A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
"And they carried guns?" "Little guns, firing high explosive shells. They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak. That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought. No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “"Little guns, firing high explosive shells.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.”
Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And they carried guns?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And they carried guns?"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Little guns, firing high explosive shells.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Little guns, firing high explosive shells.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And they carried guns?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Little guns, firing high explosive shells.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading "Little guns, firing high explosive shells.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
not any; not one
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Little guns, firing high explosive shells.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "And they carried guns?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading No one could tell exactly what was going to happen.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They fired the guns backwards, out of the base of the leaf, so to speak, and rammed with the beak.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading That was the theory, you know, but they had never been fought.
