A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move. It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties. The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks. The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect. Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading “The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.”
any thing at all
From this reading “There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.”
to think that something will happen
From this reading “The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.”
a group stationed to defend a place
From this reading “It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.”
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.”
up to a particular time
From this reading “There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.”
Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
any thing at all
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
to think that something will happen
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
a group stationed to defend a place
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
up to a particular time
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There didn’t seem to be much of anything for us to do but wait till the besiegers made the first move.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The best we could hope for was to beat off attacks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of course they had to come to us, and they had to cross water to do it.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It wasn’t as though we had a strong garrison and could make sorties.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The odds weren’t so bad; five boys and a dog against five Japanese men, but the odds were on their side, I expect.
