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The Creators: A Comedy
The Creators: A Comedy

Chapter XXXI

Cover illustration for The Creators: A Comedy
Context Illustration Reading 1/81 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.
Their pace slackened.
They had begun to think.
She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.
It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.
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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.

The Creators: A Comedy

Chapter XXXI

Reading 1/81 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.
Line 2
Their pace slackened.
Line 3
They had begun to think.
Line 4
She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.
Line 5
It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

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 “She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They had begun to think.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.”

All words in this reading · 40

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 She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

accused

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

always

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

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

begun

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

From this reading They had begun to think.

egoism

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

genius

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading They had begun to think.

handled

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

hard

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

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

lightly

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

monstrous

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

out

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

pace

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

From this reading Their pace slackened.

rather

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.

Rose

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

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

setting

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

slackened

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

From this reading Their pace slackened.

Tanqueray

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

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

TheirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Their pace slackened.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They had begun to think.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She had always been a little hard on him about Rose, Tanqueray thought.

Thus

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

From this reading Thus lightly they handled it, setting out in the morning.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading They had begun to think.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was as if she accused him, or rather his genius, of a monstrous egoism.