Chapter 20 of What's Bred in the Bone is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of What's Bred in the Bone is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GUY IN LUCK. Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late. Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express. The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well." He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
Chapter 20 of What's Bred in the Bone is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
plural of “corner” — a place off to the side of an area
From this reading “He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.”
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading “He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.”
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading “GUY IN LUCK.”
(used in combination) mentally oriented toward something specified
From this reading “The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."”
an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip
From this reading “He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.”
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading “The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."”
-ing form of “ware” — spend extravagantly
From this reading “Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.”
a town in central Belgium where in 1815 Napoleon met his final defeat
From this reading “Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.”
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 He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
plural of “corner” — a place off to the side of an area
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
give expression to
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
a man of refinement
From this reading The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
destroyed or killed
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading GUY IN LUCK.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading GUY IN LUCK.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading GUY IN LUCK.
(used in combination) mentally oriented toward something specified
From this reading The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
-ing form of “ware” — spend extravagantly
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
a town in central Belgium where in 1815 Napoleon met his final defeat
From this reading Guy Waring reached Waterloo ten minutes too late.
(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 The porter at the labelling place "minded the gentleman well."
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading Nevitt had gone on by the West of England express.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was a sharp-looking gentleman, with a queer look about the eyes, and a dark moustache curled round at the corners.
Chapter 20 of What's Bred in the Bone by Grant Allen holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 20 holds 164 sentences of What's Bred in the Bone, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of What's Bred in the Bone by Grant Allen exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 20 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 What's Bred in the Bone by Grant Allen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5838 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6010 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6010, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1168 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through What's Bred in the Bone section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of What's Bred in the Bone 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 What's Bred in the Bone, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
