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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
actors
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
almost
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
any
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From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
bowl
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
cast
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
Circumstances
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
club
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Gilfoyle could not even remove his grease-paint.
decent
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From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
devoted
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
dressing-room
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
established
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
evennounUS /even/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Gilfoyle could not even remove his grease-paint.
evernounUS /ever/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Gilfoyle was as decent a fellow as ever villain was.
evil
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
exit
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
family
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
fellow
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From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
final
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
Gilfoyle
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From this reading Gilfoyle was as decent a fellow as ever villain was.
goes
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
grease-paint
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
heroic
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
hissed
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
impossible
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
knownounUS /know/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
likely
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From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
melodrama
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From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
milk-and-crackers
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
off
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
once
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
parts
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
probably
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
remove
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From this reading Gilfoyle could not even remove his grease-paint.
return
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
returns
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
role
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From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
scours
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
seats
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
slinks
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Circumstances and not himself cast him in an evil role, and as actors know, once so established, it is almost impossible to return to heroic parts.
stage
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From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
villain
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From this reading The villain in melodrama is as likely as not to be as decent a fellow as any.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Gilfoyle was as decent a fellow as ever villain was.
WhenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading When he slinks from the stage in his final hissed exit he goes to his dressing-room, scours off his grease-paint, and probably returns to his devoted family or seats himself before a bowl of milk-and-crackers in his club.