A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
That was the way they did it! There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed! It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever. They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out! It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!”
up to a particular time
From this reading “They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!”
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.”
Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading That was the way they did it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That was the way they did it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was the way they did it!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That was the way they did it!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That was the way they did it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
up to a particular time
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was the way they did it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That was the way they did it!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was nobody’s fault—that was the way of it; and thousands of men and women were turned out in the dead of winter, to live upon their savings if they had any, and otherwise to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was not half an hour’s warning—the works were closed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had made all the harvesting machines that the world needed, and now they had to wait till some wore out!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It had happened that way before, said the men, and it would happen that way forever.
