Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Alone
Alone

Chapter I

Cover illustration for Alone
Context Illustration Reading 1/83 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.
What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!
And what enthusiasts we were!
What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!
How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Alone

Chapter I

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.
Line 2
What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!
Line 3
And what enthusiasts we were!
Line 4
What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!
Line 5
How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Fitted adjective US /ˈfɪtɪd/

prepared and equipped for a particular purpose

From this reading “What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading “What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!”

Imagine noun US /ˈimagine/

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

From this reading “What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!”

Something pronoun US /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

Waiting noun US /ˈwaiting/

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

From this reading “How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!”

WENT noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.”

WIND noun US /wind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!”

All words in this reading · 81

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 What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

ages

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

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

ago

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

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading And what enthusiasts we were!

any

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

authority

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

country

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

crowded

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

discover

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

down

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

emergency

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

enthusiasts

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

From this reading And what enthusiasts we were!

essential

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

ETC

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

From this reading "SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.

fittedadjectiveUS /ˈfɪtɪd/

prepared and equipped for a particular purpose

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

GreatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

guttersnipe

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

halls

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

happened

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

hour

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

How

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

humdrum

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

imaginenounUS /ˈimagine/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

jockeyed

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

lingered

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

man

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

national

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

only

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

peace

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

position

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

preliminary

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

queues

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

requisite

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

sat

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

seems

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

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

some

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

SOUTH

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

From this reading "SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.

stamped

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

stuffy

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

THEYpronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.

times

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

TOGETHER

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

From this reading "SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.

up

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

utility

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

visionaries

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

waiting

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

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

War

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

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading And what enthusiasts we were!

WENTnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading And what enthusiasts we were!

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What ages ago it seems, that "Great War"!

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading How we lingered in long queues, and stamped up and down, and sat about crowded, stuffy halls, waiting, only waiting, to be asked to do something for our country by any little guttersnipe who happened to have been jockeyed into the requisite position of authority!

WINDnounUS /wind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "SOUTH WIND," "THEY WENT," "TOGETHER," ETC.

wire-pulling

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!

work

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

From this reading What visionaries, to imagine that in such an hour of emergency a man might discover himself to be fitted for some work of national utility without that preliminary wire-pulling which was essential in humdrum times of peace!