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A Blot on the Scutcheon
A Blot on the Scutcheon

Chapter XXIII

Cover illustration for A Blot on the Scutcheon
Context Illustration Reading 1/27 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
What was Cecile thinking of him now?
What was she saying?
What doing?
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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.

A Blot on the Scutcheon

Chapter XXIII

Reading 1/27 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
Line 2
It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
Line 3
What was Cecile thinking of him now?
Line 4
What was she saying?
Line 5
What doing?

Learner Dictionary

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

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”

Neither determiner US /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”

Stood noun US /stood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”

Thinking noun US /thinking/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “What was Cecile thinking of him now?”

All words in this reading · 41

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 THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

bounded

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

Cecile

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

From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?

cluster

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

Conyers

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

doing

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

From this reading What doing?

FOREST

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

gazing

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

gnarled

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

leaning

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

mattered

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

MEETING

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

Morice

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

mulberry-tree

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

neitherdeterminerUS /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

now

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

From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

saying

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

From this reading What was she saying?

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading What was she saying?

shrubs

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

stone

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

stoodnounUS /stood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

thinkingnounUS /thinking/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

trunk

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

From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.

view

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

wall

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?