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A Man's Man
A Man's Man

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for A Man's Man
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
"No."
"Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.
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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 Man's Man

Chapter IX

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"
Line 2
"No."
/noʊ/
Line 3
"Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.
Line 4
He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.
Line 5
Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.”

Ever noun US /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “_LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.”

Oil noun US /ɔɪl/

A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.

From this reading “Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.”

All words in this reading · 46

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 _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

announced

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

From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

coal-dust

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

companionway

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

complacently

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

From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.

craw

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

crawled

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

deck

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

down

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

drookit

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

engine-room

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

evernounUS /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

Excessive

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

foible

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

Goble

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

From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

LITERA

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

MANET

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

Marrable

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

mass

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.

Mr

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading "No."

now

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

oilnounUS /ɔɪl/

A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

out

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

rust

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

sat

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

SCRIPTA

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

see

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

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"

spruceness

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading He crawled out of the engine-room companionway and sat down on the deck.

unrecognisable

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Excessive spruceness had never been a foible of his, but now he was an unrecognisable mass of coal-dust, oil, and rust.

Well

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

From this reading "Well, see me!" announced Mr. Goble complacently.

yepronounUS /jiː/

an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person

From this reading _LITERA SCRIPTA MANET_ "Mr. Marrable, did ever ye see a drookit craw?"