men and five locked doors stood between that girl and the street.
in or at that place or location
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Nobody's got enough money to make that kind of payoff.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
a system of weights used for precious metals and gemstones; based on a 12-ounce pound and an ounce of 480 grains
From this reading Troy snarled.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading And you sit there and try to tell me somebody bought all _five_ of 'em off!"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I don't give a triple-distilled damn _what_ you say!"
Chapter 3 of Twelve Times Zero by Howard Browne holds 84 sentences, grouped into 17 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 3 holds 84 sentences of Twelve Times Zero, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Twelve Times Zero by Howard Browne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 84 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 3 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 Twelve Times Zero by Howard Browne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1809 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32564 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32564, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 150 minutes of reading across 362 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Twelve Times Zero section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Twelve Times Zero 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 Twelve Times Zero, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
