Chapter VII
Give Hen the gun? Well, hardly! You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer. Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes. “I see him!” you mutter exultantly.
When You Were a Boy
Chapter VII
English subtitles · tap any word to listen
1 / 5
Give
Hen
the
gun?
Well,
hardly!
You
clutch
it
the
tighter,
and
strain
and
peer.
Now
you
glimpse
him—a
tiny
chap
in
a
pepper-and-salt
suit,
busily
engaged
in
pecking
at
the
bark
beneath
his
toes.
“I
see
him!”
you
mutter
exultantly.
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Line 1
Give
Hen
the
gun?
Line 2
Well,
hardly!
Line 3
You
clutch
it
the
tighter,
and
strain
and
peer.
Line 4
Now
you
glimpse
him—a
tiny
chap
in
a
pepper-and-salt
suit,
busily
engaged
in
pecking
at
the
bark
beneath
his
toes.
Line 5
“I
see
him!”
you
mutter
exultantly.
Learner Dictionary
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
Beneath
preposition
US /bɪˈniːθ/
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading “Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.”
Well
noun
US /well/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “Well, hardly!”
All words in this reading · 34
Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
bark
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
beneathprepositionUS /bɪˈniːθ/
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
busily
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
chap
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
clutch
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.
engaged
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
exultantly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I see him!” you mutter exultantly.
Give
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Give Hen the gun?
glimpse
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
gun
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Give Hen the gun?
hardly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, hardly!
Hen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Give Hen the gun?
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
IpronounUS /aɪ/
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I see him!” you mutter exultantly.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.
mutter
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I see him!” you mutter exultantly.
Now
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
pecking
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
peer
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.
pepper-and-salt
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
see
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I see him!” you mutter exultantly.
strain
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.
suit
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Give Hen the gun?
tighter
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.
tiny
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
toes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now you glimpse him—a tiny chap in a pepper-and-salt suit, busily engaged in pecking at the bark beneath his toes.
Well
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, hardly!
YoupronounUS /juː/
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You clutch it the tighter, and strain and peer.