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When Egypt Went Broke: A Novel
When Egypt Went Broke: A Novel

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for When Egypt Went Broke: A Novel
Context Illustration Reading 1/33 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.
Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.
Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.
The date was February 21st.
“Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

When Egypt Went Broke: A Novel

Chapter XI

Reading 1/33 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.
Line 2
Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.
Line 3
Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.
Line 4
The date was February 21st.
Line 5
“Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Between preposition US /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading “SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.”

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.”

Once noun US /once/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.”

SOMETHING pronoun US /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading “SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.”

Sometimes noun US /sometimes/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.”

Waiting noun US /ˈwaiting/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.”

Whenever conjunction US /weˈnevər/

at any time that; every time that

From this reading “Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.”

Yourself pronoun US /jərˈself/

used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action

From this reading ““Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.”

All words in this reading · 64

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

21st

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The date was February 21st.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

advised

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.

amusement

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

back

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

BEauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

big

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

business

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

ByprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

calendar

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

caught

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

Console

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.

customers

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

date

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The date was February 21st.

day

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

day-by-day

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

dear

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.

demon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

drowsiness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

elf

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

EXPLAINED

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

February

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The date was February 21st.

figures

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

Frank

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

hours

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

lulls

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

mischievous

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

noon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

Once

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

particularly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

pointed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

run-ins

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

snapping

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

SOMETHINGpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

sometimes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

succession

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

teasing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

TOparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

twinkle

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

Vaniman

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

Vona's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

waiting

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

wakefulness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

wall

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Once she pointed to the big figures on the day-by-day calendar on the wall.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The date was February 21st.

WheneverconjunctionUS /weˈnevər/

at any time that; every time that

From this reading Whenever he caught himself snapping back into wakefulness he found Vona's twinkle of amusement waiting for him.

wicket

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading SOMETHING TO BE EXPLAINED By noon that day, in the lulls between customers at the wicket, Vaniman had had a succession of run-ins with the demon of drowsiness--a particularly mischievous elf, sometimes, in business hours.

yourselfpronounUS /jərˈself/

used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action

From this reading “Console yourself, Frank, dear,” she advised, teasing him.