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Idols
Idols

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for Idols
Context Illustration Reading 1/44 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.
Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.
From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.
The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.
If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.
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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.

Idols

Chapter IV

Reading 1/44 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.
Line 2
Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.
Line 3
From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.
Line 4
The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.
Line 5
If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

Learner Dictionary

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

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading “From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.”

Least noun US /least/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.”

Meanwhile noun US /ˈmeanwhile/

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

From this reading “Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.”

Remained noun US /ˈremained/

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

From this reading “Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.”

All words in this reading · 53

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 Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

attempts

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

chafed

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

From this reading The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.

clear-headedness

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

complexity

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

crooked

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

despised

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

devoted

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

erred

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

far

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

FromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

hair-shirt

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

From this reading The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

homely

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

honour

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

Hugh

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

IfconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

issue

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

leastnounUS /least/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

like

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

From this reading The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.

loss

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

MeanwhilenounUS /ˈmeanwhile/

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

morning's

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

past

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

paths

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

position

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

problem

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

prospect

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

From this reading The prospect chafed him like a hair-shirt.

remainednounUS /ˈremained/

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

smugly

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

solution

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

solved

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

some

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

there

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

times

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Meanwhile a problem of some complexity remained to be solved.

vain

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

From this reading Hugh devoted the morning’s clear-headedness to vain attempts at solution.

vicious

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

virtuous

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

ways

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

From this reading If he had erred, in times past, far from the paths of the homely virtuous, he had at least despised the crooked ways of the smugly vicious.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading From the position in which he found himself there was no issue without a loss of honour.