Some Fine Words

The abstrusities of the stock exchange were as his A B C's to him. Dreiser, Theodore

I cannot imagine anything more manifestly made to be a tyranny than such an acephalous aristocracy. Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

Stripped and adust In a stubble of empire Scything and binding The full sheaves of sovereignty. London, Jack

Pertaining to agglutination; tending to unite, or having power to cause adhesion; adhesive. Webster, Noah

This latter name I consider the correct one, for these organs unquestionably preside over alate equilibrium: they are true balancers. Weir, James

It chiefly differs in the croup being blue instead of snow-white; but as Mr. Blyth informs me, the tint varies, being sometimes albescent. Darwin, Charles

Give me your hand, and answer me without ambages, or ambiguities. Dryden, John

In those far lands I reveled in the ambrosial food that fructifies the soul, the mind, the heart. Twain, Mark

From this perspective, human health is a form of ecology in which care for the body also involves tending its teeming population of resident animalcules. Scientific American (Feb 24, 2015)

Whereas Sara's heart was empty of happiness and hopes, and of all the joyous beginnings that are the glorious appanage of youth. Pedler, Margaret

“Aint no time for argufying,” cried Mammy, her temper rising at the opposition. Jackson, Gabrielle E. (Gabrielle Emilie)

It is a greater waste to use our limited armamentarium of drugs for resistant organisms unnecessarily, squandering them by inappropriate use leading to resistance. Scientific American (Aug 27, 2013)

The rough Ashlar is said to be "a stone, as taken from the quarry, in its rude and natural state." Pike, Albert

He met death like a brave knight, assoiled by the rites of Holy Church, and was laid in his grave with great honour. Mason, Eugene

This quandary is a typically anodyne European compromise which is bound to ferment into atrabilious discourse and worse. Vaknin, Samuel

"Ah!" said he, showing an auriferous tooth, "we have quite a number of the Western delegates stopping here." Henry, O.

Auxesis, awk-sē′sis, n. gradual deepening in force of meaning: hyperbole. Various

A pleader, a dissembler, An epicure, a thief, — Betimes an oratorio, An ecstasy in chief; The Jesuit of orchards, He cheats as he enchants Of an entire attar For his decamping wants. Dickinson, Emily

If you want to be a writer or an artist, all you need is a Biro and a Woolworths jotter; it's a democratic medium. The Guardian (Dec 15, 2012)

The Caps are doing boffo ratings in the Baltimore area. Washington Post (Aug 10, 2011)

Shooting Stars, Bolides, Uranoliths or Meteoric Stones What marvels have been reviewed by our dazzled eyes since the outset of these discussions! Welby, Frances A. (Frances Alice)

Conveniently, the dung beetles sometimes roll up a nice bolus of poop, kicking out embedded seeds, which we then shamelessly steal. New York Times (Jan 26, 2011)

Was it wise to quit the bosky verdures of Brienne, and thy new ashlar Chateau there, and what it held, for this? Carlyle, Thomas

He was not now the flippant boulevardier to whom money was the sine qua non of existence. Rives, Hallie Erminie

Many ancient Greek inscriptions use a method of writing called boustrophedon, or “ox-turning,” in which every other line of text is inverted. Scientific American (Jan 30, 2014)

All sorts of fantastic rumours were bruited about, and from this time the prince's life and history became most secret, mysterious, and incomprehensible. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

You can hear wild fowl calling far up in the brumous smother which hides the lift. Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

A decoction of the powder gives good results as a gargle for aphthæ, gingivitis, and other inflammations within the buccal cavity. Thomas, Jerome Beers

After all, as the accompanying legal bumf makes clear, she's got the know-how. The Guardian (Mar 17, 2010)

His grandfather had been burgomaster, and in consequence he had detained in his possession a register of the revenues and privileges of the city. Sastrow, Bartholomew

Think I'd waste current on an old cadger like you? Bates, Harry

In the more carefully constructed monasteries this apartment was so placed as to adjoin the calefactory, which allowed the introduction of hot air, when needed. Merryweather, Frederick Somner

The previous road, in both cases, had been a simple cambered surface with U-shaped ditches either side. The Guardian (Mar 20, 2011)

The man was alone, muffled in a great capote, carrying a rifle over his shoulder, and something on his back—possibly his game. Pollock, Frank Lillie

Yet we had watched his smooth brow furrow and corrugate as under some carking care or devouring sorrow. London, Jack

In the following passage Basil points out the advantages of the cenobitic life over the solitary or hermit life. Ayer, Joseph Cullen

Cerise, a French name for a colour, is really the same as our cherry. Clarke, J. Erskine (John Erskine)

Chirk, chirk, chirk, it went, the sound of a spoon being rapidly whisked round a basin. Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

And now you would throw it all up just because a chit of a girl has annoyed you.” Weigal, Arthur

Here the cicerone directs your attention to an old half-rotten oaken chest, fixed against the wall at a considerable height. Wells, Nathaniel Armstrong

Known as ice XVI, the 17th solid phase of ice discovered to date, it has a cagelike structure that can trap other molecules (green and gray above). Such ice cages, known as clathrates, are known to store enormous quantities of methane on the deep ocean floor. Science Magazine (Dec 9, 2014)

The second-floor suite of galleries, ringed with clerestory windows, rises above a glass-enclosed lobby, offices, storage and a seminar room. Los Angeles Times (Sep 16, 2014)

It is one thing to call someone a neat and careful dresser. It is another to call that person a dandy, or a clotheshorse, or a boulevardier. New York Times (Nov 30, 2010)

The bone immediately below the sacrum, called the coccyx, is essentially the representative of the tail in man. Talbot, Eugene S.

Wast thou so jealous of one little coign of happiness that thou must needs enter there,—thou, O Death? Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)

It is hammily acted, lousily written, and shoddily designed, with crummy back projections in the driving scenes and harsh happy lighting during the kitchen-island confabs. Slate (Oct 11, 2011)

Our lives are a congeries of solipsisms, out of which in strict logic only a God could compose a universe even of discourse. James, William

If they refused to answer, they were punished for contumacy; if they complied, they were punished for Nonconformity. Coleman, Thomas

Corymb—a group of flower stalks arising from a common stalk and forming a level top. Saylor, Henry H. (Henry Hodgman)

And thou art grown expert in this sort of cozenage. Rigg, J. M. (James Macmullen)

Andy curiously regarded the poor crowbait of a horse soon driven into view attached to a ramshackly wagon. Webster, Frank V.

The artillery comprised sixty-two culverins and smaller ordnance. Butterworth, Hezekiah

Humans and dogs became the designated cursorial, or distance running, species. New York Times (Apr 24, 2012)

The car comes in 18 colours, including damson. Inside it's as posh, plush, ritzy and classy as you could wish for. There's a cooler for not one but two bottles of champagne, and an underfloor acoustic shield to eliminate road noise. The Guardian (Jun 23, 2013)

Fuller defines a proverb as "much matter decocted into a few words," and a very good definition it is. Hulme, F. Edward (Frederick Edward)

Charles River succeeded only in bringing the activist hedge funds out to deep-six the deal. New York Times (Dec 28, 2010)

At the other end of the table I could see the German sitting silent and unnoticing, rapt in the joys of deglutition. French, Joseph Lewis

You have already done your devoir to this pie. Lunettes, Henry

Iranian and U.S. officials have been dickering with different formulas that would limit Iran’s nuclear stockpile and centrifuges. Washington Post

He was lying doggo in a village about fifteen miles off, waiting to get a fresh gang together. Kipling, Rudyard

"I was basically a dogsbody for the housekeeping department — my job was to Hoover the corridors, clean the brass, change the shower curtains." Los Angeles Times (Nov 24, 2014)

This poem received scant notice from the reviewers, who had pounced like hawks on a dovecote upon Tennyson's first two modest volumes. Long, William Joseph

I grow impatient at the length of your exordium. Jowett, Benjamin

Whole fascicles there are, wherein the Professor, or, as he here, speaking in the third person, calls himself, "the Wanderer," is not once named. Carlyle, Thomas

Hypocrisy and rhetorical flimflam are standard in politics, and liberals are not the only guilty parties in the Keystone XL battle. Washington Post

It is as easy to write a gaudy style without ideas as it is to spread a pallet of showy colours or to smear in a flaunting transparency.When there is nothing to be set down but words, it costs little to have them fine. Look through the dictionary, and cull out a florilegium, rival the tulippomania. Hazlitt, William

Both were wonderful, affectionate portraits of suburban flummery. The Guardian (Jan 3, 2011)

He stood his ground valiantly in the face of a volley of long words, but he did not get any forrader. Gibson, Hugh

Now there were open fields among the lakes and forests, fields with the crumbly friable soil potatoes love. Travels with Charley in Search of America

It is the chilling influence of the ethereal stream which originated the idea among philosophers, of frigorific impressions, darted from a clear sky. Bassnett, Thomas

“She’s a froward, obstinate heretic, only fit to make firewood.” Holt, Emily Sarah

The mismatch between Washington DC’s unreformed rules and the law as it is actually observed casts a thick fug of confusion over the position. The Guardian (Jul 26, 2014)

The houses were built of the same brick as the walls, and they had deepened from yellow to the same fuscous hue. MacKenzie, Compton

Jack Hawkins's Tesman is not the doddering fusspot we used to get but a young, properly ambitious scholar. The Guardian (Jul 11, 2012)

Tall and lean, with her gamine blonde bob and elegant coat, she’s hardly a factory boss out of central casting. Forbes (Oct 14, 2014)

Should they succeed, it will be the garrotte on the throat of English liberty. Wylie, James Aitken

Frog and cricket in the mosses— Confound your gasconading! Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

Every rash remark, every "break" in social form, every gaucherie was seized upon and ridiculed without mercy. Stephenson, Nathaniel W. (Nathaniel Wright)

The gimlet eye will find no shortage of contradictions. The New Yorker (May 20, 2015)

One thing that’s never been clear about Amazon’s rumored 3D head-tracking smartphone is how it would rise above cheap gimmickry and actually prove useful. Time (Apr 22, 2014)

The room was lighted up by girandoles, which were reflected by the looking-glasses, and by four splendid candlesticks placed on a table covered with books. Seingalt, Jacques Casanova de

In a word, the world was gravid with a new era. Seiss, Joseph A.

The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. Poe, Edgar Allan

To make a great decision possible, O! many things, all transient and all rapid, Must meet at once: and, haply, they thus met May by that confluence be enforced to pause Time long enough for wisdom, though too short, Far, far too short a time for doubt and scruple! Coleridge, Ernest Hartley

The corollary of the conniving female harpy, of course, is the feckless male dupe entrapped by forces that are somehow beyond his control. Time (Nov 12, 2012)

I could wish it had been Opium, or Haschisch, or even Gin; you would have had something more soaring for your money…. Belloc, Hilaire

He was a little weary of this just, charitable, consoling, hebdomadal God; this God who might be sufficiently honoured by a decorously memorized ritual. Morley, Christopher

"A debauched old fellow," says Friedrich; "gone all to hebetude by his labors in that line; agrees always with the last speaker." Carlyle, Thomas

Many holidays had come and gone since that day, and Dick had grown into a lanky hobbledehoy more than ever conscious of his bad clothes. Kipling, Rudyard

The last thing the web needs is more touchy-feely fluff about good deeds or hyperbolic hokum about revolution. Forbes (Feb 23, 2012)

She is so zealous in her housewifery, that, at times, she gets up in the middle of the night, and dusts everything anew. Ingemann, Bernhard Severin

On the other side of the river, the steep mud banks changed abruptly into low mud walls of shanty hutments. The God of Small Things

Above, they say, our flesh is air, Our blood celestial ichor: Oh, grant! mid all the changes there, They may not change our liquor! Thackeray, William Makepeace

The superfluous hours were allowed to accumulate, and every fourth year an additional day was to be intercalated. Froude, James Anthony

All the conversation of the rebel officers was interlarded with the most horrid profanity. Aughey, John H.

After Santa had left, Mrs. Reilly filled her glass with bourbon and added a jigger of Seven-Up. A Confederacy of Dunces

"Well, I'll be jiggered!" cried Farmer Green—whatever that may mean. Smith, Harry L.

“My fingers are getting knackered,” Mr. Drucker complained after a taxing pizzicato passage. New York Times (Apr 11, 2014)

About gardening he understood as little as a laic about the secrets of the Church. Carlyle, Thomas

His whereabouts have become a guessing game, even as he calls reporters in New York and blogs about life on the lam. Scientific American (Dec 5, 2012)

Now the honor due to God, which is known as latria, is distinct from the honor due to a creature, and known as dulia. Thomas, Aquinas, Saint

Police said they are aware of reports of suspicious activity and are liaising with the school to ensure child safety. BBC (Apr 7, 2011)

I clung to the office with the true limpet touch for many long months, but, alas, I was combed out at last. Christie, Agatha

Ministers and judges have been at loggerheads for years over the lawfulness of whole life orders in England. BBC (Jun 2, 2015)

O what can be worse than this life that I dree, When naughty and lovelorn, and wanton I be. Power, Eileen

"As for the lucubrations of Mr. Whistler, they come like shadows and will so depart, and it is unnecessary to disquiet one's self about them." Whistler, James McNeill

Pantagruel seemed metagrabolized, dozing, out of sorts, and as melancholic as a cat. Motteux, Peter Anthony

Milquetoast in mood, scolding in tone, it’s a book you kind of need but don’t want. Time (May 18, 2012)

What the taste of mucilage might be I leave to the reader’s imagination. Scientific American (Jan 15, 2013)

Ingot from lost orient mines, Delved by humpbacked gnomes of Night, Full her orb loomed, nacreous white, O'er Pine Mountain's druid pines. Cawein, Madison Julius

A scoundrel from the topmost hair of his head, to the nethermost atom of his heel. Dickens, Charles

However, Cable has been nobbled by company bosses keen to retain their discretion to pay millions. The Guardian (Jun 20, 2012)

Yet all this wealth has no strings attached; “we have a new nobility,” he laments, “without any noblesse oblige”. Economist (Jan 14, 2015)

"Except ye repent and be baptized ye can in nowise enter the Kingdom of God." Widtsoe, John Andreas

The way was across an undulating plain, with many deep nullahs covered with trees, and so dark that we could not see our horses’ ears. Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

But one resident wants them to go, and said the protesters were "a load of nutters really... with nothing better to do half the time". BBC (Aug 16, 2013)

His hand went to the back of his head and patted his occiput—a gesture frequent with him. Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

This flood of heretical movement was oecumenical; it was not peculiar to one race or climate or culture or nation. Belloc, Hilaire

The world is spherical; the orbicular hath the pre-eminence above all other figures, for being round itself it hath its parts like itself. Plutarch

And at this point the ordure hit the fan. The Guardian (Jul 4, 2014)

Ormolu, or′mo-lōō, n. an alloy of copper, zinc, and tin: gilt or bronzed metallic ware: gold-leaf prepared for gilding bronze, &c. Various

The flowers appear in clusters or panicles in May or June. Fuller George D.

The mountains on fine days were blue and purple in the far distance; pale green and grey in the foreground. Under the April showers and sun-shafts they became tragic, enchanted, horrific, paradisiac. Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir

Its fruit and leaves are used for flavouring pickles, and its water is given to parturient women. Fernie, William Thomas

Would such a character have been the patsy for a government stitch-up? BBC (Nov 3, 2014)

The truth is that pauperism grows in the tenements as naturally as weeds in a garden lot. Salon (Apr 29, 2014)

CHICANE the pettifogging subterfuge and delay of sharp law-practitioners, also any deliberate attempt to gain unfair advantage by petty tricks. Various

“Cannabis has done for me in four years what the VA couldn’t do in a decade with all the medications in their pharmacopoeia,” Newman said. Washington Times (Jul 16, 2015)

Jordanes, the historian, has handed down the fact that its celebrated Pineta, or Pine Forest, was in existence in Theodoric's day. Collins, William Wiehe

The sand was ribbed beneath our shoes, and the puddles often deep where we plashed. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party

But except as mortar Plasticine should be shunned. Nesbit, E. (Edith)

Then he and Nancy turned from the tempting stream and walked up a pleached alley of withies woven and interarched. MacKenzie, Compton

The man was full-fleshed, plethoric, and heavy of foot, and he spoke with a throaty gasp. Dunton, W. Herbert

How do you convince oenophiles that they are buying fine vintages for plonk prices? Economist (Oct 25, 2012)

Pollarding is a common technique applied to street trees in Europe as a way to keep their top growth in check. Washington Post (Mar 16, 2015)

It is of the esthetic value of the apple I would write, leaving its supreme place in pomology unassailed. McFarland, J. Horace (John Horace)

He is never jovial in his cups, and maudlin sorrow or maniacal rage is the sole result of his potations. Parkman, Francis

It's easier than Pokémon Black/White, has few new monsters and a simpler plot, giving it a whiff of potboiler. The Guardian (Oct 12, 2012)

At last says he, "Pray, sir, did you ever drink any poteen?—any real mountain dew?" Yeats, W. B. (William Butler)

"We're not expecting everybody to welcome everything in this document, some people will think bits of it are completely potty," Mr Burrell said. BBC (Nov 3, 2014)

I remember his face was prognathous, and his clothes were spotted with dropped food. Balmer, Edwin

From the sea-shore to the shady green park, from the park to the dim distance, the land pullulated with people. Kipling, Rudyard

They pass hard, legitimate judgments, unlike the purblind guesses of men, fogged with romanticism and ignorance and bias and wish. Cat's Eye

Good morrow, fair ones; pray you, if you know, Where in the purlieus of this forest stands A sheep-cote fenc'd about with olive trees? Shakespeare, William

“We have had 20 years of pussyfooting around, hoping that obesity will go away without doing anything meaningful and effective.” Newsweek (Feb 10, 2015)

Ream, rēm, n. a quantity of paper consisting of 20 quires of 24 sheets. Various

Outside them and through them ran raddled sheep bleating their fear. Joyce, James

"Mrs Jennings,” he cried at the top of the stairs, “half an ounce of best Scotch and Rappee.” Fenn, George Manville

Famously reluctant to talk about himself and often rebarbative toward interviewers, De Niro is a difficult subject for any biographer. Washington Post

Wherefore I rede you sojourn here the night; and journey on betimes. Reade, Charles

I bought half a dozen oranges from a boy, for oranges and nuts were the only refection to be had. Stevenson, Robert Louis

Artists demonstrate traditional crafts including knitting, rug-tying, embroidery, woodcarving and rosemaling, a traditional elaborate painting style popular in Norway since the 1700s. Seattle Times (Mar 18, 2014)

The place is sanative; the air, the light, the perfumes, and the shapes of things concord in happy harmony. Stevenson, Robert Louis

I was very curious to know who the scapegrace is, but his face is as sooty as the devil's when he forges nails for sinners. Gogol, Nikolai Vasilievich

It is unlikely that your betrothed will scarper on horseback, as Julia Roberts did in “Runaway Bride”, and most insurers wouldn’t cover that anyway. Economist (Oct 8, 2014)

It’s part “Hotel California,” part schlock horror movie, but with way more synergy: A business school where once you matriculate, you can never leave. Slate (Jul 21, 2014)

But fly by private jet and you'll be schussing down the slopes that afternoon instead of having to wait until the following day. Forbes (Mar 1, 2010)

He heard the scofflaws before he saw their lush green lawns amid the otherwise parched turf. Reuters (Oct 18, 2014)

"Have you got four-wheel drive?" asks one of the passengers nervously as the car heaves up a 45-degree incline with scree tumbling beneath the tires. BBC (Jun 29, 2012)

Serried ranks of simple and identical white headstones mark battle deaths on both sides of the Atlantic. The New Yorker (Mar 12, 2015)

The snowy shellacking isn't expected to arrive until Tuesday after the Southeast gets its own cold soak, the Weather Channel said. Reuters (Jan 23, 2011)

Shoestring startups are competing with efforts funded by billionaires, which some conservatives embrace as a triumph of laissez-faire. Reuters (May 17, 2012)

Other deep-diving fish, such as tuna and some sharks can shunt blood to certain body parts to keep them warm during deep dives. Scientific American (May 13, 2015)

For decades, a Swiss bank account was the favored hideaway for assets snaffled by the world’s most kleptocratic leaders. Newsweek (Feb 6, 2011)

Mole began to snuffle, sucking gobs of air over the hundreds of scent glands in his nose. Frightful's Mountain

He's an acid-tongued grump, but with a soupçon of rascally charm. The Guardian (Jul 23, 2014)

The morning of the 29th of March, 1909, a heavy and dense fog of frost spicules overhung the camp. Washington, Booker T.

Hollywood is well suited to dramatize these issues. It spends vast sums on the veneer of class, swank, luxe. It believes in the rogue warrior as hero, and the beautiful rich girl as a slave who needs saving from her bondage to the evil prince. It loves love. It is Gatsby. Time (May 9, 2013)

It all started one day when I was in a swivet over a canceled flight out of St. Louis. New York Times (Feb 17, 2012)

A form of articulation in which the bones are connected by intervening substance admitting slight motion; symphysis. Webster, Noah

Three phalangites, in the fourth dilochia of the twelfth syntagmata, killed one another with knives in a dispute about a rat. Flaubert, Gustave

The fine earth which flows or rolls down the sides of such a mound accumulates at its base in the form of a talus. Darwin, Charles

Life is a Sphinx: folk cannot solve her riddles, So they've recourse to spiteful taradiddles, Which they dub "Reminiscences." Various

"There isn't anybody here, you know, except the Other Professor and he isn't here!" he added wildly, turning round and round like a teetotum. Carroll, Lewis

They absolutely hear the tellurian lungs wheezing, panting, crying, 'Bellows to mend!' periodically as the Earth approaches her aphelion. De Quincey, Thomas

Teratogens are any substance that can affect the developing fetus, and MotherToBaby offers information on medication use during pregnancy and breast-feeding. US News (May 11, 2015)

Innuendo, political intrigue, diplomatic tergiversation—in all these he was a master. McFall, J. V.

Astarte, known nigh threescore years, Me to no speechless rapture urges; Them in Elysium she enspheres, Queen, from of old, of thaumaturges. Lowell, James Russell

Your genuine pietist would find a mystical sense in thimblerig. Huxley, Leonard

England will blow your trumpery little fleet out of the water and sweep your tinpot army into Siberia for this. Shaw, Bernard

The country's heart yet pants with civil war; The tocsin of past years re-echoes yet, Be saving of the executioner's arm! Hugo, Victor

He speaks in that way that only proper old-skool toffs speak, you know, like Prince Charles does, posh burbling more than actual speaking. The Guardian (Nov 22, 2012)

"Spit out the dregs of that congratulatory tommyrot, or you'll poison yourself with such a big dose of hypocrisy." Obecny, Edmund

Women often see their hairdressers as more than tonsorial technicians. New York Times (Jul 28, 2012)

He blustered and threatened; I stood like a tor. Trevena, John

To hell with Christmas charity and all that tosh. Gibbs, Philip

"You need a drink!" he decided, and poured out a stiff tot of rum. Bates, Harry

Now they were submitting themselves to this deforming discipline, undergoing this devilish transmogrification. Sinclair, Upton

We alighted at the entrance of the garden, into which we entered, under a beautiful covered treillage, lined with jessamine and honeysuckles. Carr, John, Sir

The dread, the grand, the rugged form Of him we know, Is stricken with a troublous storm; Our Aias’ glory droopeth low. Sophocles

I gave a class of 12-year-olds a selection of genuine spam emails and asked them to write down what their replies to these would be. It mostly purported to be from a distressed Nigerian monarch living in exile looking for a friendly Briton to share a fortune with. Some of the kids quickly twigged and wrote sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek responses. The Guardian (Jul 16, 2012)

The small clusters are umbels—that is to say, the footstalks of similar length start from a common base. Step, Edward

Uncials differ from capitals only in the letters A, D, E, G, M, Q, T, V, for the sake of ease in writing. Bradley, John William

There is no telling how vermicular are the wrigglings of mean souls. Huneker, James

Still destiny preserves its due relations, The heart within us is its absolute Vicegerent. Coleridge, Ernest Hartley

It was evident, from Mr. Trotter's flushed countenance and defective intonation, that he, too, had had recourse to vinous stimulus. Thackeray, William Makepeace

A sharp shovel and a mattock are useful tools for the job. Washington Post (Oct 12, 2015)

“Mary, bring the besom, my girl, to brush the snow off my boots. Stables, Gordon

Alas! about her speech there could be no two opinions—it bewrayed her. Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

"You must realize the fear and hatred which my weltanschauung instills in people." —Confederacy of Dunces

The absence of pollinating insects is sometimes a curious barrier to the complete ecesis of species far out of their usual habitat or region. Park, Robert Ezra

The seneschal wore a tokar of maroon silk with a golden fringe. A Dance with Dragons

At All Souls, Oxford, is a carving of a warrior-visaged person wearing a morion, and armed with a falchion and buckler. Wildridge, T. Tindall

But this talk is all bosh with both parties. Ingersoll, Robert Green

Those savage yells might well make a woman blench. Weyman, Stanley John

Scottish sheep don't chatter – they blether. The Guardian (Jul 8, 2011)

He presented his first design to the British admiralty in 1849, but it was not well received. Scientific American (Jul 1, 2013)

A defalcation is a cutting off, a subtraction; a default is a failure in duty. Bierce, Ambrose

Under these deteriorating conditions the child—early on—had developed into one ornery hellion. The Milagro Beanfield War

"Seeing an improvement is not the same as things being completely copasetic," says Anthony Chan, an economist at JP Morgan's private bank. Time (Jan 20, 2010)

The loss of this adscititious adminicle would make the sage's impeccable, but lugubrious bosom vibrate with the horrors of dilution and dereliction. Anonymous

Happiness is a two-sided coin. One side is “hedonic,” driven by pleasures such as eating lobster, partying on the weekend, or being able to fly-fish for a whole day. The other side is “eudaimonic,” created by the fulfillment of doing something meaningful such as volunteering at a food bank, helping a friend..." Forbes (May 21, 2015)

It is not clear whether the arrears were remitted or extracted by distraint. Johns, C. H. W. (Claude Hermann Walter)

It is still used in the phrase “lands, tenements and hereditaments” to describe property in land, as distinguished from goods and chattels or movable property. Various

The upscale lady across the aisle spent the entire flight looking at spreadsheets while sticking her forefinger into her schnoz. Slate (Mar 20, 2014)

These two kept direct route to the stile of the bull's field. Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

And stretched the sky above; so that the air, Impregnate, changed to water. Fell the rain; And to the fosses came all that the land Contained not; and as mightiest streams are wont. To the great river, with such headlong sweep, Rushed, that nought stayed its course. Ruskin, John